Just because individuals are arrested and charged with possession of drugs in Philadelphia does not necessarily mean that the case will go to trial. Pretrial motions such as Motions to Suppress are often important in dismissing the case. In my experience as a Philadelphia criminal defense lawyer, Motions to Suppress often determine whether the case is dismissed, such as a Motion to Suppress drugs or weapons evidence. It is one of the best and important pretrial motions to help the defendants.
PHILADELPHIA POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO DELIVER (PWID) CHARGE HYPOTHETICAL
Consider the following hypothetical. Two police officers are patrolling a high crime neighborhood. They see a parked car in front of a house with 2 individuals inside the vehicle, one in the driver seat, and the other in the front passenger seat. They pull up behind the vehicle.
The police officers get out of their vehicle and approach the parked vehicle. One of the police officers asks if everything is okay, and the driver says, “yeah” with an attitude. The police officer then asks the driver and passenger to get out of the vehicle and searches the inside of the vehicle. The officers find a large amount of meth in the glove compartment. The police officers then arrest both of the individuals, and the individuals are charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver (PWID).
Per Pennsylvania’s criminal law, in order to search the car, the police officers needed to have probable cause, which means that the police had to have sufficient factual basis i.e., articulable facts, to form a reasonable belief that an offense had been or was being committed.
In this hypothetical, what facts can the police rely on to form probable cause? They did not see the passengers exchange drugs/money, there was no smell of marijuana and there was no other factual basis to form a reasonable belief that an offense was committed. Because there was no factual basis to form probable cause, the police officers did not have a right to search the vehicle. In such a case, a Motion to Suppress the meth found as part of the illegal search would be filed, and the court would most likely dismiss the drug case.
Related Drug Case Result Obtained by Mr. Nenner – Due to a successful Motion to Suppress drugs found during a traffic stop filed by Mr. Nenner, the prosecution withdrew the Philadelphia drug case. Click here to see more successful criminal case results obtained by Mr. Nenner.
HELP AFTER A DRUG ARREST OR DRUG CHARGES IN PHILADELPHIA
If you were arrested by the police and subsequently charged with drug crimes in Philadelphia, contact David S. Nenner, a top rated Philadelphia criminal defense lawyer. Unlike many Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers, Mr. Nenner offers FREE consultations. Call (215) 515-0042 to schedule a consultation.