Case: Weak Police Case Leads to 18 Drug Charges being Dropped.
Police lost sight of a car they believed was driving evasively at 2am. Police saw our client and his girlfriend walking down a street and believed them to be the owner of the car. They searched our client and found a plunger in his pocket and car keys. This led to search of the car, an airbnb and our client’s home where a large amount of drugs were found.
Charges/ Ch1, 2, 3, 4 (drug trafficking); Ch5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19 (drug possession); Ch9, 10 (possess controlled weapon); Ch16 (possess prohibited weapon)
Result/ Ch 1-6, 8-19 withdrawn; Plea to Ch7: adjourned undertaking without conviction
Our lawyer requested disclosure of police notes and body camera footage and spot tests of all drugs. Of 10 police involved no notes were taken, only one officer had body cam and spot tests of some drugs were inconclusive or there were no spot tests at all. It was raised that the police search was unlawful as our client had not consented to the search and police had no warrant. The matter had dragged on for over 2 years and it was agreed with the prosecutor to reduce the charges to a single charge of possession.