Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
A Salem Massachusetts man, Edward Vidinha, charged with a subsequent offense of possession of heroin faces up to two and one half years in prison if convicted. According to The Salem News, Salem police officers approached Vidinha after they saw, what they claimed to be, a drug transaction. According to reports, the officers claim that they saw Vidinha throw a small bag, of what they believe to be heroin, to the ground before they approached him. Vidinha pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Salem District Court but was held on $7,500.00 cash bail. It is believed that the judge imposed such a high bail because of Vidinha’s lengthy record.
Although all of the facts are not known at this time, it appears that there may be a viable motion to suppress the evidence in this case. In Massachusetts, the police must have “reasonable suspicion” before approaching and individual and conducting a “threshold inquiry.” Here, it appears that the officers claim that they saw what they believed to be a drug transaction between Vidinha and another individual. In this type of case, it is important to file pre-trial discovery motions requesting specific information relative to the officers qualifications to make such a determination. It is also critical to do a thorough pretrial investigation to determine whether the officers could have seen what they claimed to have seen from their location. There are numerous ways to attack the legality of the officers conduct. Our Attorney is experienced in defending drug cases in local courthouses including Stoughton and East Boston.
Having an experienced Massachusetts defense attorney on your side to protect your rights is crucial to presenting a successful defense. If you have been charged with a drug offense, you must contact a Massachusetts trial attorney to ensure that the police did not violate your state and federal constitutional rights when they conducted any search of your person, car or home. A successful result relative to a motion to suppress often results in the suppression of incriminating evidence and is often the end of the case.
Our Attorney represents defendants charged with drug offenses including possession of controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances and possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute in a school zone in courts throughout Massachusetts. She has successfully litigated motions to suppress that have led dismissal of charges against a defendant. If you have been charged with a drug offense contact Our Attorney and she will get to work on your case immediately.