West Boca High? Weapons, Drugs and Minors

Story updated below regarding the aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge against Paul Maimon. Also, in addition to the comments on this post, there are numerous comments on the Facebook post.

West Boca High’s Thomas “Tommy” Covella (left, 18), Joseph “Joey” Lutz (center, 18) and Rafael Juarez (right, 19) were all booked within 5 minutes of each other early Tuesday morning after being arrested by PBSO deputies. All three are charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Covella is also charged with concealed carry of a weapon. Lutz and Juarez are accused of possessing drug equipment and Lutz is also accused of possessing marijuana with intent to sell, manufacture or distribute. That last one gets Lutz into felony territory, and meant he got to spend an extra seven hours in custody. All were released the same day.
Juarez apparently advocates no jail for marijuana. We generally agree, though we don’t approve of sharing it with minors. That should stay illegal.
From Miami, Juarez is scheduled to graduate from West Boca this year and is or was a member of Calvary West Boca. Lutz was a solid baseball player when he was younger and another fan of legalizing marijuana. Covella is originally from the Rochester, New York area, likes hockey, and sadly for him he’s a Bills fan. Here in Florida he may have been involved with the Sheriff’s Eagle Academy for troubled teens. Two of the young men live near Sandalfoot just west of 441, while the third lives in Boca Winds.
The three were in a van just south of Boca Lyons Plaza, with a fourth young male who is the minor to whose delinquency they’re all accused of contributing. The arresting officer said he smelled marijuana in the probable cause affidavit. Covella had metal nunchucks, an Asian martial arts weapon.
Lutz had over $500 in cash on him. Drugs and equipment found in the van included a “large water bong,” a metal grinder, a scale and a zip lock with over 75 grams of marijuana.
It’s unclear why they were in that neighborhood, and why Covella was not charged with a DUI for driving while impaired by drugs.
Lutz had a “retail theft” charge from October that was dropped by prosecutors. Juarez had a marijuana and loitering/prowling charges a year ago that were dropped by prosecutors. Covella has no prior criminal history in the county records.

Warren Redlich, founder of West Boca News, is a criminal defense and personal injury lawyer who handles cases in Florida and New York. He can be reached at 888-RED-LAWYER (888-733-5299), or by e-mail at [email protected]. All arrestees are innocent until proven guilty.

Paul Maimon (above left, 25) was booked Wednesday morning for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and released Thursday evening. His reported address is southeast of the corner of SW 3rd and 441. He has connections in Coral Springs and also in Israel. Court records show a previous battery charge in 2012 that was dropped by prosecutors. We are working to get more information on this case.
Update: We obtained the probable cause affidavit. Mr. Maimon is accused of threatening his father with a large “paver” stone, because the father would not let him use the car. This occurred at approximately 2:30 am on Wednesday morning. The case is being treated as a domestic incident.
Guillermo Cartagena (right, 35) was booked early Thursday morning for simple battery. He has not been released yet. The case is being treated as a domestic battery. FDLE records show that he is wanted by Broward County for a probation violation. Broward court records show four different felony cases against Mr. Cartagena dating back to 2008. Three of them (aggravated stalking, grand theft, and possession of heroin) were resolved in 2010 with probation. His reported address is west of 441 between Winikoff and Sandalfoot.