Criminal Defense 
Case Results

2022:  the client was involved in a road rage incident and stabbed his assailant.  After a stand your ground hearing, the judge entered an order of dismissal.

2021: The client was accused of defrauding a homeowner who had paid several hundred thousand dollars for a construction project. At the jury trial, cross examination of the homeowner revealed that she had withheld documents from the police and lied about the terms of the contract. The judge dismissed the case.

2009: The victims identified the client as having robbed them at gunpoint and pistol-whipped them during a home invasion. The client confessed. After a three-day trial, the jury agreed with the defense that the weapon was a BB pistol. The robbery charges were reduced and the remaining counts were reduced to misdemeanors.

2007: While engaged in a struggle at a nightclub, the victim alleged that the client threw a glass at him and caused serious injury to his mouth. During cross-examination, the victim's credibility was successfully attacked.

2006: During a vacation in Central Florida, the client's wife called 911 and ran screaming from the hotel room covered with blood. The wife was cross-examined for two days and it was conclusively shown that she had concocted the entire crime in order to gain an advantage in divorce court. After a ten-day trial, the jury acquitted after one hour of deliberation.

2006: The police observed the client driving erratically and took a statement that he had been drinking beer. The client performed field sobriety exercises but refused a breath test.

2006: After being stopped for speeding, the client performed field sobriety exercises and submitted to a breath test. The breath test was thrown out and the jury determined that the client was not impaired.

2006: The client was stopped by Altamonte Springs police and videotaped performing field sobriety exercises.

2006: The client was accused of molesting a young girl in a salon. After a two-day trial, the jury acquitted on all counts.

2006: The client and a co-defendant were accused of requesting a ride and then stabbing the driver. During the three-day trial, it was proved that the co-defendant had acted alone.

2009: After being stopped for speeding at over 100 mph, the client performed field sobriety exercises. The police testified that the client failed the exercises and refused a breath test.

2008: During a meeting with his estranged wife in a crowded parking lot, the client confined her and attempted to slash her throat, inflicting several wounds. After a three-day jury trial, the jury found him guilty of the lesser crime of attempted second-degree murder. At sentencing, the judge considered expert psychological testimony about the client’s mental state and imposed a significantly reduced sentence. The case is currently on appeal.

2007: The client was arrested while allegedly handing 500 grams of cocaine to a confidential informant. After the cross-examination of the informant during the trial, the prosecutor offered a sentence of probation. Because the minimum sentence was 15 years in prison, the client accepted.

2007: The charges arose from a tragic traffic accident where the client struck two pedestrians, causing a death. Although the client left the scene of the accident, he returned at a later time.

2009: The client and a codefendant met with a confidential informant and sold two ounces of cocaine. The client was the driver. After the jury was selected, the judge sustained an objection that prevented the State from calling a crucial witness. Rather than go forward, the State agreed to a sentence of two years of probation.

2020:The client was involved in an accident and performed poorly on field sobriety exercises. Because the exercises were improperly given, the officers agreed that the results were invalid.

2019: After an accident, the client left the scene while other drivers followed and described her as ‘drunk’. She performed field sobriety exercises and, after arrest, refused a breath test.

2018: The client was arrested after causing an accident and performing poorly in field sobriety exercises. The defense successfully argued that the signs of impairment were due to an anxiety attack.

2017: A Lake County high school teacher was accused of molesting a student. When the case was reduced to battery, the State unable to prove that the acts were against the will of the student.

2017: The police executed a search warrant and arrested the client at an apartment where large amounts of cocaine were hidden. The client gave a confession and his fingerprints were found on the packaging. At the jury trial, the defense showed that the confession was the result of police threats and also proved that the cocaine belonged to someone else.

2016: The client was arrested for stealing from Home Depot and struggling with security guards. The State charged one count of Robbery and filed for mandatory sentencing of 15 years in the event of a conviction. After a three-day trial, the court held that there was insufficient proof that the defendant had taken anything and there was no evidence that he had been the aggressor with regard to any force used.

2016: The State’s evidence in the case included a wiretap and also twenty-four-hour video surveillance. The trial court suppressed (threw out) the wiretap evidence and the State appealed. After the appellate court upheld the ruling the State proceeded to trial nonetheless with the video recordings and co-defendant testimony. The cross-examination of the main State witness showed him to be not credible.

2016: After a 9-month investigation that included multiple wiretaps and surveillance, the client was charged with conspiracy and trafficking in cocaine. At trial, the defense was able to discredit the entire investigation.

2016: The client’s telephone was tapped in a lengthy investigation by MBI. After defects in the wiretap were exposed, the judge suppressed the evidence; however, the appellate court reversed. The case then went to trial; however, during the trial, objections by the defense succeeded in preventing the State from proving its case. As a result, the State dropped the case.

2015: The State charged the owner of a Pain Clinic with conspiracy and trafficking charges after using confidential informants to purchase opiates and executing a search warrant on the business. After a five-day jury trial, the judge suppressed the client’s statements and dismissed all of the charges for insufficient evidence.

2014: The client shot and killed her boyfriend in her home and after a search warrant uncovered additional evidence, she was charged with first-degree murder. The judge agreed that the search was illegal and, as a result, the evidence of premeditation was thrown out. The judge then dismissed the first-degree murder charge, but the state refiled second-degree murder. After an 11-day jury trial, the client was acquitted.

2014: In a highly publicized case in Seminole County involving a shootout where three members of a biker gang were killed, the client was charged with three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. In a ten-day jury trial, the judge dismissed one count of murder. The client was found not guilty of two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after the jury was convinced that he acted in self-defense. There was a ‘hung jury’ on the remaining attempted murder count; however, Mr. LaFay has since won a motion on it and the State is now appealing.

2014: The client was accused of attempting to run over a police officer with a car and was charged with a crime that carries a minimum of three years in prison. The jury acquitted the client of all felonies and found him guilty of a traffic offense of reckless driving.

2012: The client failed his breath test and sobriety exercises. The judge threw out the breath test and the client proceeded to trial.

2007: The victim alleged that she was raped by her massage therapist. After a two-day trial, the jury acquitted on all counts.

2007: The client was arrested for DUI after a serious accident on I-4. He was videotaped at the roadside and refused a breath test.

2014: In a white-collar case, the client was charged with stealing $40,000 from his employer while he was employed as a bookkeeper. In an aggressive approach, the defense announced that it was ready for trial 20 days after the charges were filed. During the trial, the business-owner victim was completely discredited on cross-examination.

2013: The defendant was stopped for a traffic offense and admitted that drugs in the vehicle were for “personal use.” At jury trial, the court dismissed the case because the State was unable to prove that the defendant legally possessed the drugs in that there was no evidence that he “controlled” them.

2012: The client was charged in federal court with two counts of bribery after several tape-recorded meetings with an ICE undercover agent. Although $10,000 was given to the agent, the jury was convinced that the client acted under the domination of her husband.

2012: In three separate cases, the police got search warrants aimed at residences where cannabis was being cultivated. All of the search warrants were thrown out after the judge agreed that the police had illegally entered the property.

2011: After being stopped by the police, the client was unable to perform field sobriety exercises and gave a .29 breath test. The Court threw out the breath test due to source code violations and the jury disbelieved the arresting officer.

2011: The client refused to perform field sobriety exercises and did not take a breath test. Although the police claimed that she refused to obey their orders, the officer gave conflicting testimony on cross-examination.

2011: After a one-car accident in Lake County, the client failed to perform field sobriety exercises and was arrested. At trial, defense experts testified that he was suffering from a concussion.

2010: The defendant's niece claimed that he had molested her as a child approximately fifteen years ago and that she had informed family members about it at the time. At the trial, family members did confirm that it had been reported, but the alleged victim was otherwise completely discredited on cross-examination.

2010: The police executed a search warrant and apprehended the defendant with a significant amount of heroin in his pocket and also in his room. The defendant admitted that the heroin belonged to him. The jury agreed with the defense that the heroin in the room was not the defendant's and he received a significantly lesser sentence as a result.

2010: The defendant was involved in a boating accident that involved the death of a person in the other boat. A blood test indicated that the defendant was over the legal limit. At trial, the defense was able to show that the defendant did not cause the accident and the jury acquitted him of BUI Manslaughter and found the defendant guilty of the misdemeanor of Boating Under the Influence (BUI).