Articles Posted in Arizona Drug Charges

In Arizona, if a defendant with prior convictions is found guilty of a crime, that defendant will face a harsher sentence than if he or she had no prior convictions. A recent case before the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, highlights this reality, which can be difficult for defendants trying to argue for lighter and more favorable sentences.

In the case before the Arizona court, the defendant appealed a trial court’s decision to sentence him to 15 years in prison for a) possession of a narcotic drug for sale and b) violating the terms of probation. According to the defendant, it was unfair that the trial court sentenced him based on the fact that he was guilty of two previous felony convictions. Instead, the court should have based the sentence on only one previous felony conviction, which would have resulted in a lesser sentence.

The higher court reviewed the trial record and found that the defendant presented no evidence to indicate that he was guilty of only one prior felony conviction instead of two. Instead, he vaguely testified that the two armed robberies he committed in the past happened “on the same occasion in his early life.” The prosecution, meanwhile, presented evidence from two separate court hearings in 2015 that were based on two separate robberies, one on August 22, 2015, and a second on September 1, 2015. This evidence showed that there were, indeed, two previous felony convictions.

In a recent case before the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, the court had to decide whether a police officer’s honest mistake before a traffic stop meant the trial court should have suppressed evidence that he found during the stop. The case highlights the leniency that some courts will give to officers based on what is called the “good-faith exception” to normal standards of suppression.

Motion to Suppress

The defendant in this case originally filed a motion to suppress after an officer found him with fentanyl. The lead-up to the defendant’s arrest went as follows: the defendant and an acquaintance were chatting at a local gas station. An officer saw the pair repeatedly enter and exit a car, then they drove off together. Finding their behavior suspicious, the officer radioed dispatch to see if either person had active arrest warrants. Dispatch reported back that while there were no active warrants, the defendant’s acquaintance, who was driving the vehicle, had an invalid driver’s license.

The officer conducted a traffic stop, and he inspected the driver’s license. As it turns out, the driver’s license was valid, and the dispatcher had made a mistake in reporting the opposite. While the officer was still chatting with the pair, a third individual approached the car and informed the group that the defendant had dropped something near the front of the car. As it turned out, this dropped item was the defendant’s bottle of blue pills, later identified as fentanyl.

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In a recent case before an Arizona court of appeals, the defendant appealed his conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia. His original verdict was based on an incident in which investigators caught him with large amounts of drugs and cash, as well as with a money counter, a scale, and a vacuum sealer in his home. He filed a motion to suppress the incriminating evidence, which the trial court denied. His trial proceeded, and a jury found him guilty as charged. On appeal, the defendant argued that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction, but the higher court disagreed.

Facts of the Case

The opinion details the case’s underlying incident, which began when local police officers installed a camera on a pole outside the defendant’s home to capture footage of the surroundings. Officers eventually saw the defendant bringing a large duffle bag into his car, which they suspected contained drugs. They initiated a traffic stop and immediately found $23,000 in cash along with a large sum of Adderall pills in the defendant’s car.

The officers then obtained a warrant to search the defendant’s home. Upon effectuating the search, the officers found over $200,000 in cash, along with 981 fentanyl pills, two handguns, and drug paraphernalia. The State charged the defendant with the following offenses: possession of narcotic drugs for sale, money laundering, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The defendant’s case went to trial, and he was found guilty. The defendant promptly appealed.

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In a January 2024 case before an Arizona court of appeals, the defendant requested that his conviction be overturned because of potential issues with the chain of custody leading up to his trial. In criminal court, the “chain of custody” is the process through which evidence moves from collection to analysis to presentation before the court. Here, the defendant argued that there were important questions about how the evidence ended up before the trial court. On appeal, the higher court reviewed the record and concluded that there were no chain of custody issues, denying the defendant’s request in the process.

Factual and Procedural History

The defendant in this case was working as an informant for the government in Arizona. Under special instructions, he was supposed to engage in drug deals when directed by his handler, and he was otherwise supposed to refrain from engaging in any drug activity. One day, when the defendant’s handler was driving by the home of a known drug dealer, he noticed the defendant’s car in the driveway. He later pulled the defendant over for a traffic stop and found methamphetamine on his person.

The handler arrested the defendant, and the State charged the defendant with possession of a dangerous drug for sale and possession of drug paraphernalia. The case went to trial, and the jury found the defendant guilty. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. The defendant promptly appealed the decision.

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Facing criminal charges can be a daunting experience, especially when evidence is obtained through search warrants. There are several difficulties associated with challenging search warrants in Arizona criminal cases. A recently decided appellate case sheds light on the complexities involved in suppressing evidence obtained through GPS tracking devices, and helps demonstrate the importance of a comprehensive defense strategy when defending against Arizona criminal charges.

The defendant in the recently decided case appealed his conviction for the sale or transportation of dangerous drugs and possession of paraphernalia. The case revolves around the use of an anticipatory search warrant obtained by detectives to place a GPS tracking device on the defendant’s vehicle, suspected of transporting narcotics. The warrant was based on information from a confidential informant about an older male, matching the description of the defendant who would be delivering narcotics to a specific address in Chino Valley.

The Challenge of Specificity

The defendant’s defense centered on challenging the validity of the search warrant, arguing that it lacked the necessary specificity and failed to establish probable cause. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires search warrants to particularly describe the places to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. The crucial question here is whether the warrant provided enough specific details to prevent mistaken searches and seizures.

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Recently, a defendant in a case involving narcotic drugs asked the Arizona Court of Appeals to reverse an unfavorable decision delivered by the superior court. Originally charged with possession of narcotic drugs and misconduct involving weapons, the defendant asked the lower court to suppress incriminating evidence that the government planned to use against him during trial. The superior court denied the motion, the defendant appealed, and the higher court ultimately affirmed, refusing to suppress the evidence in question.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, local police officers received a call one evening regarding an alleged abandoned car in a residential neighborhood. Officers arrived to investigate, at which point the car began moving. Officers learned that the defendant was in the driver’s seat, and he started taking the car westbound. As the police car followed, the defendant committed a traffic violation by cutting across several lanes of traffic at once.

The officers conducted a traffic stop and subsequently found marijuana, a gun, and a digital scale in the car. They arrested the defendant, and he was charged accordingly.

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Earlier this month, an Arizona court considered an appeal from a defendant convicted of transportation of dangerous drugs for sale. In 2018, the defendant was charged after a police officer found methamphetamine and heroin in the trunk of his car. The case went to trial, the defendant was found guilty, and this appeal followed. Looking at the record of the case, the court ultimately denied the defendant’s appeal, affirming the original guilty conviction.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, the defendant was driving one evening when an officer stopped him because his license plate lamps were broken. When asked for his license and registration, the defendant admitted that he did not have any registration with him. At that point, the officer arrested and searched the defendant.

The officer quickly found $10,000 in cash as well as a briefcase with methamphetamine, heroin, cash, and firearms. The defendant was criminally charged, and his case went to trial. During trial, the State presented evidence that the defendant had been texting with various individuals about how to sell the drugs in his car.

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In a recent case before the Arizona Court of Appeals, the court had to decide whether to grant a new trial in a defendant’s drug and sexual conduct case. Originally, the defendant was charged with and convicted of several drug offenses as well as sexual conduct with a minor. He appealed, arguing the prosecuting attorney made a grave error during the trial that merited an entirely new trial. The court of appeals reviewed the record of the case and ultimately disagreed, denying the defendant’s appeal.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, the defendant in this case was treating an adolescent girl for ongoing issues with depression. The defendant claimed to have experience with plant medicine, and he told the girl that he could help solve her depression with a certain kind of mushroom.

Over time, the defendant and the girl developed a friendly relationship. Soon, however, the defendant invited the girl on a camping trip, and the relationship quickly took a turn. The defendant told the girl to consume mushrooms that would make her high, and he invited the girl to have sex with him and his wife, who was also on the camping trip.

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Recently, an Arizona defendant in a drug case appealed his guilty conviction to a higher court. On appeal, the court reviewed the record of the case and discovered that the trial court had mistakenly sentenced the defendant as if he had been found guilty of two crimes instead of one. Given this error, the court vacated one of the guilty verdicts and significantly lessened the defendant’s time in prison.

Facts of the Case

One evening in May 2019, a police officer was on patrol when he saw that a nearby vehicle had expired registration, and he activated his siren to conduct a traffic stop. While pulling the vehicle over, the officer noticed an individual moving frantically in the back seat.

In a recent case before the Arizona Court of Appeals, the defendant unsuccessfully argued that a police officer’s canine search of her vehicle was unwarranted. Originally, the defendant was charged, convicted, and sentenced for possession of a narcotic drug for sale. On appeal, she argued that the evidence of the drugs should have been suppressed at trial because the officer did not have a legal basis for having his canine search her car. The court of appeals disagreed with the defendant and affirmed the lower court’s decision.

Facts of the Case

According to the opinion, a state trooper stopped the defendant and her friend because they had been following other cars too closely on the road one evening. The officer pulled the car over, asked the defendant and her friend a few questions, and requested that each individual hand over their identification. Neither the defendant nor her friend had a valid driver’s license.

The officer asked the pair if his dog could sniff around the car, and they both consented to the sniff. At that point, the dog alerted near the passenger door, and a search of the car revealed 275.6 grams of heroin under the defendant’s seat. A second search of the car revealed an additional 272.2 grams of heroin.

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