Priest Faces Criminal Charges After Altercation At Hurricane Relief Event
Charges of battery apply whenever you inflict physical violence on someone else. If you plead not guilty to charges of battery, it can work in your favor that you look like you could never even harm a fly, especially if your criminal defense lawyer plays up this angle. Remember that all you have to do if you are trying to get acquitted of a criminal charge is to cast doubt on the prosecution’s allegations. You do not have to prove definitively that you did not do it; instead, you must only leave the jury unsure that things happened exactly the way the prosecution says they did, or that your actions, even if there is abundant evidence of them, fit all the elements of the definition of the crime with which the state is charging you. If you are a young man with lots of reasons to be angry, you face an uphill battle in persuading the jury that you are not a violent person, but the task is easier if you are an elderly member of the clergy. If you are an elderly person being accused of battery or another violence crime, contact a Tampa criminal defense lawyer.
When Ostensibly Harmless Seniors Come to Blows
Earlier this year, St. Kevin’s Catholic Parish in Miami-Dade County held a donation drive for people in Cuba who had been displaced by recent hurricanes. Fr. Jesus Gabriel Saldana, a priest at St. Kevin’s, was working at the donation site in the church parking lot, receiving donations from parishioners and visitors. An elderly woman brought some items to donate, and after Fr. Saldana took them from her, she took a picture of a poster at the site. Fr. Saldana was upset, because of the politically sensitive nature of the poster, and he asked the woman not to photograph it. The woman asked for her donation back, and the situation escalated.
Fr. Saldana followed the woman to her car, and in an effort to stop her from driving away, he ripped off the car’s rear view mirror and damaged the gear shift. The woman bit his arm in self-defense. He also took the woman’s purse out of the car and dumped its contents out on the ground, trying to find the phone.
Fr. Saldana, 72, is facing criminal charges for battery against a person above the age of 65, as well as for criminal mischief and for property damage valued at less than $200. He was booked into the Miami-Dade County jail, but he was released shortly after, on a $7,500 bond. The penalties for battery against an elderly person are more serious than the charges for battery against a younger adult.
Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven
A criminal defense lawyer can help you get justice if you are facing criminal charges for battery because of a routine social interaction that escalated into violence. Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.
Source:
nbcmiami.com/news/local/pastor-at-st-kevins-catholic-parish-arrested-on-multiple-charges/3725051/
