Around 11:30 a.m. last Thursday, Berlin Police responded to the Bay Terrace Apartments on Bay Street in response to a concerned citizen’s tip regarding suspicious drug activity in the parking lot. Officers arrived and observed a 1998 Buick Park Avenue in the parking lot which appeared to be engaged in illegal activity.
As the officers approached the vehicle, the suspects attempted to walk away, but two were detained. The driver, identified as Richard Tye Mumford, Jr., 19, of Bishopville, was allegedly emanating the odor of marijuana from his person. The odor of marijuana was also detected in the passenger area of the vehicle.
A search of Mumford revealed several packets of heroin, cash and call phone. A search of the vehicle revealed additional heroin packets, more cash and three more cell phones. In addition, a loaded .38 caliber handgun was located under the driver’s seat. During the investigation, a large caliber bullet hole was discovered in front of the driver’s compartment.
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Glad the dope dealer is off the street but the first case will be tossed. Just because a cop smells weed dosent mean they can search anymore. And I don't see how this is a large weapons seizure. But if that is what it takes to make these cops feel worthwhile then........ Wonder what they'd say if they found some ak47 or an rpg?
ReplyDelete1:30........you are another one of those roadside attorneys. Who told you that police can't search when they smell burning marijuana? Whomever it was lied to you and you believed it. Stop spouting off about things you know nothing about. You can still be stopped and you can still be searched. The difference is if less that ten grams of marijuana is found you get a civil citation. If more than ten grams is found you can be charged with a crime. Did you think that marijuana was legalized?
DeleteRead again dip turd. The first case had no burning marijuana. As I said. If its in plain sight then a cop can act. But the smell can be within the legal limit and means no probable cause! Not a road side attorney. Just a marijuana liver who followed closely how the laws are. Again officer. Tell the sheep all you want. Ive always proven myself correct on my statements.
DeleteSomebody has been watching too many episodes of LA Law.
DeleteCops use the "anonymous tip" line often when they profile and want to randomly search someone or a vehicle. Its kind of shady.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Yet they can't charge a person off what somebody says and makes them go to the commissioners office to file charges. Cops can't go off somebody's word until they set up an investigation of some sorts. It's hearsay. They need to confirm with their own eyes. Just more police state actions in the police state.
DeleteAnother idiot heard from. 2:09 where did you get your law degree? You better get your money back. Police arrest people all the time based on witness statements.
DeleteDepending on the circumstances. Can't just say this guys a drug dealer go search him. Nice try officer. Just burns your ass to know people like me are out there. Does it not? A citizen who knows his rights is a cops worst nightmare.
Deletepolice state? lol wow get real. excellent street work.
ReplyDeleteThe smell of weed is not reason for a search anymore and did they find any weed no I am glad they got a gun off the Streets and the dope. Just seems shaddy
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete1:30........you are another one of those roadside attorneys. Who told you that police can't search when they smell burning marijuana? Whomever it was lied to you and you believed it. Stop spouting off about things you know nothing about. You can still be stopped and you can still be searched. The difference is if less that ten grams of marijuana is found you get a civil citation. If more than ten grams is found you can be charged with a crime. Did you think that marijuana was legalized?
October 12, 2015 at 4:14 PM
He probably read it about a court case, as I have done. Medical marijuana has been legal in Md. since at least 2013, and as such just smelling the odor of burnt marijuana can no longer be used as probable cause. A good lawyer, roadside or otherwise, should get this case tossed unless there are other factors at play.
Share the name of the court case. None exists in Maryland. None exists on a federal level. So tell us what case the roadside attorney should use as a precedent.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteAnother idiot heard from. 2:09 where did you get your law degree? You better get your money back. Police arrest people all the time based on witness statements.
October 12, 2015 at 4:21 PM
With other corroborating factors, yes.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteShare the name of the court case. None exists in Maryland. None exists on a federal level. So tell us what case the roadside attorney should use as a precedent.
October 12, 2015 at 5:52 PM
You are on the internet, find it yourself.
They can search due to the odor of weed trust me. I doubt this assclowns had a medical card lol. It goes from reasonable suspicion to probable cause real quick when these thugs open their mouths. Kinda like you jail house lawyers lol. Charges will stick it is not a liberal county like Weekameeko. Babs and Jimmy would buy them a pizza and send them on their way. Weed should be legalized and I am no liberal. The gun is sadly what comes when you deal dope and thug it up.
ReplyDeleteNo man..... It sticks in Wicomico too
DeleteDon't need a medical card in Maryland to have weed. You can have up to 10 grams. As long as its not in plain view the cops can't even ask. They can hint.... Have anything I should know about? Yadda yadda. If your dumb enough to tell him you have it and show it..... Your an idiot. But its not enough for probable cause any longer over odor. Cases are in fact on the internet. Not in federal court but in state court. Including Maryland!
DeleteYeah.....keep telling yourself that. The future likely holds this but currently..... Your getting searched and its legal to search you.
DeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteThey can search due to the odor of weed trust me. I doubt this assclowns had a medical card lol.
They can, and do, whatever they want to, but that does not mean in will stand up in court. They don't need to have a medical card for simply smelling like pot, nor are they required to show one, much like not having to show id. You two knuckleheads put down people calling them roadside lawyers and jailhouse lawyers, but just what do you think YOU are doing?
Nothing. That's what they're doing. Just like when they ride around talking on the phone waiting to respond to a call while they target the hard working mans wallet.
Delete“If you see something, say something” - Doesn't work in Salisbury. If you say something, SPD says it's nothing every time.
ReplyDeleteCourts in the United States recognize that the smell of contraband creates probable cause for a search, and that the inherent mobility of a vehicle creates an exigent circumstance which removes the need for consent or a search warrant. So,as it relates to a vehicle, if an officer approaches your vehicle and smells the odor of marijuana (or the odor of another type of contraband,) the officer can order you out of the vehicle and search the vehicle without consent or a warrant.
ReplyDeleteThe Maryland Court of Special Appeals in the case of State v. Harding, 166 Md. App. 23 (2005), ruled that the smell of burnt marijuana by an officer gave the police probable cause to search anywhere in the vehicle where marijuana could be located. In 2007, the Court of Special Appeals further expanded upon this police power in the case of Wilson v. State, 174 Md. App. 434. In Wilson the Court ruled that the officer could also search the closed trunk of a vehicle if he smelled marijuana.
ReplyDelete"He probably read it about a court case, as I have done. Medical marijuana has been legal in Md. since at least 2013, and as such just smelling the odor of burnt marijuana can no longer be used as probable cause. A good lawyer, roadside or otherwise, should get this case tossed unless there are other factors at play.
ReplyDeleteOctober 12, 2015 at 4:56 PM"
You must be high. There is no one in MD using medical marijuana yet and won't be for at least another year. They program isn't even up and running yet. No dispensaries, etc. Smelling the odor of burnt marijuana is probable cause for a search. I have no idea what "court case" you have "read" but it either does not exist or you read it wrong.
That was my point too....I wanted him to present a non-existent case. There are so many who come on here and profess to know things and the more they type the more ignorant they prove themselves to be.
Delete"Anonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteDon't need a medical card in Maryland to have weed. You can have up to 10 grams. As long as its not in plain view the cops can't even ask. They can hint.... Have anything I should know about? Yadda yadda. If your dumb enough to tell him you have it and show it..... Your an idiot. But its not enough for probable cause any longer over odor. Cases are in fact on the internet. Not in federal court but in state court. Including Maryland!
October 12, 2015 at 8:52 PM"
What in the heck are you talking about. You are wrong on everything. When and *if* the Maryland medical marijuana industry gets up and running you will need a prescription. FYI-ODOR BURNT OR OTHERWISE *IS* PROBABLE CAUSE FOR A SEARCH. Nothing has changed.
Having any amount of marijuana in MD is still breaking the law. For lesser amounts you now get a civil citation.
What I would like you to do is show us these cases you keep spouting off about. I have a feeling hell will freeze over first. And don't tell us to look them up ourselves. That's the excuse people always use when they are wrong and it won't fly here. So put up or shut up and stop spreading nonsense.
Better look at the decriminalization of weed. That's where the fact odor can no longer be used as probable cause.
DeleteYou pot heads keep telling yourselves that ..... And you will keep getting searched and getting citations or arrested depending on the amount you have. This must be an example of the fact that marijuana kills brain cells and makes users delusional.
DeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteCourts in the United States recognize that the smell of contraband creates probable cause for a search, and that the inherent mobility of a vehicle creates an exigent circumstance which removes the need for consent or a search warrant. So,as it relates to a vehicle, if an officer approaches your vehicle and smells the odor of marijuana (or the odor of another type of contraband,) the officer can order you out of the vehicle and search the vehicle without consent or a warrant.
October 12, 2015 at 9:03 PM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals in the case of State v. Harding, 166 Md. App. 23 (2005), ruled that the smell of burnt marijuana by an officer gave the police probable cause to search anywhere in the vehicle where marijuana could be located. In 2007, the Court of Special Appeals further expanded upon this police power in the case of Wilson v. State, 174 Md. App. 434. In Wilson the Court ruled that the officer could also search the closed trunk of a vehicle if he smelled marijuana.
October 12, 2015 at 9:04 PM
OLD case law. Keep it current junior.
Burnt marijuana equals a search of a vehicle. Unburnt is an illegal search. But you know the cops always gonna say I smelled burnt marijuana to my training skills and knowledge. Lmao. Lying ass cops.
DeleteAnd yet another delusional response!!!! Joe you should have a weekly contest where readers vote on the most idiotic responses. There are so many on this post it would be hard to decide.
DeleteNow if you numbskulls cannot do a simple search of the internet, how are you gong to cite law? lmao
ReplyDeleteIn Humphries the court acknowledged that "[w]hile smelling marijuana does not assure that marijuana is still present, the odor certainly provides probable cause to believe that it is."6 But this probable cause, or even knowledge of the presence of marijuana, does not in itself authorize the police to search any place or arrest any person in the area. The police must have additional factors to "localize" or "particularize" the placement of the marijuana to justify a search or arrest.7
To substantiate a warrantless search, "the question is whether the totality of the circumstances is sufficient to warrant a reasonable person to believe that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place."8 When considering the legality of a warrantless arrest, one considers "whether the totality of the circumstances indicate to a reasonable person that a 'suspect has committed, is committing, or is about to commit' a crime."9 But in either instance, the "quantum of facts required for the officer to search or seize is probable cause" for either a search or seizure.10
The officer had probable cause to arrest Humphries because he recognized the odor of marijuana and was able to "localize its source," namely, Humphries. In addition, there were other factors that strengthened the officer's conclusion that probable cause existed, including Humphries's evasive conduct, his apparent check for a weapon, and the fact that the encounter took place in an area known for drug trafficking.11
The ability of an officer to explain and justify the accuracy of his perceptions is important when he or she relies on those perceptions to formulate probable cause.
When officers in Kansas smelled burnt marijuana emanating from a car stopped at a checkpoint, the court held that they had probable cause to search the car and all containers in the car that may have contained marijuana. Here, the odor of marijuana provided suspicion that a crime had been committed and that the evidence of the crime was located within the vehicle.14
But when a police officer cannot prove that he smelled marijuana or that the smell was emanating from a particular place, he cannot reasonably conclude that probable cause existed.15 One court has held that an officer may only discern probable cause from the smell of burnt or raw marijuana if he can determine with reasonable accuracy the point in time when the marijuana was smoked. In that case, because the officer had not been trained in "determining the length of time a residual odor or marijuana has been present" it was not reasonable for him to believe that the vehicle contained marijuana.16
The Supreme Court has said that the standard for probable cause cannot, and should not be, defined with precision or quantification. Whether it exists depends on the specific facts and variables of each circumstance. Officers must rely on each of their five senses, plus a good dose of common sense and knowledge that comes from experience, in determining when probable cause exists. Likewise, they must be able to articulate and explain each of the facts they took into account, and why each fact or circumstance contributed to their conclusion that probable cause existed so as to justify a search or seizure
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DeleteTKE training knowledge and experience.
Delete
ReplyDeleteRecently-passed legislation decriminalizing marijuana paraphernalia as well as smoking it in public may set the stage for a Fourth Amendment battle if Gov. Larry Hogan signs the measure into law.
The law follows on the heels of 2014's decriminalization of possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana and would also decriminalize use and possession of marijuana paraphernalia.
With the last remaining criminal element of small quantities of marijuana eliminated, law enforcement and prosecutors are left wondering whether the odor of marijuana will be sufficient probable cause to search individuals and vehicles.
"We're putting our officers in a position where it's very unclear," Carroll County State's Attorney Brian DeLeonardo said.
Under current law, the odor of raw or burned marijuana is a factor which can give police probable cause to search a person or a vehicle. Now, DeLeonardo said, the odor doesn't necessarily mean criminal activity is occurring because the marijuana could be less than 10 grams and the paraphernalia won't be illegal.
Police are obliged to show they have probable cause prior to beginning a search so as to protect the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, guaranteed in the Constitution's Fourth Amendment. Probable cause — a reasonable basis for believing evidence of a crime is present — is required to conduct a search unless the person consents to the search.
DeLeonardo said he is prepared to argue marijuana is still contraband and the odor of marijuana could still indicate a crime, but he said defense attorneys will argue these searches are invalid.
Samuel Nalli, a defense attorney based in Columbia, said he will definitely argue that the change in the law prohibits searches based on a suspicion that marijuana alone is present.
"I would argue that a probable cause search because of an odor of marijuana is not valid anymore," he said.
In preparation for these arguments, DeLeonardo said he will most likely instruct police to look for other suspicious circumstances to show probable cause of a crime and more than just the odor of marijuana.
Use of drug-sniffing dogs may also come into question because dogs are trained to detect an array of controlled dangerous substances, not just marijuana. A positive dog alert to a person or vehicle could be the result of an offense that isn't of a criminal nature.
"The dog could be alerting to heroin, but we can't say that [in court]," DeLeonardo said. "It's not like the dog will lift the left leg for marijuana and the right leg for heroin."
Nalli said because the dog cannot detect quantity, only presence, a positive alert cannot give police cause to search.
"I'm looking forward to a case that comes up that way," Nalli said.
DeLeonardo said he and other prosecutors will be looking for a "test case" once the law kicks in: one that encapsulates the issues and can be brought before the Court of Appeals to settle the matter.
Jurisdictions that have faced these questions are split on the issue, DeLeonardo said, and it will take a case reaching the state's highest court to settle the matter.
Logical next step
"Anonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteBurnt marijuana equals a search of a vehicle. Unburnt is an illegal search. But you know the cops always gonna say I smelled burnt marijuana to my training skills and knowledge. Lmao. Lying ass cops.
October 12, 2015 at 11:05 PM"
Doesn't matter 'burnt' or not. It's the odor of contraband-end of story. If a cop smells contraband wafting from a vehicle, it can be searched. If a trained dog hits on the smell it can also be searched. Again makes NO difference if it's burnt or not.
and you guys wonder why you get popped
ReplyDeleteAlso under the Carol doctrine mobile conveyance. So the search was good two criminals going to jail libtards.
ReplyDeleteWow jail house lawyers lol. If a guy admitts he has been to jail take his legal knowledge with a grain of salt. Good arrest- dumb dealers bottom line.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteWow jail house lawyers lol. If a guy admitts he has been to jail take his legal knowledge with a grain of salt. Good arrest- dumb dealers bottom line.
October 13, 2015 at 12:04 PM
those in jail actually read law books and file motions, much more than any of you abusers of law.
Still looking for the major weapons part
ReplyDelete