|
DRUG CASES
A car overturned near Highway 29. When
police arrived, the passenger was located trying to climb through the passenger
side window. He appeared drunk. The man advised police he was merely trying to recover
his briefcase. He was advised to stay clear of the vehicle until it could be placed
back on its wheels. Moments later, the man again was seen trying to enter the upside
down car in order to retrieve his briefcase. Again, he was advised to step back
for safety reasons and to wait for the tow truck to arrive. When the man was again
spotted trying to retrieve the briefcase, he was arrested for interfering with or
delaying a police officer. He was also arrested for public intoxication.
While being booked at the jail, the man’s
briefcase was about to be searched. The man admitted to the booking officer that
the briefcase was his. Inside the briefcase was $5000 in cash. The man readily admitted
that the money was his. Also inside the briefcase was a large amount of a controlled
substance. The man denied knowledge of the drug’s presence. Additional charges
of felony transportation and possession for sale were imposed.
After a four-day jury trial, the man was
found not guilty of all charges.
The Lake County Narcotics Task Force conducted
a surprise search on a man on formal probation for drug possession. After being
ordered to the floor, the man was searched and drugs were found in his pocket. The
man was found not guilty after a four-day trial.
A woman was detained by police when her
vehicle was observed to be weaving. She was arrested for DUI. The vehicle, registered
to her, was searched and a controlled substance was found on the floorboard directly
below the steering wheel. She was found not guilty of drug transportation and possession
following a four-day trial.
Police made a traffic stop on the vehicle
which was observed to be weaving and driving erratically. The owner of the vehicle
was the sole occupant and driver. The man claimed that he had no idea how the drugs
got into his car. Again, the drugs were found on the floor boards directly underneath
the driver. This man was also found not guilty of transportation and possession
following a three-day trial.
Police arrived at a man’s home to
investigate a report that he was possessing drugs. The man denied any wrongdoing
and gave verbal consent to search his home. Additionally, he signed a written consent
to allow a full search of his residence. When drugs were found in different locations
inside the home, he was arrested on felony drug charges.
The judge ordered all evidence suppressed
on the grounds that the officer was overreaching when he obtained the consent to
search. Due to the suppression of evidence, the case was dismissed without trial.
BURGLARY
An 18-year-old man got drunk one afternoon
and walked into a second story apartment. Even though the owners were home, the
young man walked into a bedroom and started stuffing his pockets with jewelry and
other valuables. When police arrived, the man was in the parking lot just standing
around. When he was identified as the person who entered the apartment, he was arrested
for first degree residential burglary. The jewelry and other valuables were found
inside his pockets. After a three-day trial, he was found not guilty of burglary,
but guilty of the lesser charge of misdemeanor trespass. He was given credit for
time served and released from jail.
Police contacted a man sitting in the
front seat of a parked pickup track in a remote area in Lake County. The dispatcher
advised the policeman that this individual was known to use drugs and to possess
firearms. The officer then asked the man for consent to search his truck. Consent
to search was given. Inside the camper shell, the officer found numerous items of
stolen property. The man told police that he had taken the property from his neighbor’s
house for safekeeping since he believed that someone was in the process of burglarizing
it. He further advised police that he was on his way to deliver the property to
the owner at the owner’s other home which was out of county. When asked where
the owner’s other residence was located, the man stated that he did not know.
He was found not guilty following a three-day jury trial.
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
A Napa young boy was molested by a pedophile who was arrested in
a timely manner by police. The boy’s mother and stepfather were repeatedly
assured by authorities that the boy would not have to testify in any public hearings.
Naturally, the boy’s family was quite concerned about the devastating effects
on him if he had to again face his molester in court.
Unexpectedly, on a day in which the boy’s
mother was out-of-town at work, police arrived with a subpoena requiring the boy
to immediately appear in court to testify. The stepfather repeatedly begged the
officers to call the boy’s mother so she could be present at the hearing.
The stepfather was advised that there was insufficient time to wait for the mother’s
arrival. The boy and his stepfather were then ushered to the courthouse. Again,
at the courthouse, the stepfather continued to beg for additional time so that his
wife could be with her son during this ordeal. In the haste to get the boy upstairs
to the courthouse, a scuffle inserted in the stepfather was arrested for interfering
with and obstructing a police officer. After he was found not guilty, most of the
jurors lined up in order to shake the stepfather’s hand and to embrace him.
Some of these jurors were in tears.
MARIJUANA
A veteran of the Vietnam war, suffering from post-traumatic stress
disorder and excruciating pain, was growing marijuana to provide relief for his
serious ailments. The task force eradicated a total of 131 mature plants. The plants
were eradicated despite pleas from the veteran that he had legal medical approval
by his doctor. He was charged with cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana
for sale. He spent weeks in jail until his bail was finally lowered.
At trial, the prosecution called the man’s
doctor who denied ever giving him his patient a prescription or approval for the
use of marijuana. Expert prosecution witnesses testified that the plants would have
yielded a total of 655 pounds of high-grade “bud.” Expert defense witnesses
offered contrary opinions and disagreed about the potential yield of this garden.
Following a two-week trial, the jury found the veteran not guilty of both felony
charges after brief deliberation.
DUI
A citizen informant reported a reckless and speeding driver in a.
Lake County subdivision. CHP was given directions to the motorist’s home.
After answering the officer’s knock on the door, the man admitted that he
recently drove his car in the subdivision. Recognizing that the man was intoxicated,
the CHP officer asked him whether he drank any alcoholic beverages after returning
home. After denying recent consumption of alcohol, and after failing field sobriety
tests, a “citizen’s arrest” was made by the informant in the presence
of the officer, and the man was taken to jail. At the jail, his blood-alcohol level
was found to be more than two times the so-called “legal limit” (.19%)
At trial, the motorist denied being intoxicated
at the time he was driving. He produced credible witnesses at trial who were with
him throughout the day. These witnesses testified that he had only consumed a couple
of beers throughout the day and that he never appeared intoxicated. The motorist
testified at trial that he guzzled tequila after returning home due to a severe
toothache. He was found not guilty following ten minutes of deliberation by the
jury.
A man was pulled over by the CHP when
he was observed driving without a seat belt. The officer smelled burnt marijuana
and the driver was ordered to perform field sobriety tests. The motorist reportedly
admitted to the officer that he just smoked some marijuana a few minutes before
being stopped for the seatbelt violation. The driver was examined by the officer
and observed to have an elevated pulse, high blood pressure, slow speech, and red/watery
eyes. He was arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana. A subsequent
drug evaluation by the CHP confirmed the officer’s belief that the motorist
was under the influence of marijuana. He was found not guilty following a jury trial
that spanned six days.
|
