A wise veteran attorney once told me that even a mediocre criminal defense attorney can handle 75% of typical criminal cases. This particular case falls into the remaining 25% where without the backing of a top notch legal team the result could be a lengthy prison sentence. It illustrates the difference between a high quality criminal defense firm and the rest of the pack. This is the type of representation you can expect from Robert Callahan & Associates.
Last summer, while driving to a friend’s house HG and another passenger were pulled over by local police. At the time, police were responding to a radio dispatch concerning an assault that had occurred earlier. The arresting officers claimed the 4 door vehicle HG was driving matched the ‘exact description’ given in the radio dispatch by the victim of the assault. The officers stopped the car, ordered HG and his friend out, and conducted a search. During the search they found a handgun, 30 grams of cannabis, and 14 grams of cocaine. HG was charged with possession of cannabis, possession of a controlled substance, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and armed violence. Armed violence is a Class X felony for which the minimum sentence under Illinois state law is 15 years in the penitentiary.
We launched our investigation immediately. As part of that, we did a meticulous review of all the evidence. The 911 and dispatch recordings were subpoenaed from the night of the arrest. Every single police report as well as a transcript of the preliminary hearing was reviewed. Ultimately, we filed a Motion to Suppress Evidence and requested a hearing. After reviewing hours of recordings it was discovered that the original radio message was issued for a 4 door vehicle with 4 black males. The original dispatch also indicated that the vehicle was heading westbound.
The officer further testified that the information in the flash message was the sole reason she pulled over HG. During cross examination, the officer acknowledged that even though the radio message alluded to 4 male blacks there were only 2 people in HG’s vehicle one of whom was Hispanic. She further admitted that HG’s vehicle was headed southbound as opposed to westbound. The state argued that a similar description of the vehicle was enough to justify a stop and search of HG’s vehicle. The Judge held that merely being in a car that had a similar description to the one described in the radio message was not enough to stop HG’s vehicle. The judge therefore granted the Motion to Suppress the Evidence. As a result of the ruling, the cannabis, cocaine, and weapon found were “suppressed” pursuant to the exclusionary rule. The State’s attorney reviewed the Court’s ruling and DISMISSED the matter shortly after. Instead of facing at a minimum of 15 years in the penitentiary HG went home with his family. MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE GRANTED – CASE DISMISSED
