JEFF SHEARER, Founder and Manager
Jeff’s broad and varied background gives him a unique ability to conduct a wide variety of investigations. His experience includes nearly 25 years of law enforcement investigation. However, his background in the business world gives him a broader view. Jeff has a knack for picking out anomalies in data. This ability has led him to believe that the small details make a big difference in a case.
BACKGROUND
After graduating from the University of South Florida in 1987 with a degree in psychology, Jeff was selected to attend a year-long management training program with Sears, Roebuck & Company. Jeff had been working for Sears throughout college. Only 15-20 people per year were selected for this national program. During this paid training program, Jeff studied and worked in all aspects of the Sears organization. After graduating, Jeff was promoted to a store sales management position, where he was responsible for several divisions. Those responsibilities included inventory management, personnel, profit and loss.
After seven years at Sears, Jeff discovered his calling when he went on a ride-a-long with the Largo Police Department. A few months later, Jeff was attending the police academy as a Largo Police Recruit. After graduating from the training program and working as a patrol officer, Jeff became interested in investigating street gangs. He was promoted to detective, and began to develop a computerized gang intelligence program. Jeff became a founding member of the Tampa Bay Area Multi-Agency Gang Task Force. As a detective, Jeff also worked other property crimes, including arson. His arson training included a month at the Florida State Fire College in Ocala, FL. Jeff also became an instructor in several areas, including firearms and the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program.
In 1998, after seven years at the Largo Police Department, Jeff moved to the Tampa Police Department. After a short stint in patrol, including time as a training officer, Jeff went to the Gang Suppression Unit. This developed into a promotion to detective, and a transfer to the Narcotics Bureau, where Jeff spent the better part of 10 years. During this time, Jeff authored a court-authorized wiretap, along with dozens of search warrants. His investigations led to the largest cocaine seizure in Tampa Police history – 285 kilograms of cocaine seized in McAllen, TX.
In 2009, Jeff was offered the opportunity to join a new DEA task force, focusing on the diversion of controlled substances through physicians and pharmacists. Jeff focused on several criminal investigations, focusing on the financial crimes. These investigations led to dozens of federal arrests, along with the largest single-day seizure of assets, up to that date, at the Tampa DEA office ($6.2 million in cash and bank accounts, as well as more than $1 million in prescription controlled substances). All defendants either pled or were convicted at trial. Jeff also contributed significantly to the longest trial in Hillsborough County Circuit Court history, a six month trial which led to the conviction of three pain clinic owners/operators. Jeff expertise in the field allowed him to develop numerous key witnesses used in this trial.
After retiring from the Tampa Police Department in 2014, Jeff worked for a year as a contract investigator at the United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida. In this capacity, Jeff conducted complex financial investigations on subjects who owed or were anticipated to owe restitution. Jeff helped identify nearly $3 million in assets which were collected on behalf of victims.
All of this experience gives Jeff a unique perspective in evaluating a criminal case. Throughout his career, he always tried to view his cases from the perspective of a defense attorney, looking for and correcting weaknesses. This perspective can greatly assist your defendants in maximizing their potential.