Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

When Jason Jackson was two years old, his mother’s boyfriend killed her, then shot Jason in the head before shooting himself. Jason survived the shooting, but it cost him his mobility on the right side of his body.

Jason’s grandfather, Duncan Jackson, took custody of his disabled grandchild, and has refused to let Jason’s disabilities get in the way of his education or self-confidence. So Jackson enrolled Jason in Jump Start Strings, a program offered by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in conjunction with Communities in Schools. Jason has learned to play the violin, and built his self-esteem through a program that focuses on what he can do rather than what he can’t.

Grandparents are increasingly taking on the roll of primary caregiver for children across the country. Census figures reveal that 8 percent of children in the US – 5.7 million –are living with their grandparents rather than their parents. Unfortunately, grandparents are usually called on to step in when violence or crime takes a parent out of the picture, like in the case of Duncan and Jason Jackson. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 1.5 million American children have at least one parent behind bars, and the number of women in prison has increased fifty seven percent between 1995 and 2005.

In Jason Jackson’s case, he is very lucky to have a loving grandparent to take custody of him, and take such an interest in his well-being. You can read more about Jason’s story at Grandparents often forced to become parents, again.

If you are involved in a divorce or child custody negotiation, please contact our Jacksonville, Florida divorce law firm.

According to Lt. Derrick Lewis of the Jacksonville, Florida Sherriff’s Office, a man named Rico McMillan was allegedly engaged in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend when he began battering her and threatening her with a gun in front of their three children. He later barricaded himself inside the home, which is on Pasco Street in downtown Jacksonville, just a few blocks from Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. He apparently allowed the woman and children to leave before he barricaded himself into the house; they were not inside when police arrived.

Just after midnight, the SWAT team arrived and became engaged in a standoff with McMillan. Eight hours later, the standoff finally ended and police were able to enter the house and arrest McMillan without incident, just as the Gate River Run was getting underway a few blocks away. He has been charged with a single count of aggravated battery.

People involved in a relationship can become very irrational when they are angry. All too often that anger can explode into violence. Even though no one was injured in this domestic violence incident, the possibility was certainly there for someone to get hurt or even killed.

If you are the victim of domestic abuse, you should seek help immediately, and then contact our Jacksonville, Florida divorce law firm.

Read more about this incident at Law & Disorder: SWAT team ends 8-hour standoff.

Arnold Rice Sharkey, a veteran officer of the Jacksonville police force, was arrested recently and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and domestic aggravated assault. Officer Sharkey allegedly used his Chevrolet as a weapon against his estranged wife, Victoria Sharkey, and her brother.

According to Ms. Sharkey, who filed for divorce in January of 2009, Sharkey visited her at her place of employment earlier in the afternoon that same day. He later drove by her office again just after five pm and then parked down the street from the entrance to the building.

When her brother picked her up from work at 5:30 pm, Sharkey allegedly attempted to block Ms. Sharkey and her brother from leaving with his car, then went around behind their vehicle and pursued them down New Berlin Road, bumping their vehicle from behind. After bumping the vehicle three times, Sharkey’s vehicle flipped over and landed in a ditch.

Sharkey was taken to Shands Jacksonville for treatment of his injuries, and was later taken to jail. Sharkey told police that he went to see his wife because of a custody dispute; he said that she was not allowing him to see their children, and he hoped to convince her to take him to see them.

Read more about this alleged incident of domestic violence over child visitation issues at Jacksonville officer charged in ramming vehicle in domestic incident.

If you are involved in a divorce or child custody negotiation, please contact our Jacksonville, Florida divorce law firm.

Christopher Stokes and Richard Douglas snatched an eight year old child from his father’s arms and then called police to ask if they were acting in accordance with the law. Apparently, the child’s mother, Laporsha Davis, believed that her estranged husband and child were homeless and living on the streets, so she asked the two men to take the child away from him.

The two approached George J. Davis as he stepped out of a cab. They demanded that he hand over the child, and when he refused they grabbed the boy and drove off with him. Davis recognized one of the men as a friend of his wife’s. He called his brother, who then called 911. Davis told police that he had actually been on the phone with Ms. Davis when the abduction took place. She had told him that she was planning to take the child away because she believed that he was not taking proper care of him.

When police contacted Ms. Davis, she admitted to asking the men to take the child, but did not want to tell police where they had taken him or contact them to ask them to return him. An hour after the kidnapping, a 911 operator received an anonymous call from a man inquiring about Florida child custody law. He asked if a parent could give verbal consent to give up custody of a child or if "there was paperwork involved." The operator told him it was felony kidnapping and he hung up.

Police were able to track the cell phone the caller used to find the two men and the child. The men are facing felony charges of interfering with child custody. Find out more details of this child custody battle at Police: Men snatched child from dad at I-Drive motel.

If you are involved in a child custody negotiation, please contact our Jacksonville, Florida divorce law firm.