October 31, 2013
- Steven Topazio wrote this May 5, 2014 at 4:24 am
The client, a 36 year old construction worker, was arrested after police alleged he was observed to be involved in a drug transaction, but when the alleged buyer disappeared into a building, the client was stopped, searched and found him to be in possession of cocaine, hired Boston Criminal Lawyer Steven J. Topazio to represent him. Attorney Topazio filed a motion to suppress the evidence in the case after the warrantless search, claiming the police lacked probable cause to search his client. The facts in this case indicated that the police hustled up to the client’s car when it was stopped at a red light, and ordered him out of his car and pat frisked him for weapons. During the pat frisk, and without manipulating the item, the police immediately recognize an item in the client’s shirt pocket to be cocaine. After an evidentiary hearing at which the Boston Police testified, the court found that the stop of the client was not supported by reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminality. The court also found that contraband nature of the drugs in the defendant’s pocket was not immediately apparent until manipulated in some fashion, which violated the client’s rights, and as a result, the court allowed the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence.