The appellant along with a co-defendant were charged with felony possession of marijuana, cocaine possession, possession of a drug implement, and possession of methaqualone. The appellant was denied the motion to suppress certain physical evidence. The appellant was tried alone. The trial resulted in a hung jury mistrial. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the trial court then ordered that the case of the appellant be tried with the co-defendant. The joint trial resulted in the appellant being found guilty as charged.
The appellant was sentenced to five years’ probation after serving six months in jail. The appellant motioned for a new trial, which was denied and this appeal followed.
Relevant Facts
The co-defendant was pulled over by police officers and asked for identification. He did not have id on him and the officers arrested him for driving without a valid license. The co-defendant tried to establish his identity and told the officers that he was staying at the Holiday Inn with his girlfriend. The co-defendant was taken to the police station and the two officers went to the hotel to confirm his story.
When they arrived at the hotel they asked about a room that was registered to the co-defendant. The room was registered to the male, but two people were listed as occupying the room. The officers went to the room and knocked on the door. A NYC Criminal Lawyer said the appellant opened the door and the officers saw in plain view several bags of marijuana, a pipe, a scale, and a box of sandwich bags.
The officers then entered the room and took the pipe and marijuana and arrested the appellant for possession of a controlled substance. A further look around the room found two more bags of marijuana and a bag of cocaine. No other search was made at the time. The officers secured the room and then obtained a search warrant to search through the room.
When the thorough search of the room was conducted there was additional contraband found including a tablet of metaqualone and a bag of cocaine shoved into the back of a radio. The charges against the appellant are a result of these facts.
Case Discussion and Decision
The appellant has argued that the trial court erred by allowing the marijuana to be introduced as evidence. However the court has determined that her argument is without merit in this regard. The argument is also made for the sufficiency of the evidence.
The appellant also argues that the police coming to the hotel room was improper. However, there is nothing improper about the police trying to confirm the identity of the other defendant. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said the officers conducted the search appropriately and only used probable cause to enter the room. The officers properly obtained a search warrant for the remaining areas of the room.
For these reasons, all of the motions by the appellant are dismissed and the conviction and sentence is confirmed.
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