Local attorney Christopher Desrochers has 30+ years of Law Practice and Business Management under his belt. Here’s three reasons why he feels best suited to be the new public defender.

Christopher Desrochers has visited and toured the Public Defender’s Office in Bartow twice. During both trips, he noticed various issues in the office. 

One major issue: none of the senior support staff working there apparently had an understudy or assistant. Not a single one. Compounding matters even further, many of these senior support staff members were close to retirement. So, there was no one to immediately take their place when they stepped down.

Aside from his 31 years of experience as a practicing civil and criminal defense attorney, Desrochers also has extensive experience in managing several corporations through their revitalization and transition processes.

As someone with such extensive experience running several businesses, he knew that how the public defender’s office was currently being managed was not how a proper business was run. In fact, such shoddy management was a recipe for disaster, he said.

“Apparently, the overall plan was that if someone were to retire, they were going [to give someone] a list of instructions and tell them to have a nice day,” Desrochers said. “That is not a transition plan. That is the plot of Night of the Museum.”

For that and many other reasons, Desrochers has decided to not only utilize his experience in civil and criminal law, but also in managing businesses big and small, to run for Public Defender of the 10th Judicial Circuit.

A Winter Haven native, Desrochers graduated from Winter Haven High School in 1985. He graduated from law school at the University of Florida. He has since gained more than 31 years of practicing law.

While his career focused mostly on civil law, he also has experience in criminal law, often representing people in criminal cases who have either been detained or have received court-appointed counsel under the Criminal Justice Act.

Desrochers also has extensive experience running his own law firm and several other companies, especially those going through reorganization or transition. As someone with such managerial and corporate experience coupled with his experience practicing law, he considers himself the best candidate to become a public defender.

Having visited the public defender’s office at least twice, he has not only seen the problems firsthand for himself, but he has analyzed these problems with potential solutions he could easily implement in his position.

One issue of which he had been informed was that attorneys had been discharged “squirreling”, where cases are often hoarded away out of sight rather than being worked on. He blames this problem on both the lack of oversight and the overall office being understaffed, to the point where too many cases are being appointed to too few attorneys.

“No one has been managing the store, and it has been running on autopilot,” he said. “So, there are certainly issues in the public defender’s office. I spotted a bunch of them in 20 minutes. At this point, I can see why the office is having issues, and why the court system is backed up.”

Desrochers has proposed three reasons why he is the most suited to address these problems:

#1: He has the experience to identify these problems and address them promptly: 

“This all comes back to my experience. “[Someone else may] look at this issue and ask, ‘Where do we start?’ I look at these issues and say, ‘I handled these before.’ I have been in places where firms are being run on autopilot with absentee supervisors and managers so to speak.”

#2: He considers himself to be the most “intellectually honest” person for the position. He contrasts himself with his opponent, whom he claims has only been repeating the problems that are plaguing the public defender’s office.

“She has not planned anything,” he said. “There is no plan on the other side. Her intention is to work on autopilot like Rex did, and it will be the same old thing with the same old results but worse.”

#3: He has effortlessly handled similar issues in other companies that he has managed that are currently plaguing the public defender’s office.

“I have managed and help manage a business that is bigger than the public defender office,” he said. “It is something that unfortunately my opponent has no experience in. She has worked at the office but as a line worker…which is great, we need line workers, but eventually, we need a CEO, and I have those skills point blank.”

For more information, visit his campaign website at: https://cadforpd.com/

Polk County Sheriff’s Office Press Release

On August 14, 2024, Polk County Sheriff’s deputies in our Northeast district responded to the parking lot of a shopping center off of Highway 192 in the Clermont area of unincorporated Polk County, after receiving a report from a concerned citizen that a bus selling marijuana illegally was operating in the area.

Upon their arrival, deputies encountered an Eldorado Bus that was decorated with multiple marijuana leaves, named “Cannibus Mobile Dispensary” (CMD). The exterior of the bus advertised that “No Medical Card [was] Required” to purchase marijuana within. 

Inside the bus was a sign stating: “NO MEDICAL CARD? NO PROBLEM! USE OURS! FOR $5.” Use of another individual’s medical marijuana card to purchase marijuana is illegal in Florida.

Detectives located online advertisements of the “Cannibus” which called their operation “FL’s 1st Recreational Dispensary.” Medical marijuana is legal in the State of Florida, but the recreational use of marijuana is illegal. FSS 381.986 requires that individuals obtain a physician’s recommendation, then register with the state to obtain a medical card before one is allowed to legally purchase the product from state-licensed dispensaries.

Jimmy Andrial has a personal use medical marijuana card. Jimmy and Bianca told detectives they purchased the marijuana from a licensed supplier unpackaged with Jimmy’s card, then purchased their own packaging material and packaged the marijuana for sale themselves. They do not have a state-issued license to sell marijuana. They refused to tell detectives where they purchased the marijuana and the packaging materials.

During a search of the bus, detectives found multiple containers of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, a digital scale with cocaine residue, vape cartridges, and packaging materials. Deputies located a multicolor package containing green leafy substance with a warning label that stated the following: “GOVERNMENT WARNING: THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS CANNABIS, A SCHEDULE 1 CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.” The substance tested positive for marijuana. A total of 12 packages of marijuana were located. Each package is labeled 3.5 grams, making the total amount located well over the 20 gram threshold to be a felony. 

Daniel McCreary, Jimmy Andrial, and Bianca Andrial were all arrested. While being arrested, McCreary became physical and resisted arrest. Jimmy Andrial threatened the detectives during his arrest and stated that he had been to prison four times, and has battered Law Enforcement Officers in the past.

“I thank the concerned citizen who brought the ‘Cannibus’ to our attention. Our detectives easily discovered that this was not a legitimate medical cannabis dispensary and these drug-pushers were out-right selling marijuana to anyone who wanted to buy it. We arrested three suspects who all have prior criminal histories. Something tells me these folks might have been over sampling their own products.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff

Those arrested are:

Daniel McCreary (37) – An employee of the CMD. According to the Florida Department of Corrections website, he has been to prison three times for Robbery, Burglary, and Grand Theft in Osceola County. (Link) He is currently charged with Resisting Arrest (M1), Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Sell (F3), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (M1), Possession of Marijuana over 20 Grams (F3), Keeping a Vehicle for Drug Sales (M1), and Possession of Cocaine (F3). 

Jimmy Andrial (40) – The husband of Bianca Andrial and owner of the CMD. He has previously been arrested on 48 felony charges, and 48 misdemeanor charges in Osceola, Orange and Seminole Counties. He has been to prison four times, for Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, Burglary, Drug Possession and Grand Theft. He is currently charged with Possession of Marijuana over 20 Grams (F3), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (M1), Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Sell (F3), Solicitation to Purchase Marijuana (M1), Keeping a Vehicle for Drug Sales (M1), and Threatening a Public Servant (F3). 

Bianca Andrial (35) – The wife of Jimmy Andrial, and owner of the CMD. She has previously been arrested for Battery and Resisting arrest by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, and Battery by the Orlando Police Department. She is currently charged with Possession of Marijuana over 20 Grams (F3), Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Sell (M1), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (F3), Keeping a Vehicle for Drug Sales (M1), and Solicitation to Purchase Marijuana (M1). 

Our investigation is still ongoing. We are actively investigating the online portion of the CMD business, and are looking into the suppliers of both the marijuana and the packaging materials.