FORT LAUDERDALE CRIMINAL LAWYER UPDATE: Gang Crime and Racketeering Charges - Sentences Increasing
Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach County criminal law defendants charged with the crimes of racketeering or other criminal gang activity might ask their Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorneys about increased local "gang crime" prosecutions and the severe Florida state prison sentences being applied in these cases. As illustrated below, Palm Beach law enforcement's continued campaign to combat gang activity and its related violence is continuing unabated. 
Specifically, two members of an alleged criminal gang were convicted by a Palm Beach County jury on criminal charges of racketeering. The two men, both of Lake Worth (which is located in Palm Beach County), were indicted in June and proceeded to felony criminal trial as early as this week. They are now facing many, many years in prison. Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyers expect Fort Lauderdale Broward County gang crime cases to be pursued just as vigorously.
The two men were among 12 other alleged gang members who were arrested earlier this year during a coordinated anti-gang operation by multiple jurisdictions. The specific charges against these men related to the sale of narcotics, allegations of violent crime, as well as gun charges including the possession of firearms as convicted felons and the possession of firearms with altered or removed serial numbers.
A Palm Beach County jury returned guilty verdicts against one of the men for criminal racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, two counts of possession of paraphernalia, resisting without violence, and possessing forged notes, bills, checks, or drafts. He now faces up to 77 years in prison when sentenced.
The other defendant, who was also convicted of criminal racketeering, faces at least up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced in the near future. Additional alleged gang members are still awaiting trial on similar charges.
The case was prosecuted in the 15th Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County. Judge Karen Miller presided over the case.
