Mr. Floyd Travels to State Courts Throughout Texas and Federal Courts Nationwide. Principal Office located at 4900 Woodway Dr., Houston, Texas 77056. All other locations by appointment only.
In 2015, the D.C.-based financial periodical Kiplinger Personal Finance named Sherman as the best place to retire in Texas. The cost of living for retirees in Sherman is thirteen percent lower than the national average and its housing costs are nearly 25 percent lower.
Kiplinger had this to say about the small city: “In Sherman, you can enjoy boutique shopping, unique cafes and several community gatherings throughout the year, including an Earth Day festival and free ‘Shakespeare in the Grove’ performances.”
Sherman is the home to the 12,000-acre Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge that is home to about 500 different wildlife species. Dallas is an hour drive to the south and Oklahoma is a short drive to the north. This calm, laid back northeast Texas city has one of the lowest crime rates in the state.
With just around 40,000 people, Sherman is a pretty typical small city in northeast Texas. Kids who want to stay close to home have the option of a couple of smaller colleges in the area. Oklahoma’s a short drive north, and they can get to the big city by heading to Dallas about an hour south. Crime is low, and there’s just a sense of overall calm. And that is exactly how the people who call it home like it.
But the Sherman Police Department, led by Chief Otis Henry, takes crime seriously. It Criminal Investigation Division, spearheaded by its Narcotics and Criminal Intelligence units, is supervised by one lieutenant and three sergeants.
The Department’s official website touts that “it is the policy of the Sherman Police Department to give equal treatment, under the law, to all people, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, politics, national origin, lifestyle, or similar characteristics. The officers of the Sherman Police Department will only stop and detain citizens when reasonable suspicion or probable cause exists to believe they have committed, are committing, or are about to commit a violation of the law, or for other lawful purposes. Officers of the Sherman Police Department are strictly prohibited from initiating any action that constitutes racial or bias-based profiling.”
If you suddenly find yourself arrested or charged with a crime in Sherman, it can change your whole life. Unlike a big city where so many crimes occur that they are easy to miss, your friends and neighbors are going to know quickly in Sherman. And you can be sure that local law enforcement officials are going to make an example of you as well, because they want their quiet, idyllic Texas city to stay that way.
You may not be able to stop your friends and neighbors from learning about the troubles you are facing, but that does not mean there is nothing you can do about it. John T. Floyd has helped countless people just like you all around Texas to successfully battle both state and federal charges, and if you decide to work with him, he will be a tireless advocate defending your rights and fighting for your good name.
In 2013, the Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office hired William Tatum and assigned him to the Sherman office.
Tatum was charged with the responsibility of investigating a wide array of federal offenses, including drug trafficking, white collar crime, immigration matters, violent crimes, and child pornography.
Last year a federal jury in Sherman convicted a Pakistani national for being a member of a large scale drug trafficking operation that imported millions of counterfeit, adulterated or misbranded pills into the Eastern District of Texas. U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant entered a forfeiture order against Muhammad Aijaz Sarfraz in the amount of $38,967,372.00.
The Grayson County District Attorney’s Office vigorously prosecutes drug trafficking offenses.
Last year, a state jury convicted a Mexican drug cartel of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The jury sentenced Gilberto Gonzalez Aguilar to life imprisonment and fined him $250,000.00 in a drug case involving more than 400 grams of meth.
Assistant District Attorney Bret Smith prosecuted case. Following the conviction, he told this local media: “This kind of drug trafficking is why our Sheriff’s Office does drug interdiction traffic work on the highways.”
Grayson County DA Joe Brown said: “This was obviously a large scale drug operation. That is a very large amount of methamphetamine, and the jury ultimately heard from this defendant that he was connected with a Mexican drug cartel and was in the country illegally. That is what I hope every jury will do with drug dealers.”
If you have never been on the wrong side of the law, chances are good that you are probably not that familiar with the penalties that you might be up against. Obviously the most serious charges can be devastating, pitting you against life in prison or even the death penalty. But even misdemeanors can carry the potential of jail time, along with high fines and other administrative punishments that can make your life a lot more difficult.
For your best chance at having your charges reduced – or even dropped or dismissed – you need to have a Board Certified Texas criminal attorney defending you.
With a knowledgeable defense lawyer by your side, you can be sure that every possible angle will be explored when crafting your defense strategy. Law enforcement officials will be watched closely to make sure that your rights are not violated and proper procedure is always followed. And they will keep you close to ensure you do not accidentally say or do anything to harm your case either.
John T. Floyd knows how and where to find the right kind of evidence to help you and understands what is necessary to poke holes in the arguments of prosecutors. He has studied both Texas and federal criminal law for years, staying up-to-date with the latest changes in his more than 20 years of practicing law.
And he’s not afraid of a fight. If you have been told that your case is open-and-shut, or that it is not worth your time and effort to try for a better deal, reach out to Mr. Floyd. He has taken on many cases that others have deemed “hopeless” and shocked the legal world by getting surprisingly favorable outcomes.
There are also many collateral consequences for having been convicted of a criminal offense in Texas.
Employment. Many occupations (such as barber, plumber, nurse, etc.) require a license to work. Section 53.021 of the Texas Occupations Code authorize Texas licensing authorities to revoke, suspend, or deny a license to anyone convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.
Education: Any student convicted of the possession or sale of a controlled substance can lose or be denied financial assistance under the Federal Student Loans and Grants program, or the forfeiture of a prepaid scholarship.
Asset forfeiture: Serious drug and white collar convictions can result of forfeiture of cash, vehicles, homes, personal property, and businesses.
Firearm: A conviction of more than one year will result in loss of the right to own or possess a firearm or ammunition.
Housing: Federal housing policies permit the exclusion of drug offenders from federally subsidized or funded housing. Most rental applications ask if you’ve ever been convicted of a felony.
Civil rights: A felony conviction results in the loss of the right to vote, run for public office, be appointed to a public office, or serve on a jury.
Because of the wide range of criminal penalties associated with state felony convictions in Texas, any one charged with a criminal offense in Cameron County needs an aggressive and experienced criminal defense attorney.
Federal felony convictions can also lead to civil forfeitures that result in the loss of personal property, including cash, homes, vehicles, planes, and other personal belongings
The proceeds from forfeited property go into the coffers of law enforcement agencies, not the government treasury. Thus, the police have an incentive to seize and forfeit as much property as possible, regardless of whether it is actually tied to an offender’s offense-related activity.
Beyond these serious to severe penal consequences, federal felony convictions have significant personal collateral consequences. They can disqualify you for a job in the health care industry, government, private security, law enforcement, many areas of the criminal justice system, and any other job requiring a security clearance.
They can, and most likely will, have adverse impact on your employment prospects with companies that routinely run criminal background checks prior to their decision to hire. They can also have a serious impact on your ability to rent a suitable residence as property owners also frequently run background checks, refusing to rent or lease to ex-felons.
Why turn to John T. Floyd?
Because he will tirelessly fight on your behalf.
Everyone has seen news stories about criminal cases. Typically, the reporters in these stories seek out a legal expert to lend weight to their story and explain things in such a way that both they and their audience can understand. Over and over again, the person they have turned to is John T. Floyd.
He has been featured on so many regional, national, and even international media outlets that it is impossible to list them all on a single page. Here are just a few:
Interviewed as criminal law expert – BBC, Fox News, Hannity and Colmes, NPR
Featured in article – Chron, CNSNews, HGExperts, The Huffington Post, Victoria Advocate
And, of course, both clients and peers have showered him with acclaim and honors.
10/10 Rating – Avvo
Clients’ Choice Award 2008-2015 – Avvo
Houston’s Top Lawyers 2007-2015 – H Texas Magazine
Leading Criminal Defense Attorneys 2014 – Newsweek
Named a SuperLawyer 2014-2015 – SuperLawyers
Top 10 Blog Posts 2015 – State Bar of Texas
Top 100 Trial Lawyers 2015 – National Trial Lawyers
Why has Mr. Floyd received this much attention and recognition?
He is an experienced criminal defense attorney who cares enough to dedicate his life to the practice of criminal law and consistently produces positive results for his clients.
With your life, career, and reputation hanging in the balance, you need John T. Floyd in your corner.
You will not get the best possible outcome in your case if you do not work with someone who truly understands criminal law. John T. Floyd has been practicing law for more than two decades and studying criminal statutes and precedents for far longer than that. Over the course of his career, he has been able to help out people who are facing all kinds of serious charges.
There are many reasons why a criminal charge may be brought against an individual. If you are innocent, or your involvement marginal, or if you are even guilty, Mr. Floyd will fight aggressively to get the charge dropped or, if necessary, built a successful defense to the charge before a judge or jury.
And even if you made a mistake, it does not mean that you will have to accept the harshest possible punishment. Mr. Floyd works as aggressive to secure the most equitable and lenient sentence possible.
If you find yourself on the other side of a criminal indictment, get in touch with our office and set up a consultation so that we can determine what Mr. Floyd can do for you. He has the staff and resources to help you secure the best outcome in your case.
Get in contact. Send us an email at jfloyd@johntfloyd.com, fill out our simple case review form, or call 713-224-0101.
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