The Metrowest Daily News reports that Kelly Temple and Shay Lund, two women who lived in a Hudson, Massachusetts apartment have been charged with Trafficking Cocaine Over 28 Grams, Possession of Cocaine, Possession With the Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Conspiracy. As part of an ongoing investigation the police obtained a Search Warrant permitting them to enter and search the women’s Lake Street apartment. During the search officers found scales, cutting agents, packaging materials, crib sheets, cash and over twenty eight grams of cocaine. It is alleged that these materials were inside of a closet in the bedroom the two shared. Temple was present at the time of the execution of the search warrant. Lund was found in a nearby bar. She was carrying bags of cocaine consistent with an intention to sell. She has been charged with a School Zone Violation as well. The cases are pending in the Marlboro District Court. It is likely that these cases will be indicted and prosecuted in the Middlesex County Superior Court in Woburn. There is a minimum mandatory five year state prison sentence associated with the trafficking charges.
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As is typically the case in Search Warrant matters, Temple and Lund’s defenses will focus on the integrity of the police investigation. Police need probable cause to obtain and execute a search warrant. Inasmuch as the details in this article are scant it is safe to assume that much of their investigation centered on assistance from an informant. For the warrant to survive constitutional scrutiny the informant must have a basis of knowledge to conclude that the controlled substances would be where he claimed they would be. He must also be deemed reliable. This is often referred to as the Aguilar-Spinelli test. Experienced Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyers frequently mount challenges to these searches by showing a judge that the informant lacked the requisite basis of knowledge or the he or she was not reliable. Successful challenges usually result in suppression of the drugs seized and ultimately a dismissal of the criminal charges.
One of the things that interests me here is the layout of the Lake Street apartment. The article suggests that Lund and Temple shared a room. However it also states that Lund lived in Rhode Island and that the Temple was the tenant in the apartment. Was this a one bedroom apartment? If so, what evidence suggests that the two shared the room. If the challenge to the issuance of the search warrant fails it looks at first blush like these two have competing, conflicting defenses that might result in an acquittal of the trafficking charge as to one or the other.
The Law Offices of Stephen Neyman is constantly involved in the defense of Drug Cases in Massachusetts and throughout the country. If you have been charged with a crime you need a lawyer. Call us at 617-263-6800. You can contact us online as well. The time to start defending the charges you are facing is now. We are ready to fight for you.