Arrested on Spring Break Or Your Florida Vacation?

You planned to come to Florida for a nice, relaxing vacation. You didn’t plan on getting arrested for a criminal offense. No matter how fun the trip was up to that point, everything was overshadowed by the nightmare of being cuffed and taken to jail in the back of a police car.

Now you are either still in town searching for help of a local attorney or you’ve already made your way back home and want to figure out what to do next. You know you need help but you may be a little out of your depth and worried about finding a reputable criminal defense attorney in a tourist community like Destin, Florida.

If you have been arrested or given a criminal citation for a criminal offense in Okaloosa, Walton, or Santa Rosa County, you are not alone. Each year, Florida law enforcement target and arrest thousands of tourists and vacationers for crimes like:

• Driving Under the Influence or Drunk Driving (DUI)
• Reckless Driving
• Disorderly Intoxication (Fla. Stat. 856.011)
• Resisting Arrest
• Battery & Violence
• Arrest for Disorderly conduct
• Boating Under the Influence (BUI)
• Reckless Operation of a Vessel (Reckless Boating)
• Illegal Possession of Alcohol
• Minor in Possession of Alcohol (MIP)
• Use Of Fake Identification
• Possession – Marijuana
• Possession – Drug Paraphernalia
• Possession of a Controlled Substance
• Theft Charges
• Shoplifting & Other Retail Theft

Finding the right Criminal Defense Attorney that will properly represent an Out-of Town Client

The first step is doing your research. You need to find out which attorneys have the requisite knowledge and experience to help you get the best result for your individual situation. You may have a lot to lose with your career, business, or education. Your attorney needs to understand that. Over the years, I have helped hundreds of people who were on vacation in Destin or Fort Walton Beach and were arrested or charged with a crime. Being from out of town, you have special needs.

You do not want to have to come back to court unless you have to and you don’t want to incur any unnecessary expenses on top of everything else you’ve dealt with up to this point.

If you want to know what you are up against, please contact me, Attorney Shawn Lupella, for a free consultation. I can tell you what to expect and what your options are. In addition, I can tell you how to best handle your upcoming court dates, potentially without your appearance being required.

In the many misdemeanor cases I have represented out of town clients in, we generally can avoid your traveling back to Florida altogether through filing a document called a Written Waiver of Appearance by Defendant. In order to accomplish this, we would need to establish regular communication to maximize the information gathering process, and therefore, establish your best defense possible.

You want to stay in the loop. You want to know what is going on and your attorney should be able to answer all of your questions. Remote Communication for Out of Town Clients is critical to a successful result and you want to remain informed and updated throughout the pendency of your case. We accomplish this through the use of the latest technology including:

Even if you are hundreds of miles away, your case in Florida will stay active and will not go away. Don’t make the mistake of putting it on the back burner and forgetting about it. You could be arrested in your hometown on an extradition warrant or held in a local jail awaiting transport after something as simple as a traffic stop for speeding.

All the more reason to take care of your case now and have it handled correctly by a professional and trustworthy criminal lawyer. Call Shawn Lupella today for a free consultation to discuss your case. Call (850) 362-6655 in Fort Walton Beach or (850) 424-5240 in Destin.

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