Halifax Woman Not Guilty of Possession of Cocaine

On August 25, 2008, Rebecca Somers was found not guilty of possession of cocaine in the Circuit Court for the County of Halifax.  In a case argued by Horace Hunter of the law firm of Hunter & Lipton LLP, Judge Wellons held that the evidence was insufficient to find Somers guilty of the crime of possession of cocaine.

On May 9, 2006, Somers was in a motel room along with three other individuals.  The police officers, relying on a tip that one of the individuals in the room was wanted, entered the motel room and conducted a search.  The search uncovered three smoking devices with what appeared to contain residue.  Based on this evidence, all of the individuals in the room were arrested and charged with possession of cocaine.  Because Somers maintained that none of the items were hers, the police officers obtained a search warrant to draw and test the blood of Ms. Somers.  Somers’s blood subsequently tested positive for cocaine. 

Somers, through her attorney Horace Hunter, filed a motion to suppress the results of the blood test on the grounds that there was no probable cause to conduct this type of intrusive and invasive search.  Judge Wellons denied the motion in large part based on the “good faith” exception.  The judge indicated that although he was not sure that there was probable cause for the search, the fact that the officers obtained a warrant from a magistrate gives rise to a presumption of validity.

In spite of the admissibility of the blood test, Judge Wells still found that the evidence was insufficient to find Somers guilty of possessions of cocaine.  First he found that the items were not proven to be in her possession.  Secondly, the Commonwealth failed to present an expert to interpret the results of the blood test.  There was no evidence as to how long cocaine stays in the blood nor was there evidence of alternative ways in which cocaine can be found in the blood stream aside from cocaine use.

This case illustrates the importance of challenging residue cases on all levels starting with the search.  Although the motion to suppress was denied, police officers should not be allowed to conduct these types of searches under theses sets of circumstances.

 

 RSS Feed

Contact Us

Name:
E-Mail:
Message or Question:

Submit the word you see below:


Ph: (804) 780-1235
Fax: (804) 780-2355

Mailing Address:
217 East Clay Street
Richmond, VA 23219