Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
On December 31, 2009 Frank Garcia was pulled over by Billerica Police on what has been called a motor vehicle infraction. During the stop the officers became suspicious that Garcia might have been involved in selling drugs so they called for a couple of canine officers. Garcia was detained until the canine units arrived. The dogs apparently gave an indication that drugs were present and Garcia’s car was searched. Inside the police found over four hundred grams of cocaine and twelve thousand dollars cash. Garcia was arrested and subsequently charged with Trafficking Cocaine in Excess of 200 Grams, Possessing and Uttering a False Driver’s License and Giving a False Name to Police Officers. The case will be prosecuted in the Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.
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Billerica Police Make Cocaine Bust Resulting In Trafficking Charges
How does a “routine motor vehicle stop” result in a suspect being detained until drug sniffing dogs are brought to the scene? This article certainly does not answer that question. I assume that the false driver’s license and providing a false name to police officers was not detected until after the search revealed the large quantity of cocaine. Otherwise, Garcia would have been arrested and charged with the Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Offenses, his car would have been inventoried and towed and he would have been released on a rather low bail. The prosecution is going have to establish the legality Garcia’s detention or arrest and the search of the car because the Massachusetts Cocaine Trafficking Defense Lawyer defending Garcia will try to get the stop, detention, search and ultimate arrest dismissed through a Motion to Suppress.
Vigorously litigating Motions to Suppress in Massachusetts can result in the dismissal of all charges. This approach is routinely taken in Drug Cases in Massachusetts and Attorney Stephen Neyman has been successful following this route on countless occasions. Call us at 617-263-6800 or contact us online to discuss your drug case and the possible defenses.