Articles Posted in Drug Possesion

Plaintiff and his daughter live in the town of Huntington, Suffolk County. Plaintiff’s daughter, born on October 1964, is afflicted with a condition diagnosed as nerve deafness. She has been attending school at a certain school for the deaf in Nassau County at the age of three. Her right to continue her education there is neither threatened nor disputed by the school or any other agency. The only issue involved is her transportation from where she resides to the school, at a distance of about seventeen miles. Despite application to various agencies, the burden of her transportation has remained with her parents. By reason of this, plaintiff filed a petition with the Supreme Court of Suffolk County for their expenses. As indicated in plaintiff’s affidavit, it is a heavy burden, indeed, in terms of time, effort and expense. Plaintiff then moved for a summary judgment to declare: that plaintiff’s infant child is entitled to be educated at the School for the Deaf, as a deaf child, pursuant to section 4201 of the Education Law; that defendant Board of Education, Union Free School District No. 1 of the Town of Huntington is obliged to and shall pay for the transportation of plaintiff’s child to said school; or, in the alternative, that defendant Board of Supervisors of the County of Suffolk is obliged to and shall pay for the transportation of said child to said school, located in Nassau County.

The issue for the criminal court to resolve is whether or not it has jurisdiction to direct the respondents, or either of them, to assume the transportation burden.

First, plaintiff argued that pursuant to section 4201, Article 85 of the New York State & Education Law, Instruction of the Deaf and of the Blind, his child is entitled to free transportation to and from the school; and that, although the article is silent with respect to transportation, by enactment thereof, the legislature impliedly intended that children attending such schools shall be furnished with free transportation. As provided for under Article 85, deaf children, three years of age or older and residents of the state for at least one year, are eligible for attendance at certain institutions designated, including the school for the deaf where plaintiff’s daughter is attending, and those attending shall be provided with board, lodging and tuition, as well as with clothing whenever their parents or guardians are unable to furnish the same. However, the court cannot agree with plaintiff’s argument. If free transportation was indeed the legislative’s intent, the article would have so stated. For example, Article 87 of the Education Law, entitled New York State School for the Blind, not only makes provision for the Instruction of blind persons of suitable age and capacity, but specifically provides for their traveling expenses. Thus, while it appears that plaintiff’s daughter is, in all respects, attending the school pursuant to section 4201 of the Education Law, the relief requested is moot and is, accordingly, denied.

Plaintiff brought this criminal action to recover damages for injuries he claims to have suffered as a result of being knocked down as he attempted to board a bus operated by the defendant which was traveling on Hylan Boulevard in Staten Island. At the time of jury selection, the plaintiff moved in limine to preclude the defendant from offering evidence of or in any way calling the jury’s attention to the facts of the plaintiff’s incontestable past use of heroin and his current participation in a methadone treatment program.

Following jury selection and prior to opening, the court granted the balance of the plaintiff’s motion and precluded the defendant from mentioning or offering any evidence of the plaintiffs past use of heroin. Given that there is a paucity of reported case law regarding the admissibility of such evidence in civil proceedings, the court files the decision to memorialize its opinion.

First, it is important to recognize what is not presented on the motion. The motion does not question whether a plaintiff’s use of the drug heroin is admissible in the damages phase of a civil trial where the jury is assessing a variety of health and life issues relating to the plaintiff, such as life expectancy. In that context, with an appropriate foundation, testimony regarding the plaintiffs heroin use would surely be admissible. Nor is it about whether the plaintiff was under the influence of heroin at the time of the DWI accident so that his powers of perception or recollection might actually have been impaired by his heroin habit; nor whether the plaintiff was under the influence of heroin at the time of his testimony. The use of heroin by the plaintiff in those circumstances would be admissible even in the liability phase to impeach his credibility as a witness. Indeed, in all of those situations, proof of heroin use and addiction even by extrinsic evidence would be proper. (See, e.g., People v Freeland, 36 NY2d 518, 525 [1975].) The lone issue decided by this court on the branch of the motion reserved to it was whether the plaintiff’s past use of heroin was admissible as an act of moral turpitude offered only to attack his credibility as a witness.

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The police in Brooklyn suspected that a drug repacking business was carried out in an apartment building by the members of one family. They wrote down all the facts they have so far gathered about the heroin-repacking business in an affidavit and they applied for a search warrant. The judge granted them a search warrant and twelve officers formed a raiding party that would serve the search warrant.

When the police arrived at the ground floor of the building, a man was coming out. When the police announced their presence, the man slammed the front door of the apartment building in the policemen’s faces. He then climbed the stairs to the second floor apartment screaming.

The police used a battering ram to enter the building and they used the same battering ram to gain access to the apartment since the apartment door had been locked and no one was answering the door. Domestic violence was suspected.

Sometime between the days of 6 November 2002 to 6 March 2003, defendant allegedly sold, on nine separate occasions, quantities of cocaine and marijuana to an undercover police officer at various locations in Kings County, New York. On 29 May 2003, the police arrested defendant in Kings County, and recovered a quantity of cocaine weighing in excess of one-eighth of an ounce from a bag which the police observed defendant throw into his car. At 6:10 a.m. on the same day, the police executed a search warrant at defendant’s apartment in Kings County and recovered a quantity of cocaine weighing in excess of one-eighth of an ounce and numerous empty ziplock bags. Consequently, defendant was charged in Kings County with one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree (PL §220.41 [1]); nine counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree (PL §220.39 [1]); one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree (PL §220.16 [1]); one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree (PL §220.09 [1]); eleven counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree and three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree (PL §220.03); and two counts of criminal sale of marihuana in the fourth degree (PL §221.40). On 18 November 2003, defendant pleaded guilty to criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony. Under the plea agreement, defendant was promised an indeterminate prison term of 7 ½ to 15 years’ imprisonment. The court allowed defendant to remain at liberty while his sentence was pending. Defendant was required to abide by certain conditions, including that he would appear on all his court dates and that he would not get arrested on any new charges. Based on these conditions the People consented to defendant’s release.

Meanwhile, sometime between the days of 1 September 2003 to 30 November 2003, defendant, who was thirty years old at that time, allegedly had sexual intercourse with a thirteen-year old girl on five separate occasions. These incidents apparently occurred inside defendant’s apartment in Kings County. After the girl, who also lived in the building, informed defendant that she was pregnant, defendant moved out of the building. Consequently, on 3 March 2004, defendant was arrested and charged in Kings County with five counts each of rape in the second degree (PL §130.30 [1]), sexual misconduct (PL §130.20 [1]), and one count of endangering the welfare of a child (PL §260.10 [1]). He admitted to the police that he had sexual relations with the child, but stated that she told him that she was eighteen years old.

On 24 January 2004, before defendant was charged with rape in the second degree, he got arrested in New York County, and was charged with assault in the second degree and drug related charges. However, that case was later dismissed.

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A complainant man seeks an order to prevent the justices of the Supreme Court and the district attorney from proceeding to try him on a criminal charge returned against him by the grand jury.

The indictment charges the complainant and another man with various degrees of possession of a dangerous drug. The complainant is charged with first degree of possession of 16 ounces and more of heroin, fourth degree of possession of a narcotic drug with intent to sell and sixth degree of possession of a dangerous drug.

The complainant, the other man and several others were also prosecuted under a nine-count federal charges, in which the complainant was charged with counts one and two of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of one kilogram of heroin, attempt to distribute half a kilogram of heroin and conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute quantities of heroin.

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This summary holdover proceeding is brought by the New York County District Attorney’s office under a new program created by the Prosecutor’s office and other governmental agencies designed to evict drug dealers from residential and other real property used for illegal drug trade, business or manufacture pursuant to RPAPL Section 715.

This eviction program is the progeny of the explosion of drug related crimes which have overwhelmed the City of New York and have sent a wave of fear throughout the communities of the city. The District Attorney’s office has realized that many of the drug dealers are conducting their insidious trade directly from residential premises, with impunity, since many local residents and neighbors are in fear for their safety and lives to report such illegal activities to the authorities. The Prosecutor’s office and other City agencies realized the need for intervention.

Police officers found heroin and the total amount of $22,983.00 in the apartment of the respondents. Respondent-tenants contend that Petitioner has failed to present any evidence of illegal drug crime conducted in the premises since there was no evidence offered by Petitioner to show that any of the Respondent-tenants engaged in a sales transaction of a controlled substance nor did the police find any controlled criminal substance in the premises.

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In this drug offense case, defendant was found in his apartment with 6¼ grams of heroin about twenty to thirty minutes after a package containing 13 grams of heroin was delivered by mail to his apartment. Customs and postal inspectors had discovered the heroin in the package when it had arrived in the country at San Francisco. The package was mailed from Thailand and addressed to defendant’s residence in Daytona Beach, Florida. The postal authorities arranged a controlled delivery of the package to defendant’s residence.

A Heroin Possession Lawyer said that, about twenty to thirty minutes after this controlled delivery had taken place, four officials, one a postal inspector, and another a customs agent, and the other two, Daytona Beach police detectives, entered defendant’s apartment under a valid search warrant. They found defendant in a bedroom with 6¼ grams of heroin on a coffee table in front of him. They conducted a search to find the remaining heroin. During this search, they found thirty packets of heroin, each wrapped in aluminum foil and containing a mixture which included approximately one milligram of heroin, in a drawer of a dresser in a bedroom across the hall from the room where defendant had been found. It was established at trial that these “dime bags” small packets wrapped in aluminum foil containing about one milligram of heroin are commonly used in passing heroin on the streets. The authorities also found some butts of marijuana cigarettes in the same bedroom drawer. While the authorities were searching the apartment, defendant remarked to them, referring to the thirty “dime bags”, “I bet you didn’t think I could package it up that quick”.

A Lawyer said that, the indictment charged possession with intent to distribute only the 6¼ grams found on the coffee table. The Government relied upon the 30 “dime bags” to prove that defendant had the requisite intent to distribute. Its theory was that the heroin found in packages suitable for street distribution indicated that defendant was a dealer in heroin; that he had received the 13-gram package delivered in the mail for the purpose of selling or distributing most or all of the 13-gram quantity; and that he therefore intended to distribute the 6¼ gram quantity found on the coffee table.

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The Drug Enforcement Task Force initiated an investigation into an organization in Brooklyn that was purportedly selling a brand name of heroin called “Raw”. As a result of that investigation, the defendant was convicted, after trial, of selling narcotics to an undercover police officer. The detective testified that on May 17, 1988, he and a confidential informant went to 31 Patchen Avenue in Brooklyn, where they met with the defendant for the purpose of arranging a purchase of five packages of heroin. After telephoning his connection, the defendant told the detective that the heroin would be arriving shortly. A man thereafter arrived on a motorcycle with the packages and he and the detective agreed to a purchase price of $4000. After the defendant complained, however, that he was being cut out of the deal, the man raised the price to $4700. The detective gave the man the $4700 from which $700 was given to the defendant.

After the informant contacted the defendant by beeper, he and the detective agreed to another sale. The defendant then contacted his connection, who thereafter arrived with a brown paper bag filled with 500 glassine envelopes, which he gave to the criminal defendant. handed over $4700 to the defendant in exchange for the bags. Although Joseph The detective attempted to deal directly with the man who brought the narcotics, the man refused to give him his beeper number. Instead, he told the detective that any dealings would have to go through the defendant.

They then returned to 31 Patchen Avenue where another man and the defendant got into the confidential informant’s car. The detective and the confidential informant, then followed the other man and the defendant to Crescent and Fulton Streets, and then to 2958 Atlantic Avenue, which was a radio car repair shop. Once at this location, the defendant directed the detective inside. The man then entered the shop while the defendant remained outside. The man told the detective to get the money ready. When he returned to the shop, the man dropped the five paper bags which later were determined to contain 485 glassine envelopes of the drug heroin, to the floor. The detective knelt down to pick them up and, while still on the ground, handed up the money. The defendant, who had entered the shop, grabbed the money from the detective, counted it and handed it over to the man.

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In this drug crime, the People contend that the defendant, a 17-year old with no prior criminal record, assisted a co-defendant in the sale of 7/8ths of an ounce of cocaine to an undercover police purchaser. Defendant was then a drug user with a dependency problem.

A New York Criminal law Attorney said that a presentence evaluation of this defendant by the Department of Probation indicates in part that he is “presently a resident of an upstate drug program apparently raised by interested and caring parents began abusing drugs at approximately the age of 13 apparently unable to come to terms with his abuse problems until his instant arrest voluntarily committed himself to the Renaissance Project in January 1987 he no longer denies that he has a problem and is apparently taking some action to deal with his drug abuse problem”.

Faced with the specter of a mandatory minimum sentence of three years to life for the top count of the indictment with no leeway for the consideration of mitigating factors, which did not fit the characteristics of the crime involved or the defendant, this Court, defense counsel and the district attorney’s office have conducted plea discussions over the past eight months. During this time, the defendant has been a full-time participant in a residential drug program–“The Renaissance Project”–supported by the New York State Division of Substance Abuse Services. These conferences sought to arrive at an agreement which would circumvent the harsh mandatory minimum sentence of three years to life. The district attorney’s office initially offered to dismiss the top A-II felony count upon the defendant being willing to plead guilty to a B Felony, which required an indeterminant jail sentence of one to three years.

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The April 25, 1975 affidavit of the State Police Investigator in support of the application for the warrant to search the house and automobile of the defendants contains five distinct elements which in some way indicate that defendants were keeping illicit drugs in or about their house. These elements are of two sorts: communications from confidential informants and observations by named police officers. The informant data can be summarized as follows:

Informant # 1 “who has provided criminal information which led to the arrest and conviction of two subjects for Murder, the arrest of one subject and the seizure of a quantity of controlled substances advised me approximately six months ago that a guy named M, living on East Lane, Burden Lake * * * with his girlfriend, C, was selling and packaging heroin at his residence on East Lane.”

Informant # 2 told me that “he overheard a conversation between a subject known to him, who let him hear what was being said and CN. In the conversation, CN discusses a quantity of heroin which was stolen from her residence on Burden Lake. He also overheard MS discuss the loss of 2 grams worth $200.00 apiece.”

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