Allegations: Client was one of four individuals in a car. Client was located in the back right seat of car. Vehicle stopped and a sale of crack cocaine was made by passenger in the back left seat to an undercover officer. When police moved in, driver of vehicle took off, leading police on a chase through York City. Back left passenger was seen throwing a bag, later shown to be containing drugs, out the window. The vehicle was stopped and all individuals were apprehended. Client (located in back right seat) was found to have a small amount of marijuana and $598.00 in cash.

Client was charged with possession with intent to deliver, criminal conspiracy to commit possession with intent to deliver, and possession of a small amount of marijuana. Possible weight mandatories and school zone enhancements were potentially in play.

Result: Negotiation with the Commonwealth at the preliminary hearing resulted in a plea to only the possession of a small amount of marijuana, and the other much more serious charges were dropped. The Commonwealth agreed that defendant (back right seat) did not possess the drugs, make the sale, or lead the police on the car chase and that he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. This case was a good example of the Commonwealth being very reasonable where the facts tended to show that a defendant was not actually involved with an offense.

Attorney Joseph N. Gothie represented the defendant in this case.

Reference number: OTN: K237051-3 (York County). 

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