While on patrol this past weekend Lawrence, Massachusetts police officers observed two cars apparently involved in a collision. When they stopped to investigate the officers came in contact with Jonathan Amador and Luis Aguayo, aka Julio Cesar Vincente Peguero. The police asked the drivers of both vehicles for their licenses. One of the drivers was Amador. Amador started speaking with the driver of the other car. Apparently the two knew each other. Meanwhile the officers observed plastic bags containing Crack Cocaine and Heroin in the vehicle’s front passenger cupholder. Bother Amador and Aguayo were arrested and charged with Possession With the Intent to Distribute Heroin, Class A, Possession of Heroin and Possession of Cocaine, Class B. The case is pending in the Lawrence District Court where it will likely be prosecuted.
Read Article:
http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x413853691/Pair-nabbed-with-drugs-in-minivan-cupholder#
Two things come to mind immediately when reading this article. The first is the credibility of the investigation. The report would have you believe that after a minor accident the defendants left an obvious quantity of drugs in the vehicle in plain view. Most people realize that police will respond to accident scenes. In cities like Lawrence their response time will be quicker than in suburbs or rural areas. Amador and Aguayo must have known that the police would arrive shortly and would have concealed the drugs had they feared detection. I would be interested to hear what the occupants of the other vehicle observed relative to the search of the car. Their statements might give cause to file a Motion to Suppress the evidence seized. The second issue that is see is attribution. Whose drugs were these anyway. The report has them in the passenger side of the vehicle thereby suggesting that they did not belong to Amador. However, Aguayo could argue that he was unaware of the presence of the substances in the car in that it belonged to someone else.
Answering questions like these often gives rise to affirmative defenses in Massachusetts Drug Cases. If you want to discuss a case like this one or any other Criminal Case in Massachusetts call us at 617-263-6800 or contact us online.