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John T. Floyd

McAllen TX Federal Criminal Defense Attorney

McAllen Criminal Charges Need a Skilled Texas Defense Attorney

 

McAllen TX Federal Criminal Lawyer

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.

 

McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, located at the southern tip of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley. Known as the “City of the Palms, McAllen has a flourishing art culture including the Creative Arts Incubator, a group that supports aspiring artists in the Rio Grande Valley. The city made the 2014 Forbes “Best Cities for Jobs” list.

 

But there is always a downside to growth. In 2012, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index found that 70 percent of Americans feel safe outside their home. In McAllen, less than half of its residents felt safe outside their home, making the city one of the top ten cities whose residents felt the least safe. Yet the city’s violent crime rate is below the national average.

 

This fear exists despite six straight years in which the city has seen an overall decrease in the crime rate. The fear is most surely tied to the fact that the city experienced a 14 percent increase in violent crime in 2014, including a threefold increase in the murder rate.

 

In 2014, McAllen police arrested 5,672 people, including nearly 700 who were 17 years of age or younger. The police place a heavy emphasis on the seven index crimes including murder, rape, robbery, aggravated rape, burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft.

 

If you happen to get caught up in a McAllen criminal investigation or arrest, it can be especially damaging to your life, reputation, and future. Not only do you have to worry about prison time and expensive fines, but also your job and family.

Federal Prosecutions

 

The U.S. Justice Department considers the Rio Grande Valley, of which McAllen is a part, “a major drug and alien smuggling gateway and transportation route into the interior of the United States from South America, Central America and Mexico and a major firearms and ammunition route into Mexico.”

 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office over the McAllen area is in the nation’s top ten for felony indictments and misdemeanor complaints prosecuted. Its major prosecutorial emphasis involves drugs or aliens, but also aggressively pursues health care fraud, ban fraud, money laundering, counterfeit goods, and counterfeit currency.

 

While the Justice Department’s “war on drugs” has subsided somewhat, the government has launched a new “war on illegal immigration.” In 2013, sixty percent of all federal criminal prosecutions were for immigration-related crimes, causing the federal court dockets in southern Texas to swell.

 

Child pornography is also a high priority prosecution.

 

In August 2015, the U.S. Attorney’s Office was forced to indict one of its own—a DEA agent discovered accessing and downloading images from a website depicting prepubescent children having sex with adults. The DEA agent had been assigned to the McAllen office for two years.

 

State Prosecutions

 

The Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office is led by Ricardo Rodriquez.

 

The DA’s office takes a tough, aggressive approach in child pornography cases. Last year prosecutors sought, and secured, a guilty verdict for an Edinburg teacher on fifteen counts of child pornography. The jury imposed a 20-year sentence.

 

Political corruption is also priority of DA Rodriquez. He vowed after his 2014 election to end the scandals and corruption associated with the DA’s office itself.

 

“Right off the bat we’re going to have a complete audit of the DA’s office,” Rodriquez told local media. “We’re talking about files and funds and asset forfeiture, because I want to show the public what we have and what we do with it.”

 

Rodriquez’s election came on the heels of former Hidalgo County Sheriff Guadalupe Trevino being convicted on federal money laundering charges and carted off to a federal prison with a five-year sentence.

 

Corruption is common in Hidalgo County.

 

In 2012, a street-level drug task force unit called the Panama Unit was busted for stealing drugs from dealers and selling it back to their rivals. Nine sheriff’s deputies and detectives were arrested, including the sons of the sheriff and chief of police.

 

In December 2014, the FBI formed the Rio Grande Valley Border Corruption Task Force to investigate the high level of public corruption in Hidalgo County.

 

Fight  for Your Rights in McAllen with an Experienced Texas Criminal Lawyer

 

Mcallen TX Fighting 69th

When your life, future, and freedom are at stake, you want to be sure that the best and most experienced defense attorney is handling your case – and John T. Floyd is that lawyer. With more than two decades of representing clients in Texas and federal courts under his belt, Mr. Floyd will apply his expertise to your individual case and craft an aggressive defense to get your charges reduced, dropped, or dismissed.

 

Mr. Floyd has gained renown in the legal world with his proven track record, praise-filled testimonies from clients, and hard-earned accolades from fellow lawyers and the legal community. For these reasons, he has been recognized in Texas and throughout the country as a top defense attorney and authority figure regarding criminal law.

 

Here are a few of his many accomplishments:

 

Avvo – 10/10 Rating, Clients’ Choice Award 2008-2015

BBC – interviewed as criminal law expert

Chron – Featured in article in 2015

CNSNews – Featured in article in 2012

Fox News – interviewed as criminal law expert on multiple occasions

H Texas Magazine – Houston’s Top Lawyers 2007-2015

Hannity and Colmes – interviewed as criminal law expert

HGExperts – Featured in article in 2008

Houston’s iHeartRadio Channel 93.7 – regular legal commentator

National Trial LawyersTop 100 Trial Lawyers 2015

Newsweek – Leading Criminal Defense Attorneys 2014

NPR interviewed as criminal law expert

State Bar of Texas – Top 10 Blog Posts 2015

SuperLawyers – 2014-2015

The Huffington Post – Featured in article in 2013

Victoria Advocate – Featured in article in 2011

 

If you or a loved one are facing criminal charges that could impact your future, turn to a man trusted by leaders in the media and legal community. Turn to a man who knows state and federal law. Turn to a man who will fight to clear your name. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, or what charges you’re facing. When you have John T. Floyd on your team, your case isn’t hopeless.

 

The Consequences of a State Criminal Record

 

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 Hidalgo County needs an aggressive and experienced criminal defense attorney.

 

The Consequences of a Federal Criminal Record

 

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.

McAllen Charges Need an Aggressive Defense from a Top Texas Criminal Attorney

 

If you’re facing criminal charges, you want a defense lawyer who has widespread understanding and an in-depth knowledge of criminal law. Mr. Floyd’s legal career is built on and dedicated to criminal defense, and he has effectively handled all kinds of Texas state and federal criminal legal matters, such as:

 

Assault

Criminal Appeals

Domestic Violence

Drug Crimes

DUI/DWI

Federal Crimes

Fraud

Health Care Fraud

Immigration Crimes

Murder/Homicide

Sex Crimes

White Collar Crimes

 

Facing criminal charges can be a frightening and confusing time for anyone. That’s why you want John T. Floyd to be your criminal lawyer. He will listen carefully to the facts of your case, explain all of the legal options available to you, provide you with an honest assessment of the charges, and offer you his recommendations on what will give you the best possible results.

 

Mr. Floyd will work tirelessly to make sure your rights are protected and respected both in and out of the courtroom.

 

Contact an Knowledgeable Texas Defense Attorney Today about Your McAllen Charges

 

If you have been charged with a crime in McAllen or believe you are under investigation, consult with a qualified Texas defense attorney today to immediately begin crafting your defense. The longer you wait to contact a criminal attorney, the more time the prosecution has to build their case against you. There are also time-sensitive pieces of evidence that will be thrown out or simply become unusable after a certain time, and there’s always a chance that you might unknowingly incriminate yourself.

 

Do not let the prosecution get a head start. Do not lose key evidence. Do not hurt your case by saying or doing the wrong thing. Instead, let a skilled criminal lawyer guide you through this stressful time so you can clear your name and get your charges reduced, dismissed, or even dropped.

 

Contact The John T. Floyd Law Firm today by calling 713-224-0101, emailing jfloyd@johntfloyd.com, or completing our confidential case review form online.