Articles Posted in Trafficking Marijuana

Last week members of the Quincy, Massachusetts Police Department received a utility shutoff notice for 228 Norfolk Street. Shortly after noon the officers arrived at the residence to serve the notice. A man, Hao Vu, answered the door and quickly left the home. Officers immediately noticed a strong odor of Marijuana. They also felt heat coming from the cellar. The article further states that the officers saw Marijuana Plants and heat lamps used to grow the drug. Based on these observations the police left the home to get a Search Warrant. During the execution of the Search Warrant eighty one Marijuana plants were found. Shortly thereafter Hao Vu was found along with his wife Annie Vu. Both Annie and Hao Vu have been charged with Trafficking Marijuana. The case is now pending in the Quincy District Court but will likely be prosecuted in the Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts.

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Quincy, Massachusetts Marijuana Trafficking Defense Law Firm

Lawyers Who Defend Drug Crimes in Norfolk County Massachusetts, Quincy, Dedham

The first thing that catches my eye about this case is the actions of the police when they served the utility notice. While they may have smelled an overwhelming odor of Marijuana that in and of itself would not provide sufficient information for a magistrate or judge to issue a Search Warrant. I am sure what in fact prompted the issuance of the warrant was the observation of plants and grow lights. Yet how were the cops able to see these? Where is the basement door in relation to the front door? How big are the plants? The article also mentions that the officers felt heat when the door was opened. What was the heat bill this month compared to prior months?

Massachusetts case law makes clear that without a search warrant or exigent circumstances a search of someone’s property is illegal. Similarly, an illegal entry that results in observations that serve as a basis for probable cause in a search warrant affidavit requires suppression. As to challenges to search warrants, Massachusetts Appellate Courts have stated that the information obtained as a result of an unlawful entry must be excised from the search warrant affidavit. If, absent that information there still exists probable cause for the issuance of the warrant the search will stand. If not, suppression is ordered. In this case, depending on the content of the search warrant affidavit I can see several potential challenges to this search. The officers’ unlawful entry into the home, possibly dubious observations and uncorroborated suspicions might be applicable here.

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Two days ago at about 10:30 in the morning two women were walking past a home in Lowell, Massachusetts when they noticed smoke coming from a roof. Firefighters were called and quickly surmised that the fire was coming from a wood burning stove. While at the scene the firefighters smelled an odor of marijuana. Consequently they called the Lowell Police. A Search Warrant was obtained. During the execution of the search warrant the police found evidence of what they have called a large-scale marijuana. Specifically, the police observed and seized twenty-nine marijuana plants and forty four pounds of packaged marijuana. They also found grow lights, a water filtration system and three thousand five hundred dollars cash, all Drug Paraphernalia indicative of an intent to distribute. The owner of the home, Angel Luna was charged with Distribution of Marijuana, a Class D Substance, a School Zone Violation and Trafficking Marijuana. Bail was set at three thousand dollars cash. Luna’s defense attorney argued that the total weight of the marijuana when accurately calculated will be less than fifty pounds which is under the weight necessary to sustain a Marijuana Trafficking Prosecution in Massachusetts. The case is currently being prosecuted in the Lowell District Court.

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Massachusetts Drug Crimes Lawyer

Trafficking Marijuana in Massachusetts is a felony in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 94C Section 32E. The law states that anyone who trafficks in marijuana an amount of at least fifty pounds but less than one hundred pounds must serve at least one year in the house of correction. This is a minimum mandatory sentence. There is a maximum penalty of fifteen years in state prison.

One troubling aspect of this statute states that the substance trafficked does not have to be pure or have any degree of purity. Thus, the plants will be weighed individually and tallied with the packaged substance. The defense attorney’s suggestion in this case is that a portion of this substance was for medicinal purposes and not for distribution. While the argument is perhaps legitimate Massachusetts does not have a medicinal marijuana law. Right now, only sixteen states have this type of law, those being Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. The District of Columbia has a similar law as well. Right now six states have medicinal marijuana laws pending before their legislature. Massachusetts is one of them. If the law passes and has a retroactive application then Luna might be able to avail himself of its provisions insofar as the plants are concerned. Of course, all of this assumes that the number of plants residents are permitted to grow falls within the facts of this case. But at least for now, if the total quantity of marijuana in this case exceeds fifty pounds Luna’s defense will have to focus on his intent and show a jury that at least the plants were for his own personal use due to certain medical problems.

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Lowell, Massachusetts police were watching a Dublin Street address concerned about suspected activity. Then, this past Sunday, with the aid of drug sniffing dogs police were able to intercept a couple of United Parcel Services packages addressed to this location. It is estimated that the two packages contained at least seventy five pounds of marijuana. The drugs were located in heat sealed packages surrounded by coffee beans, a substance commonly used to mask the odor of the marijuana. Once the controlled substances were identified an undercover police officer, dressed as a United Parcel Services worker delivered the packages. They were received by Sanith Siv. Shortly thereafter, armed with a Search Warrant, Lowell Police officers arrived and searched the home where they found the drugs and Drug Trafficking Paraphernalia. Phaly Chhoeun opened the door. Also present were Mao Keo and Samnag Sath. All defendants have been charged with Trafficking Marijuana, a School Zone Violation and Conspiracy. Keo was charged with Possession of a Firearm in addition to the drug charges that all four are facing.

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Lowell Massachusetts Drug Trafficking Defense Attorney

The defendants Massachusetts Criminal Lawyer in this case will likely mount a challenge to the search of the packages. The article is unclear as to whether the packages were opened prior to the undercover delivery or afterwards. Usually, once the drug sniffing dogs alert their handler to the package it is searched. If drugs are found it is then re-packaged and delivered in an undercover manner. That is probably what happened here. Two questions then have to be answered. First, should the reliability of the dogs’ findings be challenged? Second, should the Search Warrant be challenged, particularly if the affiant is relying on the dog’s work.

Not too long ago the Chicago Tribune reported findings only forty four percent of the time that dog sniffing dogs alerted their handler to drugs in cars did drugs or Drug Paraphernalia in fact exits. This can be attributed to the fact that dogs’ noses are so sensitive that they can pick up residue from drugs no longer present at the scene where the dog makes its alert. The dogs might also be getting their cues from their handlers. When the driver of the car searched was of a particular race the accuracy dipped to twenty seven percent, thereby implicating a racial profiling issue. Getting the dog training records and alert history might be a beneficial discovery effort for the defendants in this case. Just how current the dog’s certification is can be an issue that results in the suppression of the drugs and a dismissal of the case. Some courts have held that the use of a dog unjustifiably enlarges the scope of a routine traffic stop. As Supreme Court Justice Souter has said: “The evidence is clear that the dog that alerts hundreds of times will be wrong dozens of times.”

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In July of this year Richard Cushnie was arrested in by members of the Massachusetts State Police. He was charged with Trafficking Marijuana after police found more than one hundred fifty pounds in his truck. The estimated street value of the drug is about three hundred thousand dollars. Apparently the drugs were located after police stopped Cushnie’s truck and conducted a search of the vehicle. The article is not clear as to why the officers stopped Cushnie, a New Mexico native, and what their reason was for subsequently conducting the search. Cushnie is being charged with Trafficking Over 100 Pounds of Marijuana. The case has been indicted by a Middlesex County Grand Jury and is now pending in the Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.

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New Mexico Man Charged With Marijuana Trafficking In Woburn Massachusetts Superior Court

Many questions come to mind when reading this article. Why did the police pull Cushnie’s truck over. Did they have some information relative to possible drug dealings? Were they tipped off to possible drug dealings involving this truck or the driver? Was this a routine traffic stop that escalated into something more? Was a bail set back in July when Cushnie was arrested? Did he post bail or has he been held for two and one half months? The defenses to Drug Cases in Massachusetts involving stops, searches and seizures of drugs in motor vehicles usually center on the legality of the stop. There are literally thousands of Massachusetts appellate cases that address Search and Seizure issues. Each case is fact specific and the distinction among what actions taken by law enforcement are legal and which ones are violative of someone’s constitutional rights are often times slight. This is why any in Richard Cushnie’s situation needs an Experienced Massachusetts Drug Trafficking Defense Lawyer like Stephen Neyman to fight his charges. Many times these cases can be won on constitutional grounds through motions to suppress or motions to dismiss.

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