Drug Offenses

August 1, 2016

ATTORNEY SAM WARNS THAT WHETHER FOR DRUGS, OUI OR A CRIME OF VIOLENCE, THE ARREST/ARRAIGNMENT COMBINATION ALONE MAY CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER

In my last posting, we spoke about a particular defendant who was arrested for drug crimes. Members of his family were also arrested at the scene for, basically, trying to prevent the arrest from taking place as the officers had intended it. Let’s call them, collectively, the “Defendant Family”.

On Thursday, I indicated that the Defendant Family would already be affected by their arrest even if they ended up being found “not guilty”.

What many people still do not realize is that you do not need to be convicted to lose your “innocence” under the law.

A Clerk Magistrate hearing takes place in some cases before an arraignment. There is no judge at such a hearing, only a Clerk Magistrate. The purpose of the hearing is to decide if there is probable cause for the Clerk Magistrate to issue a criminal complaint. Should the criminal complaint issue, the next step is an arraignment.

This is why the Clerk Magistrates hearing is so critical to a defendant. It is the last stop before an arraignment. It is more than worth doing all that you can, usually through counsel, to get one. We have discussed the requirements and procedures for this in earlier blogs and, I am sure, will return to them again at some point.

But not today.

As you know, an arraignment is the first time a criminal defendant appears before a judge. At the arraignment, a defendant effectively loses his or her presumption of innocence.

“Sam, how can that be? We are all told that the presumption of innocence never ends unless and until the government proves the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt before a judge or jury.”

You’re right. That is what we are told. In some cases, it is actually close to true.

July 28, 2016

HOLYOKE DRUG TRAFFICKING ARREST LEADS TO ARREST OF YOUTH AND HIS FAMILY

by Samuel Goldberg

Roman Correa (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is only 19 years old. He is said to be a “good student”.

Without the aid of a criminal defense miracle, his life, as he has known it, is probably over.

The Defendant, 19 years of age and a senior at Holyoke’s Dean Technical High School, has been charged with heroin trafficking.

He is presently being held on $50,000 bail.

He was arrested on Friday, along with his mother and sister, when law enforcement raided a home in the city’s Six Corners section and reportedly seized more than 800 bags of heroin.

He was arraigned on Monday when he pleaded “not guilty” to trafficking and related charges during his arraignment Monday in Springfield District Court.

Detectives seized 840 bags of heroin, $635 in cash and drug paraphernalia, according to the Commomnwealth.

During the raid, the Defendant’s mother and sister allegedly tangled with police, leading to charges against them, They were charged with resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer.

According to Mass Live, at the arraignment, the prosecutor asked for $50,000 bail for theDefendant, citing the large volume of heroin allegedly seized plus the fact he is apparently on probation in another heroin case in Holyoke District Court.

July 15, 2016

HOW THE POKEMON – MASSACHUSETTS CRIMINAL LAW COMBINATION COULD GET YOU ARRESTED…OR WORSE

by Samuel Goldberg

There are various periodicals we lawyers read to keep up with not only what is happening system-wide, but also what is up with the rest of the world which we might be missing due to the myopia of our work. One which I quote from often (and thankfully returns the favor from time to time) is the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly . Another is the American Bar Association Journal . The latter has given me the idea for today’s blog.

According to the Journal, “Pokemon characters are on the loose, and it’s your job to catch and collect them.”

I suppose to those “in the know” that sounds fun. While I don’t know how this works in the “augmented reality” of Pokemon, I do know that not everything that is fun in this world is safe if you would like to keep living in relative freedom.

We are talking about the new “Pokemon Go” app, which uses your phone’s GPS and clock to detect where you are and make Pokemon characters appear on your phone screens. “The Pokemon characters may be in public places such as parks, beaches and even bathrooms, and players have to go to the locations to find them.”

Sounds safe enough, right?

Well, maybe not so much.

July 11, 2016

ATTORNEY SAM ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT FEDERAL AND STATE PROSECUTIONS OF DRUG CASES.

by Samuel Goldberg

In my last blog, we discussed the case of two gentlemen who were taken into custody at Logan Airport and are facing heavy drug charges. They were arraigned in state court,

The cases are unlikely to stay there, though.

While they are currently in district court, they are likely to be indicted and prosecuted either in state superior court or federal district court.

Or, at least one of them is.

July 6, 2016

TWO GENTS FROM OUT OF STATE ARE ARRESTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING AT LOGAN AIRPORT

by Samuel Goldberg

We have discussed a number of cases during which law enforcement is paying a great deal of attention on what is going on in the country’s airports. No, not simply for cases of potential terrorists.

The last one, this weekend, involved trafficking.

Narcotics trafficking.

On Saturday, the authorities say that two Pennsylvania men tried smuggling six kilograms of cocaine through Logan International Airport by stuffing bricks of the drug into the lining of their bags. This made the lining unusually heavy, according to police, which made the bag suspicious.

Ezra Mendez, 19, and Erick Domingues-Santos, 25, both of Allentown, Pa., and hereinafter collectively, the “Defendants”, were set to appear in East Boston District Court yesterday to face charges of trafficking in cocaine and conspiring to violate drug laws.

The Defendants, arriving on a flight from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Saturday morning, tried passing through customs 10 minutes apart, each carrying a black roller bag, according to state police according to the Boston Herald

When airport workers noticed an “abnormality” in the bags during the screening process, they emptied the totes, which had a thicker bottom liner than usual and felt “unusually heavy,” state police said.

This undoubtedly raised suspicions even higher given that “false bottom” bags are a common way by which contraband is often secreted.

June 15, 2016

ATTORNEY SAM CONTINUES LISTING THE CONTENTS OF THE TYPICAL DRUG TRAFFICKING PROSECUTION (Part Two)

by Samuel Goldberg

Yesterday, we discussed a gent who is looking at criminal charges for allegedly participating in a heroin trafficking ring. We began listing items that one normally finds being offered into evidence in such cases.

We now continue.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Additional Pieces Of Evidence In A High Level Drug Trafficking Prosecution

A Stash

This refers to other drugs that are waiting to be sold in or around the location.

An important part of a high-level drug trafficking investigation is finding the sources of drugs. Drug operations tend to be multi-level. Generally, law enforcement is more interested in getting the “bigger fish” than the “little minnows”. The prosecutorial hope is that the more drugs that are found, the higher the level of the dealers. In terms of the individual prosecution, the finding of a stash is good evidence that the people present are involved in the drug trade.

It is especially helpful when the type and packaging of the drugs found match the packaging of that which was sold in a pre-warrant buy (discussed yesterday).

Big stashes of illegal narcotics tend to be worth a great deal of money. Therefore, the more the stash is worth, the less likely it is that folks not involved with the business will be present at what is suspected to be a drug location.

At least, that’s how the theory goes.

June 14, 2016

SALEM MAN IS CHARGED WITH TRAFFICKING IN HEROIN (Part One)

by Samuel Goldberg

Allen Delisle, 29, hereinafter, the “Defendant” learned about law enforcement and allegations about the drug trade yesterday according to the Salem Daily News.

The Defendant was held on $100,000 cash bail at Salem District Court. The next date is scheduled to be for a probable cause hearing. Translation? The Commonwealth is going to indict him

According to the Commonwealth, after two pre-warrant buys from the Defendant, A search warrant was executed Friday afternoon. The Defendant was allegedly found with more than 2 ounces of heroin in his rooming house . As a result, he stands charged with heroin trafficking and distribution of drugs near a school or park.

The Commonwealth claims that it recovered thousands of dollars in cash in the pockets of the Defendant as well as thousands of dollars worth of heroin. Packaging materials were also apparently discovered

The Defendant faces a mandatory minimum of seven years in state prison if convicted.

The issue of coming up with the bail might turn out to be moot. Apparently, he is also currently on probation. Very likely, the Department of Probation will seek to bring a surrender hearing and send him into the not so warm arms of involuntary housing

Attorney Sam’sTake On The Typical Evidence Of A Drug Trafficking Case

It seems I have been surrounded by drug cases ever since I graduated out of law school.

April 20, 2016

THE NEW “STINGRAY” CONTINUES THE TREND FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND AGAINST PERSONAL PRIVACY

by Samuel Goldberg

Granted, it was longer ago than I had expected, but when we left off, we were discussing Cell Site Simulators – often referred to as “Stingrays”, one of the newer investigative tools of law enforcement. The Stingray is used to gather sensitive information about cell phone users by essentially tricking their phones into thinking they are communicating with cell phone company towers, when in fact they are communicating with law enforcement.

The Stingray not only gathers data about the intended target, but can also sweep up information from countless bystanders who end up monitored just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Since the days after September 11, 2001, law enforcement, on varying levels, has been given extra powers to eat away at our various rights, particularly those regarding privacy. The process, whether it is a murder case, a drug case or any other case has almost become predictable

Step One: “No, we could not spy on someone like that. It is not allowed”;

Step Two: “We cannot spy on folks like that in regular criminal cases. We only get o use those extra powers when dealing with terrorism”;

Step Three: Ok, we figure we ARE allowed to use those powers in normal criminal cases…but we don’t have the funding to do so; and, finally,

Step Four: Yes, of course we used it to fight regular crime. Doesn’t ALL criminal behavior endanger our way of life?

March 2, 2016

DORCHESTER MEN ARE HELD ON HIGH BAIL IN CASE OF DRUGS, GUNS AND UNRULY SUPPORTERS

by Samuel Goldberg

Take family dynamics, guns, drugs and a bail hearing and you never know what you will come out with.

Well, actually, folks at Dorchester municipal court last Monday found out.

Pedro Valdez, 33, and Lasonia Gathers, 27, (collectively the “Defendants”) were arrested over last weekend on felony drug and weapons charges after a search of a Dorchester home uncovered measuring scales, multiple plastic bags containing heroin and cocaine, and a loaded semi-automatic handgun inside a child’s bassinet, according to police.

For those who may not know, there are strict rules for safely keeping firearms. A child’s bassinet does not qualify as a safe place.

For an number of obvious reasons, many of which are probably self evident.
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February 1, 2016

FEDERAL GANG BUST INCLUDES TWO CAMBRIDGE MEN PLUS 56 OTHER CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS

by Samuel Goldberg

At the end of last week, the United States Attorney’s office issued a press release. The posting of it, as we have discussed in the past, as recently as last week, is apparently deemed necessary in LawenforcementLand to let us know that they are doing their job and arresting people.

Whether those people turn out to be guilty, of course, is another issue. In the meantime, of course, they will be presumed innocent…and assumed guilty.

To be fair, though, the federal prosecutor’s office generally gets the convictions that they are after.

As I recall, this was released around the same time I was getting posts on my IPhone that they were trying to find some gang member who apparently had escaped from federal custody. Yes, that would be the same office.

But I digress.

According to the release, two gentlemen from Cambridge were among 56 alleged “MS-13” gang members, leaders and associates who were taken into custody by law enforcement Friday morning. Erick Argueta Larios, aka “Lobo,” 31, and Herzzon Sandoval, aka “Casper,” 34, both of Cambridge, had been indicted on federal racketeering conspiracy charges.
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