Police Say Gas Odor Leads to a Major Prescription Drug Bust
Police say they have found 15,000 bottles of various prescription drugs while investigating a gas odor at a home in Fairview, New Jersey. At the home, police arrested a 17 year old boy and three adult men at the home. According to officers, the gas odor was caused by the occupants using lighter fluid to remove the labels from the prescription bottles so that they would become untraceable. The prescription drugs, allegedly worth $5 million, included prescription pain killers such as Oxycontin and Percocet, and other drugs such as AIDS medication. Anyone charged with the unlawful possession or distribution of prescription drugs in New Jersey should contact a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer for assistance.
The adult suspects have been charged with possession of controlled dangerous substances without a prescription and possession of controlled dangerous substances with intent to distribute. Under N.J.S. 2C:35-10(a)(1), it is unlawful for anyone to possess a controlled dangerous substance, unless the substance was obtained pursuant to a valid prescription. If the suspect is classified as a Schedule I, II, III or IV controlled dangerous substance, then possession of the substance is a third degree crime. Most prescription painkillers are Schedule II controlled dangerous substances; therefore, their possession without a prescription exposes the suspect to third degree charges. A third degree charge carries a prison sentence from three to five years.
Under N.J.S. 2C:35-5(a)(1), it is unlawful for a person to knowingly or purposely manufacture, distribute or dispense a controlled dangerous substance, or to possess a controlled dangerous substance with the intent of manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing the substance. The degree of the charge depends on the type and quantity of the drug. Under N.J.S. 2C:35-5(b)(4), the possession of a Schedule II narcotic in an amount of one ounce or more is a second degree crime. A second degree crime carries a prison sentence from five to ten years with a presumption of imprisonment.
It appears from the reports of this incident that the police did not have a warrant to enter and search the home where the drugs were discovered. Under both the federal and New Jersey constitutions, a warrant is required for the search of a home or the seizure of evidence unless there exists an exception to the warrant requirement. I suspect from the facts of the case, that the police will use the the “community-caretaker” exception to the warrant requirement. The “community-caretaker” doctrine applies when “the police are engaged in functions, which are totally divorced from the detection, investigation, or acquisition of evidence relating to the violation of a criminal statute.” In other words, when police enter a home not because they are investigating a crime, but because they are trying to ensure the safety and welfare of the citizenry at large, the “community-caretaker” exception to the warrant requirement may apply.
Of course, there are several defenses that can be raised in a case where the police try to assert the “community-caretaker” exception to the warrant requirement. For example, a defendant can argue that the police were using the “community-caretaker” exception as a pretense to enter the building and conduct a search without probable cause to believe that the building or its occupants contained evidence of a crime. This argument would be strengthened if the defendants learned that the police were tipped-off by an informant that the building contained drugs, but if the informant was not reliable enough to establish probable cause. Due to the existence of various arguments a defendant can make in his own defense, it is extremely important for anyone charged with unlawful drug possession or distribution, or any other criminal offense in New Jersey to contact a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer for representation.
