Joseph R. D'Andrea

I was charged with several violent offenses ranging from aggravated assault, battery, simple assault and strangulation. However, the worst charge was a felony one burglary, which was legally indefensible given the only witness to the crime testified in court. At first the assistant attorney general w...as unwilling to make a deal with my lawyer, Joe D'Andrea, nevertheless Joe persisted and simply stated the truth that I was under a severe psychosis and had a history of mental illness that should be taken into account. Although I'm not exactly sure how he did it, he convinced the judge presiding over my case to allow me to be brought to an in-patient rehabilitation center in Florida where I was given the proper treatment for my condition. With consistent therapy and a comprehensive medical protocol, I was then considered stable enough to return to my home state. After arriving home, I was ordered to serve house arrest, which is a far more advantageous outcome than fighting my charges from the county jail. After a little over a year of house arrest, Joe successfully liberated me from house arrest restoring some of my autonomy. Even though we are all afflicted by the pandemic, being able to leave my home at my leisure was an invaluable freedom and I'm grateful for having it returned to me. Finally, after 189 days of incarceration and over a year of house arrest the assistant attorney general and my lawyer's deal was accepted by the judge. Joe did a great job, he negotiated my aggravated assault down to a simple assault and got me out of jail despite some very grave charges. The burglary was unavoidable but the deal counted my time served of two years toward a seven year term of probation, instead of a potential five year plus sentence in a state penitentiary. With two and a half years of good behavior I can appeal for an early termination of my probation which is a goal of mine. There are other aspects of my probation like therapy, NA meetings and a strict adherence to being sober but this is all within my power to do. Considering all the damage done to my family, a good samaritan and myself, this is a great avenue for healing.