The Best Attributes of Top Texas Criminal Attorneys

Imagine being charged with a crime and not knowing what to do next. Do you hire a lawyer, attempt to work with the state, or ask around and hope to get to the advice? Obviously, working with prosecutors isn’t the best idea, especially if you’re innocent. Even if you guilty, the best thing you can do is hire a skilled criminal defense lawyer with experience defending people accused of crimes similar to the one of which you were charged.

But which lawyer do you hire?

Do you hire the best criminal defense lawyer in town because that’s how they are advertised, or do you try to find the cheapest lawyer you can find?

Well, freedom isn’t free.

So if you want to avoid jail or give yourself the best opportunity to defend yourself from what will be a relentless prosecution by the state of Texas, it’s best to seek out and hire the best law firm for criminal cases that you can find. But what are the qualities you should look for in a top lawyer? This is the question we will be attempting to answer throughout the entirety of this article.

They’re Great At Communication

The Good Criminal Lawyers Don’t Have Estranged Clients

The last thing you want to do is pay a criminal defense lawyer a five to $10,000 retainer fee, only to engage with their secretary 90% of the time. While the other 10% of the time you’re working with some snotty-nosed associate lawyer that probably can’t find himself out of a paper bag.

The best quality to look for when seeking out a lawyer who could be considered the best in their field is a prioritization of communication. You have to know what’s going on with your case. Your lawyer needs to be available to you to give you advice. If you having trouble communicating with a lawyer, then you will have fear based on the neglect of your lawyer because you’re in a life or death situation and don’t know what’s going on.

Poor communication is not a professional trade of a good lawyer. If you meet with a lawyer, don’t retain them immediately. Call them back later that day, and maybe once or twice the next day to see if you can get in contact with them. If you can reach your potential lawyer with a low level of difficulty, then it’s safe to say that they have a keen sense of client care.

Their Top Priority: Client Care

Great Defense Attorneys Care About Good Results for Their Clients

When you settle on hiring the best lawyer for your case, you’ve made the decision on whose hands to put your case is. Depending on the severity of the crime you’ve been charged with, your life could be in the hands. The best Houston criminal attorneys keep their clients informed about the developments in their case. This includes going over numerous legal strategies that could be effective in their defense and the truth about whether they believe they can get the case dismissed or earn a not guilty verdict at trial.

Client care means more than just answering the phone; it means doing the absolute best job you can to keep a person free.

Another Great Trait: Education

Excellent Criminal Lawyers Know The Law!

Let’s be frank; no one can know every line of the law written in every state’s Penal Code or even in the Texas Penal Code. What I mean when I say that the great criminal lawyers know the law is that they are aware of changes in the law, have a great general knowledge of the law and their area of practice. They demonstrate excellent tact when implementing their understanding of the law for the benefit of their clients and the general public. This is what I mean when I say, “know the law.”

Why Security Guards are Important for Business Premises

All businesses, whether small or big are vulnerable to the threat of crime such as theft. Some companies like retail stores, banks, and convenience stores may be more target for petty thieves and criminals. However, a large number of businesses choose to hire Houston security guard services. They can be used to maintain security, prevent crime and offer customer service. The following are benefits of hiring security guards at your business.

Security Guards Prevent Crime

Having security guards at your business will deter any unwanted behavior. Criminals and thieves will always think twice before breaking into any businesses that has security guards. Qualified guards are highly trained to look out for any suspicious person or activities on the spot. Also, they can assess a situation and react to it quickly. Hiring security guards is an indication that you are taking the safety of your business very seriously.

Handling crimes on your behalf

Let’s face, for some of the people in Houston, times can be tough. Security guards receive different level of training when it comes to handling crimes. Some may decide to only take down the details and contact the police officers. While other guards are allowed to detain the suspects. As such, it is up to business owner to decide whether to hire armed or unarmed guards. Also their business can decide on what procedures should put in place when handling the suspect in time of crime. Ensure that you hire properly trained and licensed guards from a reputable organization.

Promotes good customer service

Houston security guards and commissioned officers can also work as customer service representative for your business. A guard may be used to manage the front desk or to control access to the premises. This will create a greater interaction with your clients enhancing a better customer service. They may also be used to direct people to the right direction or products. Therefore, guards should have great communication skills so that they can interact clearly with the clients.

They offer a sense of security

Hiring security guards at your company provides peace of mind to the business owner, employees and the customers. Security guards offer a sense of security to the people. If you work in high risk area, it is advisable that you employ qualified guards. This enables the customers to see that you care about their safety.

On Premise Security Patrols

Even if most guards are employed to patrol the business property, some are employed for monitoring purposes. A security expert can be employed to check credentials, check for contraband, monitor video surveillance or even restrict access to a certain area. Security guards acquire a lot of training in different fields and so they can be able to handle different types of crimes. Each guard may have specific goal such as keeping an eye on ground after the business has been closed or opening and closing of the business. The security guards takes all the security responsibility enabling them to concentrate on their work.

Whether your business is small or in case you own a large company, employing security guard is very crucial. Hiring guards are imperative because they provide a sense of security to the employees and the customers. When employees feel safe, they tend to be more productive.

Air Force Sgt. Charged With Sex Crime

You assume at 67, a retired Air Force Master Sergeant who had earned the diamond within the chevron on his sleeve would emanate an air of respect. Like a policeman, you would find a kindred trust for the man who had once been attired in such a symbolic uniform. After all, his was an honorary rank.

So why would a man presumed of sound mind, enter the annals of pedophilia?

Some child molesters emerge from bushes intent on molesting children on their way to or home from school. Others are friendly neighbors, attentive shopkeepers or relative sons of friends who are much too willing to babysit children. For free.

Still others, like Donald Travers, prefer to prey on minors from behind the drawn curtains of his home. It’s a private matter. It’s a disease that overwhelms him and one he cannot control as he trolls Craigslist. It’s an obsession that will not be satisfied until his job is done.

Craigslist

His dark, sinister eyes scan the ads until they reside upon one in particular. This one has a different flavor. He is a troll of a certain caliber. He doesn’t write the posts this time; he replies to them, particularly to those that inflame his inner embers. He has done the groundwork but still, he remains unsated. The incessant desire to maintain himself are the leavings of a dangerous human being. He harbors an unhealthy sexual interest in children.

He replies to the ad. “If you want to meet a woman of 35 and talk drop me an email.” Travers loses no time and promptly replies. “Hi. Let’s meet and talk. I’m a 45 yo white guy.”

The response he receives is pleasing and his blood sluices through his veins. “Hope you don’t mind. My kids are spending the weekend after next with their father so I can’t meet till then. I hope that’s okay.”

Travers can hardly contain himself. However, he has lied about his age and is haunted by the inevitable shock the young woman will receive when they finally meet. What he is clearly unaware of is the author of the ad. A seasoned police detective, Glenys Roberts has been assigned to her department’s Crimes Against Children Unit. She is highly trained.

The emails continue throughout the week and Travers becomes insistent. “How old are your children?” Ironically, he has been regularly posting ads for “Free Babysitting” in which he volunteers to watch people’s daughters free of charge. He tells Glenys Roberts in a bid to win her trust.

Roberts immediately searches Craigslist for the ads and unearths three that have only recently been posted. “I’m not really 35,” she writes desperately dangling the proverbial carrot, fearful she is losing him. “I lied. I’m 15 and way too young to have kids. But my parents are going away for that weekend and if you want we can still talk.”

When Travers is rewarded with an answer that will throw kindling over the already flaming embers he knows he will find it difficult to refuse her, nevertheless, he cools the lines of communication and becomes less desperate to make contact.

Roberts, frustrated by the communication breakdown, responds to Travers latest ad for a babysitter under a new persona. She adopts the voice of a twelve year-old girl who has a seven year-old sister and the conversation quickly emigrates to Yahoo Instant Messenger. Travers asks for “a pic or two to prove you’re real”.

In reply, Roberts sends him two pictures; one is of two little girls wearing matching pink bikinis on a beach. Travers excitedly reciprocates with one image of a man’s face and one of an erect penis. He also provides his phone number. The number comes from the vicinity of Houston Texas.

Now all Roberts had to do is find Travers.

The Criminal Trial

Glenys Roberts serves a subpoena for Travers’ phone number which returns promising results. It belongs to 67 year-old Donald Leonard Travers who hasn’t even bothered to disguise his electronic identity. When Roberts obtains a photograph from the motor vehicle records, she knows she has her target. Face to face, his matches the photograph he has sent to her twelve year-old alter ego.

Roberts arranges to meet Travers who asks her and her sister to ride their bikes to the McDonald’s carpark. He will then have sex with her in his car while her younger sister watches and afterwards, he will take them home.

At 5 pm as the sun dips low toward the horizon, the McDonald’s carpark is crawling with plain clothed police who covertly wait as Travers pulls naively into the lot. The Hyundai circles once and then parks at the furthermost reaches under the trees. Travers is immediately placed under arrest.

Court Proceedings

Solicitation of a child involves a defendant asking or engaging in a conversation with a minor and during the course of that conversation, the defendant asks (or solicits) the minor to meet them for the purpose of engaging in a sexual act.

Travers signs a plea deal for one count of facility to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. He is then sent to live under the roof of his parents where he will await sentencing. He is ordered to refrain from any involvement in pornography and Craigslist.

The prospect of imprisonment clearly sends ice through his veins and the fact that he has indulged in online solicitation means he would be charged with the initial penalty and the long-term consequences. Because the charge does not require an accomplished act with a minor, he will still be charged for communicating with a view to engaging in sexual activity and carnal knowledge of a child.

Online solicitation laws have changed as technology has expanded and evolved. Any person using the Internet or chat rooms to initiate sexual encounters with a minor, or the conversation includes a request for the child to meet in order to engage in sexual activity, will have the defendant charged with solicitation.

Defenses for the Accused

Solicitation laws are frequently challenged.

  • Their right to free speech
  • Actual communication with a child online posing as another child
  • Involvement in a relationship with a child who was not more than three years younger than the defendant
  • The online conversation was simply a fantasy that was being acted out

The judge is appalled. And passes down the sentence.

The Sentence

Travers is aware that his trolling online and his solicitation of a minor is his entertainment; a fantasy he cannot control. Regardless of his plight, this kind of lewd behavior is classified as a felony level offense and Travers will have to get used to life in prison for a minimum of ten years. Thereafter, will be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Detective Glenys Roberts knows the Internet is a mammoth communications network on which a broad range of pedophiles troll through countless sites. She is also aware that despite the perceived anonymity, most Internet-enabled crimes have an inbuilt component that assists in identifying trolls.

Offenders are eventually forced to email or instant message their targets if they’re to meet and close the deal.

The police have all the necessary tools in place to subpoena and eventually arrest these desperadoes.

Names have been changed.

Online Solicitation and the Texas Courts

Online solicitation of a child for sex is a crime in Texas. In the State of Texas, criminal courts have seen an increase in criminal cases of online solicitation and are taking action to stop it.

In the state of Texas, it is illegal for any person to solicit a minor online for the purpose of sexual contact or sexual intercourse. Under the Texas Penal Code, it is illegal for someone to ask a minor over the internet if they would like to engage in sexual conduct with them. This law also applies if someone asks a minor over the internet if they would like to meet up with them for any other type of sex related activity as well as long as that person intended that their interaction be sexual.

If you were arrested and slapped with criminal charges for a sex crime, you’ll need a talk with an experienced criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible.

What to Do If You Were Arrested or Charged with an Online Sex Crime in Texas?

If you were arrested or charged with an online sex crime in Texas, the first thing to do is consult a sex crimes lawyer In Houston, one of the best sex crimes lawyers is Mark W. Bennett at Bennett & Bennett.

The lawyer will be able to analyze the situation and provide some guidance on what to do next. They may also be able to help you get out of jail, if you are currently in custody.

It is important that you take these charges seriously as they can lead to a conviction and many years in prison.

The Life of a Private Investigator

When you hear private eye what comes to mind? A man wearing a hat and a trench coat sitting in his car doing surveillance. Or does your mind drift to old television shows that depict a private investigator in action. He’s sitting outside someone’s home camera in hand with folders spread out on the seat next to him. Tailing a subject around town while trying to be inconspicuous. Interviewing people trying to find just the right information for his client. While some of these activities are pertinent to the job, what is shown on television and read in novels is not really all private investigation is about.

Private Investigators In Texas are not created equal.

There are many specialties among the private investigation industry. Some Houston private investigators specialize in one area like criminal defense or insurance fraud, while others offer a variety of specialties. While many of the specialties may crossover such as surveillance and backgrounds checks, there are many types of private investigators.

Fraud Investigators

Fraud is one specialty in the field. This can range from insurance fraud, welfare fraud, identity theft, pyramid schemes, and more. Another area is criminal investigations.

Criminal Detectives

Houston private investigator

Private investigators can work with law firms to help them get evidence for their cases. Defense attorneys and prosecutors can benefit from working with an investigator on their case.

Some investigators specialize in accident reconstructions. In this area the investigator will evaluate the cause of an accident and determine where it was located. They can work with insurance companies or law firms helping them figure out liability, provide answers, and gather evidence for court.

These examples are just a fraction of the different areas that comprise the field of private investigations.

Private Investigators Don’t Break the Law

Texas Private Investigators are upheld to high standards. They work hard to attain their position and will not jeopardize their livelihood by participating in illegal activities for the sake of a client. Many people believe that investigators participate in illegal activities such as breaking and entering, hacking, and trespass, record conversations with consent, or film people who are inside their home. They are not allowed to break the law to get their job done. Investigations must be completed within the confounds of the law.

All investigators are required to be licensed. Most states have stringent requirements that requires years of work to attain. Upon completing thousands of hours of work, the private investigators exam taken and passed.

Investigators cannot impersonate law enforcement officers under any circumstances. They can’t even give an implication that they are a police officer. Investigators must let individuals know that their identity. People are more forth telling when they see a badge or think someone is an officer. A private investigator is not allowed to mislead people to get information. An investigator participating in this practice would be prosecuted and have his license revoked.

A Day In The Life.

A job as a private investigator is a job like no other. No two days are alike. One day an investigator can be doing surveillance, the next he could be searching for a missing person, the next he could be performing background checks. Investigations can take weeks and months to complete. It takes patience to continue on when things go stale. But the investigator must push through to get all the information they can to help their client.

People also assume that Houston private investigators are put in danger on a consistent basis. While there is some danger involved when conducting investigations it doesn’t occur as often as people think.

Serial Killers Dean Coril – The Houston Murders

He committed crimes so chilling that hardened Houston and Texas area detectives were left in shock at the murder scenes left by the savagery of Dean Coril. Back in the early 1970’s, a number of boys went missing from the Houston Heights area of Houston and most of them were killed at the hands of Dean Coril.

Dean Coril’s Victims:

1. Billy Baulch, 17
2. Billy Ridinger-survived
3. Danny Yates, 14
4. David Hilligiest, 13
5. Donald Waldrop, 15
6. Frank Anthony Aguirre, 18
7. Gregory Malley Winkle, 16
8. Homer Garcia, 15
9. James Dreymala, 13
10. James Glass, 14
11. Jeffrey Konen, 18
12. Jerry Waldrop, 13
13. John Sellars, 17
14. Johnny Delone, 16
15. Joseph Lyles, 17
16. Mark Scott, 17
17. Marty Jones, 18.
18. Michael ‘Tony’ Baulch, 15
19. Randall Harvey, 15
20. Rhonda Williams -survived
21. Richard Kepner, 19
22. Ruben Watson, 17
23. Steven Sickman, 17
24. Tim Kerley-survived
25. Wally Jay Simoneaux, 14
26. Willard ‘Rusty’ Branch, Jr. , 17
27. Charles Cary Cobble, 17
28. Richard Hembree, 13

Galveston, TX and DUI Offenses

The worse thing that can happen to you if you are visiting Galveston, TX is to get pulled over by the police department, arrested for DWI, and thrown into the Galveston County Jail.

Galveston DWI Arrests are Understandable

Every weekend people from all over the southeast Texas region travel to Galveston to enjoy its beaches and its surfside atmosphere. A number of these people also indulge in the consumption of alcoholic beverages during their visit to the island as well. Some, without regard for the fact that they will have to drive back home. This creates an atmosphere conducive to driving drunk.

Preventing DWI Arrests in Galveston

One of the ways that you can exercise some proactivity if you intend to venture onto Galveston Island for some fun and partying is to take measures to avoid environments and situations that will leave you susceptible to drunk driving. Don’t go all the way to Galveston and engage in the consumption of alcoholic beverages unless you intend to rent a hotel room, or have someone with you who can serve as your designated driver.

Another thing you can do is ride with someone else and leave your vehicle at home, or better yet, don’t drink any alcohol in the first place.

Arrested in Galveston?

If you’ve been arrested in Galveston, TX for drunk driving then you’ll need to talk with a lawyer with experience fighting DWI cases in Galveston for the best chance of limiting the potential criminal penalties for the offense. In some cases, attorney Tad Nelson of The Nelson Firm can get the case dismissed, or get the jury to find you not guilty depending the details of the case, and even if you are found guilty there is the possibility that he can get you probation instead of jail time.

Regardless of the situation you find yourself in, if you are accused of a DWI offense, talk with a lawyer as soon as possible.

The Untold Story of the Scott Peterson Investigation

One of the more media hyped crimes of the last decade is the Scott Peterson investigation for the murder of Laci Peterson. A pregnant women who was missing for four months until her body washed up on a beach. Laci Peterson was 8 months pregnant at the time of her disappearance and her family knew her so well that they instantly knew there was a problem when she came up missing. Laci Peterson came up missing on Christmas Eve of 2002.


When the police got involved in the investigation they immediately questioned Scott where he made a fatal mistake; he provided an alibi before the homicide detectives investigating the case even asked for one. From the start, the actions of Scott Peterson change the type of investigation from that of a missing person to that of a murder investigation.

Scott left no hard to find evidence for the police. He may as well of confessed to the murder.

On Death Row For Capital Murder – Blaine Milam

Blaine Milam was found guilty for the torture and murder of a 13 month old toddler. The crime took place in Montgomery County, Texas. The mother of the slain child, Jessica Carson, was sentenced to life without parole for her complicity in the murder.

According to reports, they killed the baby in some form of exorcism due to the fact they felt that young Aurora Carson had demon spirits within her. When this type of heinous crime occurs it pays a much needed respect to the death penalty in Texas, and in other state that still has the moral fortitude to do whats right and remove animals from our society. Society has no place for people who can kill toddlers and brutally massacre them on a whim.

The Victim

The Victim of the Crime was Amora Carson. This is why its a good thing we have the death penalty in Texas. let em fry! Source of Image

Its clear that these people should be burned as lethal injection is far too nice a method of putting capital murderers to death. According to the investigation by law enforcement, the murderers went shopping hours after the child was dead, and after they went shopping.

They caused injuries to the infant’s vaginal vault.

The killers claimed that Amora, the 13 month old infant, attacked herself with a hammer. Her bone breaks were in a spiral shape meaning her bones were twisted and broken, and the child had more than 15 fractures and was “badly broken” by the time police got to her.

There were also 24 adult bite marks on the toddler’s body that belonged to Blaine Milam as confirmed by DNA evidence.

Don’t Forget, Crime Leads to Jail Time

My nephew was arrested for public intoxication this weekend at a bar in Houston and feels the cops went to far because he was just out having a good time. I had to explain to him that regardless of how good of a time he was having, it is no excuse to break the law. If being intoxicated in public is illegal, then police are well within their right to execute an arrest if they have probable cause to believe that you are publicly intoxicated.

After talking with a criminal defense attorney, we decided it best for him to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charged so long as he is given deferred adjudication. The prosecutor agreed.

Moral of the story: obey the law, and you won’t have to have any dealings with the criminal justice system in Texas.

5 Reasons To Talk With a Lawyer If Arrested

Unfortunately, every day in the criminal justice system people are arrested, locked up, and we also have some who attempt to represent themselves in the court of law. Below is a list of 5 reasons why I think its best to talk with a criminal defense lawyer if you’ve been arrested for a criminal offense in Houston, TX.Texas Criminal Court

  • You need to know all the options available to you.
  • Its always best to have a criminal law expert litigating your case.
  • You’ll need someone who can spot the dirty tricks of the prosecution.
  • A lawyer may be able to keep you out of jail during court proceedings.
  • Having someone who can defend your constitutional rights is always an advantage.

As you can see, these 5 simple reasons for talking to a lawyer if you are charged with a crime will make the whole experience of facing the criminal justice system a lot less difficult and the language a lot clearer for you to under stand.