Georgia Criminal Defense Blog

Fingerprints are considered to be insurmountable evidence. However, in the case of a convicted Georgia man, a routine check of the supposed offender’s identification revealed the huge mismatch: his fingerprints were inaccurately identified as those of a criminal, and he had, consequently, been wrongly incarcerated for 17 months for a robbery that he didn’t commit. The question then is simple: Is $145,000 enough to compensate for a wrongful conviction? Many would believe it is, especially for a period of a mere 17 months. Perhaps it has brought the formerly-guilty-incarcerated-but-now-innocent-and-free man a little sense of justice.

The Georgia resident served 17 long months in Rikers Island, a sentence that still haunts him like a bad dream. According to an article, the man reportedly described it with a relatively jarring perspective. "It's just a nightmare knowing that someone that's innocent can be picked up off the street and held.”

These recent events undoubtedly raise many questions as to how such a false conviction could take place. According to the report, the falsely accused and incarcerated man was in Atlanta, a full 880 miles away from Howard Beach, where the robbery took place. He was arrested for the crime nearly a year after it was committed, when a partial index-fingerprint was supposedly deemed a match to the man’s own fingerprint that had previously been collected in Brooklyn during a traffic violation and arrest for driving with a suspended license.

Continue reading "Georgia Man Was Falsely Imprisoned for 17 Months Due to Mistaken Fingerprints" »

Posted by Conaway, Strickler & Margolis, P.C. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Criminal Defense , Law & Information , Theft Crimes , Wrongfully Accused

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The growth of the Internet and its many uses is unprecedented; however, many communities are often shocked when someone within a neighborhood is arrested by law enforcement for using the Internet to sexually exploit children by arranging secretive meetings. An article recently reported that a Peachtree golf pro who teaches children group golf lessons has been arrested for child exploitation in Georgia. Apparently, the man had set-up a meeting via the Internet with someone whom he was under the impression was a minor, but that turned out to be a federal agent.

Before becoming an employee at Jonesboro’s Lake Spivey Golf Course, background checks were conducted on the 45-year-old man, but those background checks did not show any criminal record or signs of child abuse. The golf course’s financial officer said that the man accused always seemed like a devoted family man and that his teenage son worked at the golf course as well. The accused man had previously been named Lake Spivey’s head golf pro in March 2008.

Being accused of sexual exploitation of children is a serious offense with harsh consequences if convicted. As the above case demonstrates, a person has to simply be accused of a sex crime for his or her reputation to be in shambles, which greatly affects personal relationships and future employment.

Continue reading "Child Exploitation Charges against Peachtree City Golf Pro" »

Posted by Conaway, Strickler & Margolis, P.C. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Criminal Defense , Sex Crime Defense

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The “All Hands Across the Border” campaign was announced as an effort to dissuade and prevent drunk driving during the upcoming holidays, such as Labor Day and other long weekends. The program began on Sunday, August 30, 2009 and will hopefully curb the DUI incidents that habitually pop up over 3-day weekends and the like. Georgia law enforcement will be taking part in the DUI crackdown along with its five bordering states. According to an article, the campaign has historically contributed towards a successful decrease in the number of DUI fatalities that occur during holiday periods.

According to the director of the Georgia governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the program “engages both sides of our borders amongst all our neighboring states to have similar policies and procedures to make sure our roads are safe.”

Whether the “All Hands Across the Border” DUI initiative will perform its said purpose as well as it has in years past is yet to be determined. It is our hope that there are indeed fewer fatalities on our roadways throughout the entire year, particularly during holiday periods where incidents of DUI in Georgia typically are on the rise.

Continue reading "Georgia Participates in “All Hands Across the Border” DUI Crackdown" »

Posted by Conaway, Strickler & Margolis, P.C. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Criminal Defense , DUI Defense

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A 25-year-old mother was shot and killed nearly three months ago by a disguised attacker whom investigators believe they now know the identity of. The Snellville Police Department stated in a report that they are “very close” to making an arrest and are waiting for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to analyze evidence that could bolster the strength of their case regarding the violent crime.

A witness to the murder in Georgia said that the shooter was wearing a wig and mustache as a disguise, and shot the young mother after they briefly got into a loud argument. Based on surveillance footage from the Target shopping center where the woman was killed, the shooter may have been a woman. Evidence that was sent to the GBI related to a truck belonging to the victim’s mother-in-law. Police said the mother-in-law drives a pickup truck comparable to the one that was seen at the location of the homicide.

According to the United States Uniform Crime Report, there were 47,075 violent crimes reported in Georgia in 2007, with 717 of those crimes being labeled as murders. Violent offenders are treated with some of the harshest penalties that exist. Being arrested for any type of violent crime is a serious matter and can very often leave the accused feeling overwhelmed, frightened, and confused regarding his or her future, as well as which rights he or she is entitled to under the U.S. Constitution.

Continue reading "Investigation Hints at Arrests in Snellville Shooting of Mother" »

Posted by Conaway, Strickler & Margolis, P.C. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Criminal Defense , Murder/Homicide , Violent Crimes

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