Until 2013, David Merkatz made his living as a locksmith in Coconut Creek, FL. Life, he thought, was pretty good. While there were some trademark issues with his business, he was making a living and enjoying his life. That all changed August of 2013, when police arrested David Merkatz and charged him and two of his fellow locksmiths, Peter Lomagistro and Joshua Levy, with a host of crimes ranging from money laundering to petty theft.

Read about David’s wrongful arrest!

Wrongful Arrest Coconut Creek, FL
That’s when David Merkatz learned that those soothing lessons you memorize in high school civics class – that the United States protects the rights of the accused, that you’re innocent until proven guilty in a criminal trial, that the innocent have nothing to fear – really aren’t true. He was plunged into a nightmare criminal trial after a wrongful arrest, and it was only thanks to his attorneys and his own dogged persistence that he and his fellow locksmiths came out all right.

They were all right – but they were not unscathed. Even though they weren’t found guilty by a jury of their peers, they still had to pay all bond costs, legal fees, and suffer through the agony of waiting to see how their case would play out. This experience is what prompted David Merkatz to write Wrongly Charged, to show other sufferers that they aren’t alone and to take a stand for change in the American legal system.

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