BARTOW, Fla. — Minakashiben Patel, the store owner who was arrested this month on obscenity charges in Florida, has pleaded not guilty to obscenity charges.
Patel was charged on 10 counts each of distribution of obscenity and possession of obscenity with intent to sell after detectives purchased adult movies at the Sunoco Superway No. 6 gas station and convenience store she owns in Dundee, Fla.
Titles of the videos that were part of the arrest have not been revealed by Polk County prosecutors.
Adult industry attorney Lawrence Walters, Patel's attorney of record, recently filed court papers in Polk County, stating that she would plead not guilty and seek waiver of personal appearance at arraignment. He also asked the court for a copy of charging documents.
When reached Wednesday, Walters told XBIZ, "I can’t comment on the case yet, only to state that our firm, including our of counsel, Corey Silverstein, has been hired as defense counsel for Ms. Patel."
Patel's arraignment is scheduled for June 11 in Judge Roger Alcott's courtroom.
