Case Results

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BATTERY (DVBATT)

A Husband & Wife were sharing some drinks at home together one evening, and unfortunately a misunderstanding arose and escalated quickly. Screaming ensued, accusations were made, and eventually – in the mistaken hope that police would CALM things down – the Husband called 911. He didn’t want his wife arrested, but she had scratched him and was refusing to leave or sleep it off. Police arrived, saw the scratches, and read Miranda to both husband and wife. They both claimed the other had pushed them or scratch them, but neither could remember the exact sequence of events. Police decided to arrest the husband!

          He was handcuffed, taken to jail, spent the night there, then saw the judge the next morning who set bond. BUT – the judge also, automatically, put in place a NO CONTACT ORDER with both the wife, and with the home address. So now the husband couldn’t talk to his wife, couldn’t communicate with his young children, and couldn’t return home.

          He hired ATLAS Defense to help him.

We were able to swiftly file a Motion to Lift the No Contact order, and clarify that the wife wanted to DROP CHARGES. The case was dismissed, and the family was reunited!

DUI

A woman was driving home from work late at night when she was stopped for speeding. The police officer aggressively questioned her about where she was coming form, had she been drinking, and claimed he could smell alcohol on her breath, and said she had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. She was shocked! She tried to cooperate -but her honesty was ignored. The officer made her do Field Sobriety Exercises -which everyone fails- and then arrested her! She cried and pleaded for mercy – none came.

          She was taken to the cold jail, in painfully tight handcuffs,  and then asked if she wanted to take the breathalyzer. She said yes! And blew 0.000 -meaning ZERO ALCOHOL in her system.

          But instead of being released- the officer said “well, you must be on drugs then.” And her embarrassment and humiliation continued- she gave them a urine sample, and still spent the night in jail.

          She hired ATLAS Defense to help her.

          We attended all her court dates for her, meticulously reviewed all the evidence, and were able to prove that the only drug in her system was a prescription medicine that she had been taking for years, in compliance with her doctor’s instructions. Ultimately, the case was dismissed, and she got to keep her job!

DRUG POSSESSION

Three friends were driving in a car when they were stopped by police. The driver allowed the police to search his car, and in an old wrinkled-up cigarette box found underneath the front passenger seat, there was a small Ziploc baggie of drugs. The car’s owner wasn’t one of the three people in it at that time, and the three people all denied knowing about the drugs. The police arrested all three people for felony possession of drugs, and took them to jail.

          The driver hired ATLAS Defense to help him.

          We looked at all the evidence and filed a Motion to Dismiss- arguing that there was no proof who the drugs belonged to. The prosecutor offered a reduction to a misdemeanor paraphernalia charge, but we held firm and rejected it. The result: case dismissed, and criminal record avoided!

THROWING DEADLY MISSILE

A very tall skyscraper condo building in the heart of downtown had beautiful outdoor patios that overlooked pedestrians walking by. One day, a pedestrian who was window-shopping got hit in the head by a plastic cigarette tray! He wasn’t hurt, but he was understandably upset. Police were called, and rummaged through nearby trash and litter on the street below. Among the many things they found, they came across an empty prescription bottle with the name of a resident at the skyscraper. Police gained access through the building manager and confronted the resident – who denied throwing anything at people. He admitted that earlier that week his guest had inadvertently knocked off some small items off the patio by mistake while drinking- but that happened at night several days ago. He adamantly denied intentionally throwing anything at anyone, ever.

          Police arrested him anyway- for a major, life-changing FELONY – throwing deadly missiles into a public place. He was facing up to 15 years in prison!

Thankfully, he hired ATLAS Defense to help him.

          We were able to argue that the investigation had many holes in it, that the police made many unfounded assumptions, and successfully got the case dismissed!

POSSESSION OF A GUN ON SCHOOL CAMPUS

A college student was living in off-campus apartments when he posted a photo of his bedroom on social media. Inside the room were his radio, his shoes, his textbooks -and his legally licensed firearm.  The photo did not show the gun being pointed at anyone, and did not contain any threats at all. It was simply a young 18 year old proudly showing off his college digs.

          Unfortunately, a fellow student saw it and reported him to the RA, who notified police. Police showed up and the student was extremely honest and cooperative. He invited them inside, showed them the unarmed handgun in its locked safe, with his CCW (Concealed Carry Weapon license), and answered all their questions.

          Unknown to the student was that these off-campus apartments were actually owned by the college. Which meant that technically, he had brought a gun to school. He was flabbergasted and dismayed, and apologized profusely. He was arrested anyway.

          Then, he hired ATLAS Defense to help him.

          We got to work immediately by showing how absurd this ownership loophole was, emphasized the lack of any threat, and obtained multiple character reference letters from friends, family members, teachers, and employers. Ultimately, because we acted swiftly and successfully persuaded the prosecutor to see this young man as more than this one incident, we were able to get all charges dismissed, so that he could stay in school and finish his college degree!

BREACH OF PEACE/DISORDERLY CONDUCT & RESISTING OFFICER WITHOUT VIOLENCE

A young man in the military was on leave and barhopping with friends. It was a big holiday weekend, and every place was packed. Someone else started banging on the expensive glass windows of a store, and police yelled at that person to stop. The military guy laughed at the chaos so the officer thought he was laughing at him. The officer told the military man to leave, and walk across the street. The young man refused, saying he hadn’t done anything wrong. It quickly became a power struggle, with both people yelling at each other. The officer got upset and impatient and arrested the young man for breach of peace/disorderly conduct, and resisting an officer without violence. 

          Thank fully, the young man was with friends, and one of them had been recording the verbal incident on his iPhone.

          The young man hired ATLAS defense to help.

          We quickly interviewed all the friends and people there that night, and obtained the video footage showing this arrest was based on perceived disrespect -not an actual violation of any law.
          By working quickly and using caselaw to help our argument, we convinced the prosecutor to dismiss all charges- which meant that the young man was able to continue serving our great country with honor!