MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE GRANTED – CASE DISMISSED DUE TO UNCONSTITUTIONAL SEARCH. Unlawful Use of Weapons by Felon Class 2 felony
Last spring Ik was arrested for narcotics loitering and possession of a controlled substance. He was detained after he reappeared at an intersection 6 hours after being ordered to leave that same intersection. The particular intersection where IK was standing was designated by the police department as a high narcotics area. After being brought to the police station, police found 2 grams of heroin in his sock. He was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and given bail pending trial.
After reviewing the case we planned our strategy for defense. Our line of attack was to question the constitutionality of the initial arrest of IK, as well as the officer’s basis of Probable Cause.
In order to carry out our strategy we filed a Motion to Suppress Evidence. We put the officer on the stand and focused our line of questioning to the officer’s observation of IK. The officer testified that he only observed IK for a short period of time both in the morning when IK was first ordered to leave and 6 hours later when he was arrested. The officer testified that in that time he did not see IK involved in any hand to hand transactions or any other activity indicative of narcotics dealing. The Judge found that the law itself was constitutional BUT that the officer did not have probable cause to make the initial arrest of IK. As a result of the ruling, the narcotics found at the police station were “suppressed” pursuant to the exclusionary rule. The State’s attorney reviewed the Court’s ruling and DISMISSED the matter that day. MOTION TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE GRANTED – CASE DISMISSED
