When Criminal Charges Put Everything at Risk.

Early decisions can affect your freedom, reputation, work, and family. Get clear advice before speaking with investigators or making the next move.

Call (941) 313-2559

CRIMINAL DEFENSE · MANATEE, SARASOTA & DESOTO COUNTIES

The Defense Starts With the Evidence

A criminal charge is an accusation, not proof. The State still must establish every required element with admissible evidence. The defense begins by identifying the actual charge, the evidence supporting it, the procedures used to obtain that evidence, and the consequences requiring immediate attention.

Lakewood Ranch Law represents people in criminal investigations, misdemeanor cases, felony prosecutions, probation matters, and related proceedings throughout Florida’s Twelfth Judicial Circuit. Every case receives an individualized review of the facts, the law, and the client’s personal and professional priorities.

The Defense Should Begin Early

A criminal matter may begin before an arrest. An investigator may request an interview, an agency may serve a subpoena or records demand, or officers may execute a search warrant. What is said, produced, preserved, or lost during this stage can shape the prosecution that follows.

After an arrest, Florida’s rules generally require a first appearance within 24 hours for someone who remains in custody. The judge addresses the accusation, the right to counsel, and release or detention issues. The first appearance is not a trial, but statements and release conditions can have lasting consequences.

The filed charge may later differ from the initial arrest allegation. Once a prosecution is filed, discovery can provide reports, recordings, witness information, test results, digital material, and other evidence. The defense can then compare the State’s account with video, records, witnesses, physical evidence, expert analysis, and the client’s information.

Call (941) 313-2559 to request a confidential case review.

Criminal Defense Matters We Handle

  • Criminal investigations and pre-charge representation

  • White-collar crime, fraud, and economic-crime allegations

  • Drug trafficking and other serious drug charges

  • Serious felony and violent-crime allegations

  • Domestic-violence charges and related restrictions

  • Theft, burglary, and property-crime allegations

  • Probation and community-control violations

  • Record sealing and expungement eligibility

  • DUI and related driver’s-license proceedings

Build the Defense Around the Evidence

The charge name does not show whether the evidence is reliable. A focused review may examine:

  • The legal basis for a stop, detention, search, or arrest

  • Search warrants, seized material, and chain of custody

  • Body-camera, surveillance, dispatch, and location records

  • Witness accounts, interviews, and identification procedures

  • Physical, digital, testing, and expert evidence

  • Evidence bearing on intent, knowledge, possession, authorization, or self-defense

Experience Relevant to Criminal Cases

Attorney Dan Hassinger has practiced law for 15 years, including years of trial work defending DUI charges and serious felony cases. Before practicing law, he served 15 years in law enforcement.

His law-enforcement work included undercover investigations, fraud and financial crimes, confidential informants, surveillance, court-authorized interception of communications, interviews, and evidence development. That combined experience informs a disciplined review of how a case was built and whether the complete record supports the State’s conclusions.

What to Do Now

  • Keep every citation, bond paper, property receipt, notice, and court document

  • Preserve favorable messages, photographs, video, location records, receipts, and witness information

  • Do not destroy, alter, conceal, or ask anyone else to move evidence

  • Do not discuss the case on social media

  • Obtain legal advice before agreeing to an interview or explanation

  • Follow every release, no-contact, travel, firearm, and court-appearance condition unless the court changes it

What Happens After You Call

  1. Initial information and conflicts check. We collect the names, charge or investigative issue, county, and immediate deadlines.

  2. Attorney review. Dan evaluates the known facts, documents, custody concerns, and next procedural step.

  3. Clear options. You receive an explanation of the immediate priorities and what representation would involve.

  4. Engagement decision. If the matter is a fit and there is no conflict, the scope and fee are confirmed in writing.

Criminal Defense FAQs

Should I speak with an investigator if I want to explain my side?

Obtain legal advice first. Even a voluntary conversation can produce statements, omissions, or inconsistencies that become evidence. Counsel can evaluate the request before any decision about whether or how to respond.

What if I have not been arrested or charged?

Pre-charge representation may help evaluate an interview request, subpoena, search, records demand, or surrender issue and preserve favorable evidence before a filing decision.

What happens at a first appearance?

For a person who remains in custody, the first appearance generally addresses the accusation, counsel, and release or detention conditions. It is not the trial.

Can criminal charges be reduced or dismissed?

That depends on the law, admissible evidence, available defenses, prosecutorial decisions, and court rulings. No result can be promised. A careful review identifies the options that actually exist in the individual case.

Where does Lakewood Ranch Law handle criminal cases?

The firm serves Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto counties and evaluates other Florida matters individually.

Request a Confidential Case Review

Call (941) 313-2559 or send a brief message using the form below. Please do not include confidential information before a conflicts check.

Prompt review can help preserve evidence, identify deadlines, and bring order to the next decision.