Roughly 16 years ago, Nick Hogan, son of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, was involved in a horrible car accident that left a man injured for life. Now, Hogan is in the news again for another incident on the road.

What did Hogan do, and what is he charged with?

A Second Hogan Driving Arrest in Florida

In the early hours of Saturday, November 18, 2023, police in Clearwater, Florida, were conducting a traffic stop when a Dodge Ram began approaching them.

The officers were on the side of Gulf to Bay Boulevard when they signaled to the driver to move into the lane away from them. But the car did not adhere to their directions. According to an arrest affidavit, officers also detected that the vehicle was going 51 mph in a 40 mph zone.

The officers went after the vehicle and pulled the driver over for a violation of the Move Over law. Move Over is a Florida law that requires drivers to move over a lane (when drivers can safely do so) and slow down when approaching stopped law enforcement and maintenance vehicles with displayed warning lights.

The stop ended with Nick Hogan and a DUI.

Related: Stopped and Arrested for a DUI in Florida? Here’s What to Do Next  

Nick Hogan Arrested for DUI

Nick Hogan, legal name Nicholas Bollea, was driving the Dodge Ram that drove past officers. Officers quickly suspected that the son of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan was under the influence.

According to WFLA reporting, officers said Hogan was, “swaying and unsteady, had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage and had bloodshot, glassy eyes.”

After officers asked Hogan to take a breathalyzer and he refused, they conducted a field sobriety test.

He failed and was charged with driving under the influence. Hogan was taken into custody and later released on a $500 bond.

This incident is not the first time that Hogan’s driving has put him in criminal trouble.

Related: What to Expect From a First Offense DUI

A History of Reckless Driving

In 2007, Hogan faced serious criminal and civil charges after he wrecked his car in Clearwater, Florida.

When he was 17-years-old, Hogan crashed his Toyota Supra into a palm tree. According to reports, Hogan was racing with his friend who was in a Dodge Viper when he lost control.

Road conditions were poor, and Hogan fishtailed and spun across the road before hitting a palm tree. Hogan sustained minor injuries. His passenger, John Graziano, was not wearing his seatbelt and sustained serious injuries that would require him to require nursing care for the rest of his life.

Hogan was charged with reckless driving involving serious bodily injury. He was also charged with being a driver under 21 operating a vehicle with a breath-alcohol content of 0.02 percent or higher, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

At that time, Bollea pled no contest to the reckless driving charge. He was sentenced to eight months in county jail and five years of probation. It does not appear that there were any alcohol-related charges related to his sentence, which means the November 2023 DUI will be considered Hogan’s first DUI.

Hogan also faced charges in civil court for the 2007 accident. Graziano’s family sued Hogan, as well as his father Hulk Hogan, in a personal injury lawsuit. Graziano was left paralyzed and will need care for the rest of his life. The civil suit reportedly ended with a $1.5 million settlement.

Related: Types of Personal Injury Cases: Do You Have a Claim? 

What Consequences Does Hogan Face?

Hogan now faces criminal charges for the recent DUI.

In Florida, there is no minimum jail time for a first-time DUI. Jail time can be up to six months for a first offense if:

• The driver had a very high BAC
• There was a passenger under 18
• Property was damaged during the incident
• Someone was injured during the incident

First offense DUIs usually involve fines. In Florida, violators can expect to pay around $500-$1,000 in fines.

Because no one was injured in the incident, Hogan will not face any potential liability for a civil lawsuit in this case.

Related: What’s the Difference Between a Civil and Criminal Case? 

A DUI Is a Serious Matter. Talk to an Attorney Right Away

A DUI can lead to serious consequences. If you or a loved one have been charged with driving under the influence, talk to an attorney right away. An experienced DUI attorney can ensure that you get fair due process under the law while fighting for your rights at every step of the way.

If you have a case to review, talk to TJ Grimaldi today.  Request your consultation or call 813-226-1023.

It was supposed to be an enjoyable night for hundreds of people in Tampa, Florida. Party-goers,  many in costumes, filled the streets of Ybor City on the Saturday before Halloween, and then gunshots rang out.

What led to a shooting that left 16 people injured and two dead? And who is responsible for the shots that littered the street?

A Night Ends with Gunshots

When the bars and nightclubs began to close on October 29, 2023, in Ybor City, a nightlife and entertainment district in Tampa, Florida, hundreds of people filled the streets. The main street, 7th Avenue, was shut down to accommodate the rush of people leaving at closing time.

It was almost 3 a.m., and groups of people, many of them dressed in Halloween costumes, gathered in the street near Tangra Nightclub and Centro Ybor.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, it was around this time when two groups began to have an altercation.

Tyrell Stephen Phillips, 22, says he waved at a friend he saw in the distance when several young men approached him in an “aggressive manner.” One person took a “fighting stance,” and a second spat at him. He said a third person reached toward his waistband. Phillips says he thought the person was reaching for a gun, so he pulled out his.

Phillips later admitted to police that he shot his gun two times.

Phillip’s shots ignited a scene of chaos, and police believe at least two other people fired guns in response to the shooting, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times.

Multiple videos on social media show the distressing scene. People fell to the ground. Some ran for cover. Sixteen people were injured — fifteen with gunshot wounds — and two were left dead.

Who Fired the Shots?

Roughly 50 police officers had been patrolling the area at the time of the shooting. Their response was quick, but they are still struggling to uncover exactly what happened.

It was immediately clear that two people were seriously injured. Harrison Boonstoppel, 20, an innocent bystander who was not involved in the altercation, was shot three times and rushed to the hospital where he would later die from his injuries.

A teenager, 14-year-old Elijah Wilson died on the scene.

At the scene, Phillips approached police and said he was one of the people who fired shots. He explained to officers that he thought he was acting in self-defense. Police found a loaded Glock 29 10mm pistol in his front waist pocket. Phillips said he fired two shots, and police later found three shell casings that matched his gun.

Phillips said Wilson was one of the people who confronted him. Police found a loaded gun on Wilson, but the weapon was still holstered and appeared to be unused.

In total, seventeen people were shot that night. Police say Phillips and at least two other people fired guns that filled the streets with bullets. Now, they are trying to determine who fired the other guns. 

Related: If You’re Arrested for a Crime, Immediately Take These 6 Steps

Searching for More Shooters

Security cam and social media footage have given police a collection of videos to review.

Police say one video confirms that Wilson is the one who spat at Phillips. While the video doesn’t show Wilson make a move to draw his gun, it does show another one of the young men with him appear to make a motion toward his waistband.

There was enough evidence to charge Phillips with second-degree murder in the death of Wilson.

Police are now trying to determine who else fired shots that night and who is responsible for the death of Boonstoppel.

The Tampa Bay Police Department has partnered with the FBI to create a website where citizens can submit tips and upload photos and videos that can help investigators identify other shooters. Police have also released a video that shows multiple individuals police would like to question about the incident.

If you have questions about a pending criminal case, schedule a call with TJ Grimaldi. Request your consultation or call 813-226-1023.

Supporting Those Impacted by Gun Violence

As the Executive Director and a Board Member of The Oulson Family Foundation, TJ Grimaldi works to support young people impacted by gun violence. The Oulson Family Foundation is a non-profit that was created to honor the life and legacy of Chad Oulson. Oulson’s life ended too soon after a senseless act of gun violence.

The Oulson Family Foundation helps children get the resources they need in the wake of being impacted by gun violence. Learn more about The Oulson Family Foundation and see how you can help support children impacted by gun violence.

Florida Highway Troopers are on patrol — in Texas. Why did Florida Governor Ron DeSantis send Florida officials to Texas, and how does this tie into his approach to immigration?

Declaring a State of Emergency

In 2023, Ron DeSantis started the year by declaring a state of emergency related to illegal immigration.

In January 2023, the governor called in the Florida National Guard and issued an executive order that directed state agencies to help patrol the water around the Florida Keys after roughly 500 Cubans and 130 Haitians arrived on shore in the last week of 2022, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times.

Funding for the efforts came from an “Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund” that gave DeSantis $500 million to use at his discretion to deal with emergencies.

DeSantis’s $500 Million Emergency Fund

DeSantis received the emergency fund in February 2022 when Florida legislators passed a bill that gave DeSantis direct access to $500 million he could use in times of emergency. The fund removed the need for Florida state legislators to be involved with and review how the money is used.

As of July 2023, DeSantis had spent at least $15.2 million of the fund to address immigration issues.

According to reporting by the Tampa Bay Times, $4.5 million was used to support the Florida National Guard’s response to a state of emergency DeSantis declared in January 2023, and $10.7 million was used to respond to a separate state of emergency he declared back in 2021.

This spending is in addition to another $3.3 million DeSantis spent — in Texas.

Spending Millions on Immigration in Texas

Not all of the emergency funding has been spent in Florida. In June 2023, DeSantis used $3.3 million of the emergency fund to cover the cost of sending resources to the southern border in Texas.

After Texas Governor Greg Abbott requested assistance from other states to help support border security efforts in his state, Florida and nine other states responded to his call.

DeSantis announced that he would send over 1,100 assets to Texas. Resources included 101 Florida Highway Patrol Troopers, 200 Florida Department of Law Enforcement Officers, 20 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officers, and 800 Florida National Guard Soldiers.

Florida officials were sent to Texas and given “the same arrest and law enforcement powers, rights, and privileges while operating within the state limits of Texas as are ordinarily afforded law enforcement forces of the State of Texas,” records show.

It’s reported that the efforts will cost Florida $3.3 million. In most cases, states are reimbursed when sending emergency assistance to other states, but Abbott requested assisting states to “absorb associated costs with this mission in support of the entire country,” per reports.

The situation isn’t the first time DeSantis has spent millions on immigration in Texas. In 2021, DeSantis sent Florida law enforcement officers and equipment to the border in Texas. The cost is estimated to have been around $1.6 million.

The DeSantis administration also reportedly spent at least $615,000 in Texas in September 2022 when his administration chartered planes to take migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The funds to pay for the transportation were taken from a $12 million state budget set aside to transport unauthorized migrants out of Florida — although the migrants were removed from Texas, not Florida.

Success or Scrutiny at the Southern Border?

There is little reported about what Florida personnel at the Southern border are doing or responsible for. The DeSantis administration says Florida’s support has helped Texas deal with the crisis at the border. Yet, Florida’s involvement in Texas has also come under some scrutiny.

Reports of mistreatment of immigrants at the border have brought questions as to the involvement of Florida’s officials.

Also in September, a video of a Florida Highway Patrol officer went viral after it was posted to TikTok. In the video, an officer in a Florida Highway Patrol vehicle is seen stopping a 36-year-old man and asking him for identification in Texas. The man informs the Florida officer that Texas law only requires individuals to show their ID to a police officer under certain conditions, which were not met during the interaction. The Florida officer eventually drove away. It is an incident that critics say highlights the confusion of having Florida officers acting in another state.

Talk to an Experienced Immigration Attorney

Immigration law in the United States is vast and complex. If you are dealing with an immigration case, talk to an experienced immigration attorney right away.

Schedule a free case review with TJ Grimaldi. Ask questions, share the details of your circumstances, and get clarity and assurance from an experienced attorney. We understand that dealing with immigration can be confusing, which is why we offer flat-fee pricing for our immigration law cases. Schedule your consultation or call 813-226-1023 now.

The story depicted in the Netflix documentary, “Take Care of Maya” is now playing out live in a Florida courtroom. What led to the documentary and now, a $220 million dollar lawsuit over the care — or lack of care — for a ten-year-old girl?

A Sick Little Girl

The parents of Maya Kowalski were at a loss when their daughter started showing unusual symptoms that left her in excruciating pain and struggling to walk. Maya suffered from headaches, asthma attacks, and painful lesions that formed on her arms and legs.

The family finally found some relief when an anesthesiologist and pharmacologist in Tampa, Florida, Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, diagnosed Maya with complex regional pain syndrome (CPRS).

CPRS is a type of chronic pain that usually affects an arm or a leg.

Dr. Kirkpatrick specialized in CRPS and built a treatment plan for Maya that included the use of the anesthetic drug ketamine through infusions. The treatment helped Maya with her symptoms, but roughly a year into the treatment, Maya had a flare-up that led her parents to bring her to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.

In October 2016, Maya, who was ten at the time, was admitted to the hospital. Her parents attempted to explain her diagnosis and treatment plan to doctors, but the hospital team didn’t seem to agree with their explanation.

Related: Dealing With the Media During a High-Profile Case: What to Expect

Questions of Child Abuse

When Maya’s parents, Jack and Beata Kowalski, asked for Maya to receive additional ketamine treatments, the hospital staff was skeptical. The Kowalskis asked for Maya to be discharged so they could take her to another facility, and the hospital refused. Staff contacted Sally Smith, the medical director of the county’s child protection team, and gave her access to Maya’s medical records, according to Fox 13.

Smith filed a report that questioned Maya’s mother’s mental health and whether Maya was faking or receiving unnecessary meditation.

Six days later, a judge ruled that Maya wasn’t allowed to be discharged to her family or another treatment facility. She was placed into state custody and ordered to not have contact with her mother while the case was being investigated.

The report accused Maya’s mom, a registered nurse, of Munchausen by proxy, a mental illness and a form of child abuse in which the caretaker of a child makes up fake symptoms or causes real symptoms to make it look like the child is sick.

Related: 11 Examples of Medical Malpractice Case Worth Fighting For

A Painful Separation

Maya was held at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for three months without any in-person interaction with her mother.

The separation was painful for both Maya and her family.

The lawsuit claims Maya was “held captive.” The family’s attorney Gregory Anderson told The Daily Mail, “These events amount to an abduction, incarceration and abuse of a ten-year-old girl. Her parents were irreparably defamed and damaged.“

Anderson also says the three months spent at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital held Maya back from receiving immediate relief and will have a long-term impact on her disorder. He said they “removed all proven therapies and treated her as a psychiatric patient. As a consequence, her CRPS is now a threat to her life and will manifest over her ’30s, early ’50s with more frequent, longer duration and more severe and painful events.”

The separation also had tragic consequences for Maya’s mother.

After the separation, Maya’s mother was diagnosed with a depressive mood and adjustment disorder. After months of being separated from her daughter, Beata committed suicide.

Related: Examples of Wrongful Death Cases Worth Fighting For

An Exoneration, a Documentary, and a Trial

Shortly after Maya’s mother Beata took her own life, the order to keep Maya from her family was lifted. The Kowalskis were exonerated on January 14, 2017, after the hospital found that Maya’s condition failed to get better and determined that her mother was not causing her symptoms, according to reporting by Tampa Bay Times.

In 2017, the Kowalskis retained AndersonGlenn LLP, and they filed a lawsuit in 2018. They have been fighting to get justice ever since.

Their story was recently shared in the Netflix documentary, “Take Care of Maya” which came out in June 2023. And now, their case has finally made it to trial.

The Kowalskis previously sued Dr. Sally Smith and her employer, Suncoast Advocacy Services Kowalskis, and won $2.5 million in a settlement.

Now, the Kowalskis are seeking $220 million in damages from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, $55 million in compensatory and $165 million in punitive damages. They say they will need medical care and therapy for the rest of their lives for Maya, her father Jack, and her brother Kyle.

Family members, doctors, and nurses will testify as a jury determines whether or not Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital is at fault for keeping Maya away from her family.

Related: How Do You Sue for Wrongful Death? 

Protect Your Family & Fight For Justice

If you or a member of your family was mistreated by medical staff in a way that led to physical, emotional, or financial damages, you deserve justice. A personal injury attorney or a wrongful death attorney can guide your family on a path to recovery. If you have a case to review, get a free consultation with TJ Grimaldi. Request your consultation or call 813-226-1023.

A tragic accident is ending with criminal charges. Find out why a mother who failed to properly restrain her child in a car seat is now facing manslaughter charges months after a tragic crash.

A Terrible Accident

On the night of March 5, 2023, 21-year-old Nevaeh Goldsborough was driving her Hyundai Sonata on the Selmon Expressway in Tampa, Florida. In the car with her were three small children, including her 11-month-old son, and a 27-year-old man.

Under Florida law, each child in the car should have been properly restrained in the vehicle. Any child under the age of five is required to be seated in a crash-tested, federally-approved child restraint.

Around 11:35 p.m., Goldsborough is said to have been driving recklessly. As her vehicle approached the 50th Street exit on the Selmon Expressway, the car was going 26 mph over the speed limit. Goldsborough’s car then crashed into a guardrail before going into another lane of traffic where it collided with a Hyundai Sonata.

Goldsborough and all three children were thrown from the vehicle.

An investigation would later find that none of the children were properly restrained in the vehicle, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times.

Related: Injured in a Car Accident? Here’s What You Need to Do Right Away.

The Tragic Consequences

Goldsborough’s adult passenger, the 2-year-old boy in her car, and the two adult passengers in the Hyundai Sonata sustained minor injuries.

Goldsborough was seriously injured along with the two other children in her vehicle. The 4-year-old girl in the car recovered, but the 11-month-old died from his injuries.

Now, months after the accident, Goldsborough is facing criminal charges for the improper restraint of the children in her vehicle.

On September 4, 2023, Goldsborough was charged with one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child and two counts of child neglect. She was booked into the Hillsborough County jail and released two days later on $17,000 bail.

Related: If You’re Arrested for a Crime, Immediately Take These 6 Steps

Three Serious Criminal Charges

If Goldsborough had been pulled over before the accident, she would have faced consequences for failing to restrain the children in proper car seats. The fine for a child restraint violation is $60 and three points on a license.

But Goldsborough is now facing much more serious charges.

Because two children were injured in the accident, Goldsborough is facing two counts of child neglect.

Child neglect is defined under Florida Statute 827.03 and refers to a caregiver’s failure to provide a child with the care, supervision, and services necessary to maintain the child’s physical and mental health. When child neglect leads to serious bodily harm, the charges can be punishable by up to 15 years in prison or 15 years probation and a $10,000 fine.

Goldsborough also faces another serious charge.

Because a child died in the accident, Goldsborough is facing one count of aggravated manslaughter.

Manslaughter is defined under Florida Statute 782.07 and refers to causing the death of another person by culpable negligence. Manslaughter differs from murder because in a murder charge, there is intent to kill another person. In a manslaughter charge, there is no premeditation to kill another person.

Florida Statute 782.07 (3) specifically refers to a person who causes the death of any person under the age of 18. It is considered aggravated manslaughter of a child and is a first-degree felony. The charge is punishable by up to life in prison, life on probation, and a $10,000 fine. The minimum punishment for the charge is 13 years in prison.

Goldsborough faces serious legal consequences for the failure to restrain the children in her vehicle.

Related: Parents Charged with Manslaughter After Their Toddler Left in Car Dies   

Talk to an Experienced Attorney

The law has many different lawyers. Breaking the law can have varying consequences depending on multiple factors. If you are facing any type of legal charge, make sure you fully understand all angles of your case. Talk to an experienced attorney who can help you see all sides of the situation.

If you are involved in a civil or criminal case, have a trusted attorney by your side. Review your case, and see how TJ Grimaldi can guide you through a pending legal matter. Schedule your free consultation or call 813-226-1023 now.