Drug Crimes

Pharmacies in North Florida Assisting Police in Making Methamphetamine Arrests

Published on: January 19, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Police in Bradford County, Florida, which is about an hour southwest of Jacksonville, Florida, used a tip from a pharmacy to make a big methamphetamine arrest, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com.

Pseudoephedrine is a common ingredient in cold medicines such as Sudafed. It is also an important ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine. In the past, people would go to pharmacies and grocery stores and anonymously buy large quantities of Sudafed and other cold medicine to use the pseudoephedrine to make methamphetamine. However as methamphetamine production became more widespread, the laws were changed in Florida to require people buying cold medicines with pseudoephedrine to show identification and have their names and purchase documented in a log kept at the store. The Florida law also limits the amount of pseudoephedrine products a person can buy.

When a person buys or attempts to buy too many pseudoephedrine products, pharmacy or store employees may call other stores that sell pseudoephedrine products to check their logs and/or the police to report suspected methamphetamine manufacturing. Additionally, police in Florida involved in methamphetamine investigations or who have made methamphetamine arrests will often contact local pharmacies to see if they have evidence of pseudoephedrine purchases made by a particular person. This can be strong evidence in a methamphetamine manufacturing case.

Drug Case Thrown Out in Florida After Police Improperly Detain Defendant

Published on: January 13, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

In a recent criminal case that occurred south of Jacksonville, Florida, the police stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation. The vehicle was occupied by a driver and a passenger. The police became suspicious of the two occupants and asked each of them if they could search the vehicle. Both occupants consented to the search. For some reason, although neither occupant had committed a crime, the police officer handcuffed the passenger and placed her in his patrol car for approximately 30 minutes while the police searched the vehicle. The police did not find any drugs in the vehicle and let the two occupants go with only a traffic ticket.

However, when the police officers returned to their car, they found a bag of cocaine where the passenger had been sitting in the patrol car during the search. The police officers then chased after the vehicle and arrested the passenger for possession of cocaine.

The criminal defense lawyer for the passenger filed a motion to suppress the evidence of the cocaine because the passenger was illegally detained while she was sitting in the police car. The court agreed and threw out the evidence of the cocaine. The possession of cocaine charge was then dropped.

NFL Player Arrested for Felony Possession of Marijuana

Published on: December 24, 2009 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

A player for the Atlanta Falcons was arrested for possession of more than one ounce of marijuana, which is a felony in Georgia, according to an article on Espn.com. According to the article, Jonathan Babineaux was pulled over for having an expired tag and no tag light. The officer then smelled marijuana and searched the vehicle, presumably after getting consent from Babineaux. He found a bag with over one ounce of marijuana inside.

Babineax basically invited an arrest for felony possession of marijuana. The police officer listed at least two reasons for stopping Babineaux- an expired tag and no tag light. When a person’s tag is expired, a police officer is authorized to stop the vehicle at any time regardless of whether the driver is violating any traffic laws. Likewise, if the tag light is out and the police officer is unable to see the numbers and letters on the license plate, the police officer can also pull the driver over for that reason. Once the police officer approaches the vehicle and indicates he smells marijuana, he is probably going to ask to search the vehicle. Why people with a big bag of marijuana or other drugs in the car agree to a police officer’s request to search that vehicle is a mystery, but it happens often. People should just be aware that police officers do not have a blanket right to search vehicles, homes or one’s person based on a suspicion of drug or other illegal activity. And if a police officer asks a person to search him/her, the vehicle or anything else belonging to that person, that person always has a right to refuse.

Newly Popular Substance (Salvia) is an Illegal Drug in Florida

Published on: December 21, 2009 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

More and more states are considering making a relatively new substance illegal. The substance, which is called Salvia, looks like a mint leaf and comes from Mexico. The substance is consumed either by smoking the plant or chewing a paste made from the plant. When taken, Salvia produces psychoactive effects, the potency of which depends on your weight, how much you take, the strength of the Salvia, how you take it and other factors. Some people experience vision altering effects, a dream-like effect, confusion, loss of awareness, a floating sensation, loss of physical coordination and/or many other effects.

There are four states that have recently passed laws that consider Salvia a drug and make possession illegal just like marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other illegal drugs. Florida made selling, using or possessing Salvia illegal in 2008 and classifies Salvia the same as drugs like marijuana and LSD.

There are websites out there that sell Salvia just like any other plant because it is legal in many states. The plant has actually been around for many years and was used by the native Indians for a variety of purposes. However, its popularity and recreational use today are fairly new. Keep in mind that if you are in Florida, it is illegal to have or use Salvia and there can be serious penalties for someone arrested for possession of Salvia.

In Florida, Police May Access Your Drug Records From Your Pharmacy Without a Search Warrant

Published on: December 12, 2009 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Most people understand that the Florida Constitution and the U.S. Constitution protect us from unreasonable searches and seizures. That means the police and other law enforcement agencies in Florida cannot search our homes, vehicles, etc. and seize our property without consent, a search warrant or emergent circumstances. However, the law is different regarding controlled substance records at pharmacies.

Florida law says that pharmacies are required to maintain drug records for at least two years. Pharmacies are also required by Florida law to make those controlled substance records available to law enforcement officers without the need for a search warrant, subpoena or other court order. Additionally, the police can obtain controlled substance records from pharmacies without notice to the patient from either law enforcement or the pharmacy. In other words, police in Florida are permitted to go to your pharmacy and obtain your controlled substance prescription records without a warrant and without you knowing about it.

This primarily comes up in two types of cases. Obtaining prescription drugs, such as Vicodin, Percocet and Oxycontin, by fraud is becoming more prevalent these days as we have pointed out on this blog in the past. Doctor shopping, where a patient may go to several doctors to get the same or similar prescriptions, is also fairly common. When the police investigate such crimes, they may go to the pharmacy for a suspect’s records. Florida law allows them to obtain such information more easily than other evidence in other types of crimes.

Five People Arrested in Waycross, Georgia for Growing Marijuana

Published on: December 9, 2009 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Five people were arrested for allegedly growing high potency marijuana in a house in Waycross, Georgia, which is about two hours northwest of Jacksonville, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. They also reportedly stole electricity from power lines to power the lights needed to operate a marijuana grow house.

We have written a few times on this blog about the increasing number of arrests of people growing marijuana indoors in grow houses that use special equipment to grow the marijuana. Of course, that special equipment requires a significant amount of power to operate. This additional electricity use can help police track this kind of activity when they search electricity records and see an inordinate amount of power going to a particular location. Police may use electricity records and other information to obtain search warrants for the home where the marijuana plants and grow equipment are located.

In this case, when police discovered that power was being diverted to the house, it alerted the police to the possibility that marijuana was being grown inside. And because the power was being stolen, it gave the police the right to investigate that crime and any others that were taking place in the home.

Cocaine Trafficking Case Thrown Out Due to Illegal Search in Florida

Published on: December 3, 2009 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

A Florida trafficking in cocaine case was recently thrown out due to the illegal search by the police officer. In this case, the police officer responded to a domestic battery call where the suspect was possibly armed with a handgun. The police officer saw the suspect near the apartment and called to him. The suspect ran and was caught near a vehicle that supposedly belonged to him. The police officer arrested the suspect and searched him but found nothing. After the suspect was placed in the patrol car, the police officer searched his vehicle and found a trafficking amount of cocaine.

The criminal defense lawyer for the suspect filed a motion to suppress alleging that the search of the defendant’s vehicle where the cocaine was found was illegal. The judge agreed and threw out the evidence of the cocaine.

The law has changed on this issue recently. In the past, the police officer could always search a person’s vehicle if he/she is arrested near that vehicle, for instance during a traffic stop. However, now, if a person is arrested near his/her vehicle but at the time of the arrest has been secured and is not within arm’s reach of that vehicle, the police officer does not have an automatic right to search the vehicle. In other words, if the suspect has no way of getting into his/her vehicle, there is no officer safety issue and the police officer cannot just search it automatically. If the officer has reason to believe that there is evidence of the crime for which the suspect has been arrested in that vehicle, then the officer may have a right to search it. But, the police officer’s search is no longer automatic when a person gets arrested at or near his/her vehicle. If the police search the vehicle of someone who has been arrested and secured without specific facts suggesting there is evidence in that vehicle, any evidence of a crime found in the vehicle should be thrown out.

In Florida, Police Cannot Stop You Solely Based on an Anonymous Tip

Published on: November 27, 2009 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

A criminal defense client asked us whether the police can conduct an investigatory stop, whether on foot or in a vehicle, based on an anonymous tip. For instance, let’s assume that an unidentified person calls the police and says that person X is out on the street with illegal drugs in his possession or person Y is driving recklessly and may be drunk driving. Can the police in Florida approach either of these “suspects” and stop them to investigate them solely based on the anonymous tip? The answer is no.

Each of us has a Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures by the police. That means the police cannot just stop someone without reasonable suspicion, i.e. specific facts, that a crime is taking place or is about the take place. When the police get a tip from some anonymous person, that by itself is not reliable enough to justify a police stop. The police would have the right to investigate further, but can only stop the “suspect” if the police officer observes certain facts that confirmed the tip him/herself .

For instance, in the case of the person who possessed illegal drugs, if the police officer observed the person making what appeared to be hand to hand drug transactions, that may be a basis to stop the person and investigate further. In the case of the alleged drunk driver, if the police located the vehicle and saw that the driver was swerving or speeding or otherwise driving recklessly, that would be sufficient for a stop and subsequent DUI investigation. However, if the police officer located the vehicle and the driver was driving appropriately, a stop based solely on the anonymous tip would be illegal.

Possession of Marijuana Case Thrown Out for Illegal Search of a Juvenile

Published on: November 22, 2009 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

In a recent possession of marijuana case in Florida, the criminal charges against a juvenile were dropped because the juvenile was searched illegally by the police officer. The police officer found the juvenile near a high school during school hours. He approached the juvenile and determined that he was supposed to be in school at the time. A police officer does have a right to detain a juvenile if he has reason to believe that the juvenile is skipping school. The purpose of the detention is to return the juvenile to the school.

In this case, the police officer detained the juvenile, searched her pockets and found marijuana. Normally, a police officer is allowed to search someone who has been arrested to make sure the suspect does not have a weapon and presents no risk to the police officer’s safety. However, truancy, i.e. skipping school, is not a crime so this juvenile was not arrested. As a result, the police officer could not use the search incident to arrest basis to search the juvenile. If the officer has a right to detain someone, as he did here, he/she can pat that person down for weapons to ensure officer safety, but the officer chose not to do that and went straight into a search instead.

Alternatively, if the police officer had some reason to believe that the juvenile was in possession of marijuana or other illegal drug, he may have been permitted to search the juvenile. If the officer had patted the juvenile down first and felt something that seemed to be drugs or a weapon, then a search would likely have been authorized. At the hearing on the motion to suppress the marijuana, the police officer testified that he searched the juvenile for officer safety because he was about to place him in his patrol car to take him back to school. But since no arrest was made, this was not a valid basis to search the juvenile under the Fourth Amendment.

Marijuana Grow Houses Growing in Florida

Published on: November 4, 2009 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Marijuana grow houses, where people make structural and electrical modifications to a home or other building to create a warm and humid environment where hybrid marijuana plants can grow indoors, are becoming more popular in Florida, according to a recent article on News4jax.com. Apparently, drug trafficking organizations are setting up grow houses all over Florida and the Southeast from Miami to Jacksonville to Atlanta. They are able to grow more potent marijuana that can bring in more money per plant. Additionally, many criminal courts have become less strict with marijuana crimes reducing the risk of setting up a marijuana grow house. According to the article, most people arrested for the first time for having a marijuana grow house get probation instead of jail or prison time. Of course, that will depend on a variety of factors in the case and the particular county where the suspect is arrested.

According to the article, the number of marijuana grow houses have increased exponentially since 2000 when most of the illegal drugs in Florida were brought in from Mexico and South America. The article estimates that approximately 100 pounds of marijuana from Florida grow houses are shipped from Miami to other parts of the country.