Outcome: Motion to suppress drugs granted due to a lack of credibility of police officers and all charges dismissed.
Facts:T.D. was on federal supervised released and facing significant time if convicted of a new offense. He was arrested for possession of drugs after police allege they were driving down the street when T.D. looked up in the direction of their vehicle and threw a plastic baggie containing marijuana into an open car window.
Police recovered the drugs, searched the defendant and recovered crack cocaine from his person. T.D. had always maintained that he was inside the vehicle when police approached, pulled him out of the vehicle and searched it without a warrant and it was at that time that the drugs were discovered.
Mr. Fishman cross-examined two officers regarding their ability to observe the alleged incident. Their version of the events was inconsistent. In addition, Mr. Fishman, through pre-trial investigation, presented the owner of the car, who had pictures of the inside of the vehicle, showing significant damage to speakers and other parts of the car. Despite their denials, it was clear that police had searched the vehicle rather than the story they presented that they had seen the drugs thrown into the car and recovered them in plain view. If they were seen in plain view, there would have been no reason for them to cause all the damage to the interior of the vehicle.
Mr. Fishman also presented an eyewitness who corroborated the pictures by testifying that police pulled T.D. out of the vehicle and searched the vehicle and T.D. without reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe he had committed any criminal offense. The court accepted the defense version of the incident, did not believe the officers’ testimony and suppressed the marijuana and crack cocaine recovered. Without any drugs to admit into evidence to prove possession of drugs, the prosecution was forced to withdraw all charges against T.D.
If you or someone you know has been arrested for possession of drugs, contact Philadelphia drug attorney Brian M. Fishman immediately for a free consultation concerning your case.
