Hillsborough Co. Authorities Arrest Hit-and-Run Suspect

Florida Highway Patrol investigators say a 20-year-old woman stuck and killed a bicyclist in November 2024 before fleeing the scene.

Investigators state that the woman was allegedly traveling in a red Dodge Charger with black rims, headed east down the highway. Meanwhile, the 19-year-old was traveling in the same direction.

West of 4th Street, the 20-year-old reportedly overtook and collided with the bicyclist. Troopers found parts from the front of the car at the scene of the crash, FHP said. The 19-year-old died from his injuries at the hospital.

Troopers arrested the woman after receiving “an in-depth CrimeStoppers tip,” the agency said. She was arrested on Monday more than a week after the hit-and-run happened and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail.

Informer Tips

For a Tampa criminal defense lawyer, reliability, not accuracy, is the critical issue in this area. Quite simply, unreliable tips are usually inadmissible. Any evidence police obtain as a result of that unreliable tip, such as a suspect’s confession, is fruit from a poisonous tree and also inadmissible.

Until recently, courts used a Supreme Court-created test to ascertain the reliability of a tip. Now, judges take a totality-of-the-circumstances approach.

• CrimeStopper Tips: Many CrimeStoppers tipsters are basically tattletales. Usually, they provide information about a crime to cause trouble for another person or possibly collect a reward. Not only do these tipsters have mixed motives, at best, they also don’t leave any contact information. If the tipster doesn’t vouch for the information provided, a court shouldn’t believe it.
• 9-1-1 Tips: These callers usually report crimes in progress or crimes that occurred within the last few minutes. So, they’re usually public safety tipsters instead of tattletales. Additionally, the system usually logs the caller’s name and other basic information, whether the caller provides it or not. So, 9-1-1 tips are much more reliable.
• Officer-Provided Tips: In terms of reliability, these tips are usually money in the bank, at least on the surface. Officers are trained observers and these tips are very common. For example, officer A might see a robbery in progress and send out a description of the suspect, and officer B makes an arrest. However, under cross-examination, a Tampa criminal defense lawyer often erodes the officer’s credibility.

Generally, a judge assesses reliability during a pretrial hearing, and a jury assesses accuracy during a trial.

Circumstantial Evidence

Evidence such as debris from a certain make and model vehicle is often compelling evidence in civil court, because the burden of proof is only a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). But in criminal court, the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt.

So, this week, circumstantial evidence is usually either inadmissible or not compelling. The same principle applies to weak circumstantial evidence in a DUI, such as an odor of alcohol on the defendant. Such evidence only proves alcohol consumption, at best.

The same principle also applies to most “scientific” evidence, like clothing fibers and tire marks. This evidence is far too generic. Similarly, a rape kit proves that two people had rough sex, but it doesn’t prove whether or not that sex was consensual.

Additionally, because of the high burden of proof, juries cannot connect the dots on their own. The prosecutor must use evidence to connect the dots and then show the completed picture to the jury.

Nevertheless, circumstantial evidence is often admissible in criminal court, and in many cases, prosecutors can obtain convictions with only such evidence. To blunt this effect, a Tampa criminal defense lawyer typically creates an alternative narrative or offers an alibi.

Connect With a Savvy Hillsborough County Attorney

A criminal charge is not the same thing as a criminal conviction. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Tampa, contact the OA Law Firm. We routinely handle matters in Pinellas County and nearby jurisdictions.

Source:

wtsp.com/article/news/crime/florida-woman-arrested-hit-and-run-killed-biciyslist-hillsborough-county/67-b21729d6-dcfa-4216-a975-f56af871cc33