Man walking streets arrested on gun violations and drug charge

We like to think that people are free to walk the public streets without police intervention. We don’t normally expect the police in New Jersey to pull over pedestrians who are walking peacefully and not creating a disturbance. However, sometimes that scenario plays out, as it did recently when a detective in an unmarked car pulled over a male pedestrian and arrested him for a drug charge and gun violations.

The detective’s report indicates that he had a good reason to stop the man. He says that he saw a gun sticking out of the man’s right coat sleeve. When the detective searched the man, he found a fully loaded .22 caliber handgun and arrested him. In a search, apparently conducted after the arrest, 10 bags of what was believed to be cocaine was purportedly hidden inside the man’s waistband.

The charges brought by the Jersey City police included drug possession with intent to deliver and several gun violations. Police found $75 on the man, which they attributed to drug sales. A drug crime defense under these facts would address several issues.

When a gun is observed and is the basis for a stop, the arresting officer should be questioned. This is done to determine the officer’s perspective and ability to accurately make observations from a distance or from a moving vehicle. This can often be accomplished at a preliminary hearing where the defense is given an opportunity to question the arresting officer regarding the details of his observations and the arrest.

In New Jersey, the police can typically make a ‘stop and frisk’ intervention when they have a reasonable suspicion that some kind of criminal activity is afoot. If a gun is found in a frisk, then the person can be searched more fully after an arrest for the gun is made. The strength of a drug charge resulting from a search incident to an arrest will most likely depend on the validity of the original stop of the suspect. The answer to that inquiry demands a thorough examination of the facts surrounding the stop.

Source: nj.com, “Violent Crimes Unit arrests man on multiple gun, drug charges,” Michaelangelo Conte, Jan. 23, 2013