Last weekend, six individuals remain in custody after being arrested in East Chicago on suspicion of drug possession. The arrests stemmed from four separate incidents. Three of the individuals were arrested at an apartment after a drug complaint had been filed. Officers reportedly say cannabis in plain sight in an apartment after viewing a cloud of marijuana smoke in the hallway. In another incident, police arrested a 28-year-old man after he refused to quiet down outside an apartment building and was found to be carrying marijuana.
In another incident, an 18-year-old man was arrested at a Roxana gas station after police smelled fresh marijuana. He was found to be carrying eight plastic bags containing suspended cannabis. In a fourth incident, a Merillville woman was arrested during a routine seat belt stop when police found her to be in possession of bag of suspected marijuana. A clear plastic bag containing the suspected marijuana had been in plain view on the front seat of her vehicle.
In drug possession cases, it is critical to examine all the details that lead up to the arrest. In some cases, police obtain incriminating evidence in an illegal manner, and certain protections may apply to the defendant as a result. It is also important that, in building a strong criminal defense, evidence presented by prosecutors is thoroughly scrutinized.
In some cases, defendants may be able to strike a plea deal with prosecutors based on certain conditions. In some cases, these deals make a lot of sense, and it is important to have a good defense attorney to help one work through it.
Source: nwtimes.com, “6 held in weekend pot busts in East Chicago,” Steve Zabroski, November 20, 2012
