In July we reported on a fatal accident that occurred at the corner of Palmetto Park and 441. Police comments at the time suggested that Kelsey Cooper (above, 32) was to blame and that they suspected some kind of alcohol or drug impairment.
Court records show charges were filed against her on Monday and she was arrested on Tuesday. An appearance was scheduled for Wednesday morning but there’s no record in the system yet as to what happened. However, the Sheriff’s blotter shows that she was released on bond Wednesday afternoon.
The charges against Ms. Cooper include both DUI Manslaughter and Negligent Vehicular Manslaughter. We have not seen the toxicology report, but the Palm Beach Post reported that it showed her blood-alcohol level was “three times the legal limit” and also that it showed “signs of cocaine.”
Of course Ms. Cooper is innocent at this stage of the process. Her reported address is in the Boca Pointe community, northeast of Powerline and SW 18th. We see no criminal history for her, other than a minor traffic ticket in 2012.
The case is vaguely similar to two other DUI Homicide cases we’ve reported on in the past. Bianca Fichtel’s case from an accident with a bicyclist on Yamato at I-95 is still pending. We also previously reported on the appellate dismissal of the case against Angela Stracar from an accident that occurred in front of Boca Isles on Cain Blvd.
Tag: dui
West Boca Man Arrested for Fourth DUI?
Darren Hazzon (45) of Villa San Remo (Lyons south of Clint Moore) was arrested late last night on a DUI charge we don’t often see: “4th or Subsequent Offense.”
It takes a lot of work to pick up four or more DUIs. Mr. Hazzon may be on his way to that Hall of Shame.
We researched his record as best we could. Back in 2001 he was arrested for DUI causing injury in Palm Beach County. However that case resulted in a “wet reckless” with the DUI charge being dropped. That generally doesn’t count as a prior DUI offense.
We found three incidents in the Tampa area. The image below is from an unreliable website that posts arrest information.
We checked the official court records. They show DUI arrests in 2007 and 2010, but the 2011 incident does not appear to have been a real DUI arrest.
The 2007 case was resolved with a “no-contest” plea in 2008, with probation and a license suspension.
The 2010 case was resolved again with a no-contest plea. His license was supposedly suspended for five years.
The 2011 case (refusing to submit to a balance test) was dropped by prosecutors:
So far we only count two prior DUI convictions. It may be that Mr. Hazzon has other ones out there but we haven’t found them yet. What’s puzzling is how he was not charged with driving on a suspended license on the 2011 incident or this most recent incident.
Bianca Fichtel Charged With DUI Manslaughter
Update: The charges against Ms. Fichtel were dropped by prosecutors on Wednesday, December 16, 2015.
Bianca Fichtel (24) was just charged with DUI manslaughter arising out of an April accident. Ms. Fichtel’s reported address is in the Barrington subdivision of Boca Chase (west of 441 and just south of Clint Moore).
Ms. Fichtel has two previous felony arrests, including a 2010 drug paraphernalia charge and a 2011 case involving alleged possession of stolen property that was dropped by prosecutors. She’s also had a few traffic cases including one for leaving the scene of an accident and a high speed on the Turnpike in Broward.
The April accident occurred at Yamato near I-95. Ms. Fichtel’s Ford F-150 allegedly collided with a bicyclist, George Morreale. The 65-year-old died “as a result of multiple blunt force trauma injuries.”
Police indicate that Fichtel had a passenger, Paul Maida, who was himself previously arrested in a January SWAT incident.
The arrest report asserts that Ms. Fichtel’s truck hit Morreale in the bicycle lane, but there appears to be little or no evidence of that.
Ms. Fichtel’s blood was drawn (it’s unclear if that was done properly). The toxicology report did show some drugs in her system and it’s not clear whether the level of those drugs is enough to have caused impairment. The police report vaguely alleges that it might be enough.
The alprazolam and nordiazepam levels are well below “therapeutic” levels. The clonazepam is in the therapeutic range but nowhere near toxic. The other drugs are so low as to be essentially unmeasurable.
This looks like a very difficult case for the prosecution to prove. There are major holes in proving both the cause of the accident and that Fichtel was impaired by drugs.
10 Arrests for Early July
As always, those arrested are innocent until proven guilty.
We have ten (Update: two removed so now eight) arrests to report for early July. First up is “JL Bosarge” (top left, 54) whose address is listed as “At Large” (in other words, homeless) in Boca Raton and was arrested by PBSO deputies, charged with a county ordinance violation for open container. Mr. Bosarge was booked Wednesday morning and released Thursday evening. The blotter shows his release as for “time served” which suggests he pled guilty to whatever it was. The court docket does not reflect that, however. We see some prior history including a felony arrest back in 2002 and a few other cases.
Top center is Francine Jackson (49), accused of grand theft. Boca PD’s blotter indicates it was a retail theft. Her reported address is in Century Village. Booked on Tuesday, she has not been released yet. Bond is set at $3K. Ms. Jackson has a few cases in the system including felonies from 2011 and 2013. She pled guilty to dealing in stolen property in the 2013 case and did a short jail sentence along with probation, which is probably ongoing. The 2011 case was a grand theft, dropped to petit theft and then dropped completely.
Bottom left is Douglas Gallop (39), charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm. His reported address is in Tudor Woods just west of the Sandalfoot trailers. Arrested Tuesday, he was released Wednesday evening. It’s an odd battery case because the offense date is back in early May.
Monique Baz (bottom center, 23) was arrested for battery on Friday and released the next day. Her reported address is in Arbor Oaks, just north of West Boca Medical Center. The courts have it as a domestic incident. We see no priors.
West Palm Beach police arrested Matthew Hanyecz (bottom right, 26) on Thursday and he’s charged with grand theft, fraud, and dealing in stolen property. The police blotter indicates this arises out of an incident reported to them a couple days earlier at a home on Dock Street just north of Belvedere near I-95. Court records say the offense actually occurred in early June. Hanyecz is a West Boca High grad. Court records show drug trafficking and grand theft charges from 2007 that led to a 3-year prison sentence.
Mr. Hanyecz may still have an interest in marijuana and/or other drugs.
Paul Tedaldi (left, 58), a new resident of Island Lakes, was arrested Friday for battery and released about 24 hours later on $1000 bond. It’s being treated as a domestic incident.
Robert Hanson (2nd from right, 49) was arrested late Tuesday for robbery and battery on a person over 65. His reported address is in the Sandalfoot trailers and brings up an almost artistic view on Google Street View:
Per the Palm Beach Post, Hanson asked an older friend for $6, and then:
took the man’s belongings, removed the man’s pants … hitting him in the back of the head multiple times, throwing him to the ground and stepping on his neck, cutting off airflow.
Mr. Hanson has not been released yet. Court records show an aggravated battery with a deadly weapon back in 1997 for which he got 3 days in jail; a 2002 burglary charge that was dropped; a 2007 battery on a police officer that was reduced with little or no consequences; a 2008 domestic battery that was dropped; and some traffic cases.
Last in this report is Jose Sousa (right, 45), arrested late Friday or possibly early Saturday for DUI. His reported address is in Sandalfoot Cove, just southeast of the soon-to-open Walmart.
DUI: Late June Arrests
We have mostly DUI and Battery cases to report for late June, with some related charges and one other case. We’re going to do the DUI cases first and will add the battery cases in a separate article (see Sandalfoot Battery Arrests).
On the DUI front there were six arrests of West Boca residents. Robert Aletto (top left, 21) of Vista Verde was arrested early Friday morning by Boca city police. Our research suggests he might be a Spanish River graduate. And maybe, just maybe there were some signs he might be at risk for a DUI:
Aletto was released later that morning. He apparently (and wisely from a lawyer’s perspective) refused to provide a breath sample. Mr. Aletto has over 20 cases in the county system already, though they appear to be from “only” 12 separate incidents.
Top center is Daniele Costa (39) arrested early Thursday morning, also by Boca PD. They report that she was involved in a crash at Yamato and Jog, which elevates the charge to include property damage. The PBSO blotter also indicates she was placed on some federal hold for 48 hours (possibly an immigration issue). Despite that, she was actually released about 24 hours after she was booked. Her reported address is in the Courtside Villas in Mission Bay. We see no prior cases for her in the courts.
Top right is Michael Garreffi (23), arrested a couple of hours after Mr. Aletto, also by Boca PD. His reported address is in the Indian Head subdivision of Loggers Run. He was released shortly afternoon the same day. He’s had a few traffic tickets over the past several years but nothing more serious before.
Jill McFadden (bottom left, 59) was picked up by Delray Beach police for DUI on Saturday, booked in the late afternoon, and released that evening. Her reported address is in the Island Lakes subdivision of Loggers Run. We only see one minor ticket in her past. You might want to consider contacting the Law Offices of Gary Rohlwing if you find yourself in a similar situation.
Jaime Saviano (bottom center, 55) of Sandalfoot Cove was arrested for DUI by deputies late Saturday and released early Sunday morning. He’s had several cases in the county, including a 2009 felony for oxycodone and trespassing that got him a short stint in the county jail. This happened on the same street as the home explosion last month.
Our last DUI case, bottom right, is Noah Milgrim (25) of Boca Falls. The West Boca High graduate is accused of a regular DUI, plus two felony counts for possession of drugs without a prescription. He was booked early this morning and last we checked he’s still in custody awaiting $6000 bond. We think he might be the same Noah Milgrim who was critically injured several months ago in a Fort Myers crash caused by another driver crossing over. From what little we can see, this might be a good kid having a bad run. Mr. Milgrim has has a few minor traffic tickets but we see nothing else. And those injuries might suggest he would have a valid reason to possession certain controlled substances, but without knowing more details we can’t say.