Tag: drug arrests

Woman Arrested After Asking Cops To Test Her Meth

It’s not the first time that a person has contacted law enforcement to test their drugs.

A woman from Alabama is in jail after she called police requesting that they come test her meth for purity.

When officers arrived, the woman pulled a bag of meth from a container of baby wipes and told the officers, “I want this dope tested,” according to The News Courier.

Stephen Young, public information officer for the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, said that the officers then talked to the woman’s neighbor, who described her as “acting strangely.” The landlord believed she may have been on drugs.

The woman, Jennifer Colyne Hall, 48, confirmed that she had taken the drugs in the bag, but she didn’t know when. Police arrested her and charged her with possession of a controlled substance. Her bail was set at $2,500.

Florida Man Tried To Press Charges Against Dealer For Bad Reaction To Drugs

The story might seem unbelievable, but it’s not the first time that a person has contacted law enforcement to test their drugs. Last year, a Florida man was arrested after he called police asking to have his meth tested. Douglas Peter Kelly had a bad reaction to the drugs and wanted to “press charges” against the dealer who sold it to him.

“In an effort to ensure the quality of the drug the suspect purchased, detectives told Kelly if he came to the sheriff’s office they could test the narcotic he purchased,” the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office later wrote on Facebook.

Kelly was charged with possession and set at $2,500 bail. The sheriff’s office then posted this tongue-in-cheek message: “If you believe you were sold bad drugs, we are offering a free service to test them for you. Our detectives are always ready to assist anyone who believes they were misled in their illegal drug purchase.”

Police Department’s Offer To “Test” Drugs Met With Criticism

Earlier this year a Pennsylvania police officer received backlash for posting an offer on Facebook to “test” people’s drugs. The post from the Wilson Borough State Constable’s Office read:

“If you have recently purchased meth in Northampton, Monroe, Lehigh or Bucks Counties, it may be contaminated with the Influenza Virus… Please bring all of it to your local Police Department and they will test it for free,” the post read, according to The Morning Call. “If you’re not comfortable driving to your local Police Department, You can contact my Office and an officer or deputy will be glad to come to you and test your Meth in the privacy of your home.”

The post was later removed, in part because of outcry about it being inappropriate.

“The field doesn’t need misguided information or misguided attempts to change what is going on,” said Timothy Munsch, who works as executive director of the Lehigh Valley Drug and Alcohol Intake Unit.

View the original article at thefix.com

12 October 2019
Do Body Cameras Force Police To Make More Drug Arrests?

Officers who do not make arrests in possession cases may face disciplinary action for not carrying out the requirements of their jobs.

An editorial on Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy blog examined the possibility of a causal relationship between the use of body-worn cameras (BWC) by law enforcement officers and arrests for drug possession.

The editorial’s authors noted that while BWCs have been employed across the country to serve as monitors for police behavior, they may also have an unintended secondary effect in drug cases: officers who do not make arrests in possession cases may face disciplinary action for not carrying out the requirements of their jobs.

The authors suggest that more extensive research is required to determine exactly how BWCs affect police behavior, as well as more immediate fixes to departmental policy that could assist in their proper use.

More Body Cameras, Fewer Incidents

As the New York Times and other data sources have noted, the use of BWCs by police departments in the United States has increased over the past decade as a means of garnering greater public trust in the wake of shooting incidents involving law enforcement and unarmed individuals, primarily people of color.

A national survey in 2015 found that 95% of larger-sized police departments had either adopted their use or had committed to doing so in the immediate future.

But studies offer conflicting evidence as to whether their use has a positive effect on both police officers and the public. The Times cited a 2012 experiment in Rialto, California, which found that officers using cameras reported half as many incidents in which force was used while interacting with individuals, and the number of complaints against officers dropped by 90%.

But the experiment was also referenced within the context of a larger article about 2017 research, conducted on a much larger scale in Washington, D.C., which found that officers with BWCs appeared to use the same amount of force and yielded the same number of complaints as those that did not wear them.

According to the editorial’s authors, no studies currently exist which look at whether officers with BWCs make more drug arrests than those without the devices. They instead rely on conversations with officers, some of whom reportedly stated that the cameras—and the knowledge that their superiors would review the footage—made them feel pressured to conduct arrests on cases like drug possession, which they said would have been overlooked with a warning and disposal of the drugs in question.

Feeling Pressured

The presence of the cameras, however, reportedly made some officers feel that their jobs were on the line if department policy was not followed and arrests not carried out.

As one officer told the authors, “You make a traffic stop, and maybe someone has some crack on them that you see in the car but they aren’t under the influence. Maybe you let that person go. But now, if the crack is seen on the body cam, then you have to make that arrest because you could be disciplined or even lose your job if you don’t.”

To alleviate officers’ concerns, the authors suggested that police departments grant officers the discretion to decline arrests in low-level drug possession cases, and cited diversion programs that allow officers to direct offenders towards treatment and other community programs.

The editorial concludes with the authors’ request for additional research on body cameras’ influence on officer responses, which police departments could use to make more informed decisions on policy.

View the original article at thefix.com

7 August 2019
Famous San Francisco Neighborhood Grapples With Drug Dealing

Tackling drug dealing in the Tenderloin district cost the city more than $12.5 million from 2017-2018.

San Francisco is home to the priciest apartment rental market in the country—but it is also home to “widespread and endemic” drug dealing relegated to the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

A report by the SF budget and legislative analyst revealed details of drug dealing activity in the Bay Area, particularly in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district where more than half of drug arrests were made from 2017-2018.

Of 883 people who were arrested or cited in San Francisco for selling drugs during that time period, 56% were from Tenderloin, according to the report.

“There are dozens of people selling drugs at any given hour, including around our parks and schools and in the neighborhood,” said district supervisor Matt Haney, who represents Tenderloin.

Haney held a Board of Supervisors hearing in April to discuss the drug problem in Tenderloin, Mid-Market and South of Market—which are all within Haney’s District 6. Haney acknowledged that “what we’re doing right now is not working,” hoping to develop a “comprehensive citywide strategy” that is currently lacking.

“I’m not saying that people need to get a long-term prison sentence,” Haney said. “But each arrest costs us something like $10,000, so when we do arrest someone we should be smarter about what happens next.”

According to the report, tackling drug dealing in Tenderloin, South of Market and Mid-Market cost the city more than $12.5 million from 2017-2018.

Prosecutors say that “current sentencing practices do not deter” drug sellers from returning to their posts—which has resulted in what SF Chronicle has called a “revolving door of drug dealers.”

As The Chronicle reported, “Prosecutors… say it takes an average of 244 days—about eight months—for a felony like selling drugs to make its way through the courts. Often as not, the suspected dealers are released by a judge pending the outcome of their cases. And just as often, the dealers head back to the Tenderloin and start selling drugs again.”

Of 173 convictions cited in the report, 80.3% (or 139) of them received probation with some time served while just 18.5% (or 32) received longer sentencing.

“Most of the people arrested or convicted get probation, which begs the question, How can we make probation effective and not have these guys go right back on the street?” said Haney.

View the original article at thefix.com

15 May 2019
Artie Lange Receives Sentence For 2017 Heroin Bust

Lange took to Twitter after the sentence to praise the judge, his lawyer and the prosecutor for their efforts.

Comedian Artie Lange was sentenced to four years of probation for drug charges stemming from a May 2017 arrest for heroin possession.

New Jersey State Superior Court Judge Nancy Sivilli handed down the sentence to the Crashing star on June 1, along with orders to complete an outpatient drug treatment program and 50 hours of community service.

In a tweet issued the following day, Lange wrote that the judge’s decision was “very fair,” but also added “4 yrs [sic] probation is a long time.” The arrest and sentence is the latest in a string of run-ins with the law and treatment for Lange, who has struggled with drug dependency since his tenure on Mad TV in the mid-1990s.

Both Lange and his lawyer, Frank Arleo, asked for probation, citing that lack of work would be both financially and personally devastating for the comedian and his family; Lange noted that his mother relies on his financial support, and claimed that he was “happiest… and most productive when [he works].”

Lange and Arleo stated that with a second memoir due in July, combined with a tour and promotional duties, as well as his work on the Judd Apatow-produced HBO series Crashing, and stand-up engagements, he’s “going to be busy,” as Arleo said.

Both were also sanguine about Lange’s health and dependency issues. Arleo said that he had been frank with Lange about how he needed to adhere to the terms of probation: “He knows he’s at the end of the road,” he told Judge Sivilli.

For his part, Lange said that he has “an issue that needs to be taken care of,” and it would be best served by being allowed to continue to work.

Assistant prosecutor Tony Gutierrez painted a different picture of Lange’s probation request. He cited past instances of Lange being asked to leave treatment in New Canaan, Connecticut for possessing OxyContin, and said that long-term in-patient programs would be more effective as treatment. And providing him with funding from his book and promotional tour would only give him more opportunities and funds to use drugs, he said. “He is not doing the right thing to help himself,” said Gutierrez.

Ultimately, Gutierrez sided with Lange, but added a stern warning about his behavior while in probation. “Mr. Lange, the ball’s in your court now,” she said, after recounting his long struggle with dependency. After citing a note in his medical records from a doctor who suggested that Lange could die if he relapses, she said, “You’re getting too old for this.”

In tweets issued on June 2, Lange praised not only Arleo but also the prosecutor and judge for their efforts. “I truly feel he wants the best for me,” he wrote about Gutierrez, whom he thanked along with Arleo and Sivilli, whom he described as “a woman on the bench who commands respect! She has mine.”

In addition to adhering to his probation, Lange must submit to urine screenings and provide information on his participation in an outpatient drug treatment program within 10 days. If he violates these terms or garners new charges, he could face up to five years in jail.

View the original article at thefix.com

8 June 2018
Farrah Fawcett's Son Blames Recent Arrest On Parents, Not Drugs

Redmond O’Neal claims his troubled life is a result of the expectations and attention placed on him for being the son of the famous couple.

Redmond O’Neal, son of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal, blames his recent arrest not on drug problems, but because of the pressure of having famous parents.

After many speculated that his alleged robbery of a 7-Eleven convenience store earlier this month may have been tied to his struggles with drugs, he claims that the root cause is deeper.

“It’s not the drugs that have been a problem, it’s the psychological trauma of my entire life—my whole life experiences have affected me the most,” O’Neal revealed to RadarOnline. “Fighting with my father, being kicked out and living on the streets, going to jail, being put in a psychiatric ward, being embarrassed all the time, just because of who my parents are.”

The celebrity son has been charged with six crimes following the incident, including assault, drug possession, second-degree robbery, possession of a smoking device, and possession of an injection/ingestion device.

At the time of the arrest, O’Neal reportedly had heroin and methamphetamine on him.

“The pressure that came with that set off a time-bomb in my head. I never asked for any of this, I never wanted any attention,” he said.

He pleaded not guilty and the judge denied him bail.

“This last arrest, something happened to me. I’m not doing good. I can’t go back, no way can I go back. I just can’t do it,” he said. “I hated prison, it wasn’t good. I don’t do well in there. In my mind, I’ve lost all hope.”

Things don’t look good for O’Neal as the felony complaint also alleges that “the defendant personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a knife, during the commission of the robbery.”

According to authorities, O’Neal held up the store clerk and took an undisclosed amount of money before fleeing around 2:30 in the morning. He was soon arrested with the knife that matched the description of the one the store clerk described being brandished in the robbery.

The incident is yet another in the long line of troubles O’Neal has found himself in. In 2015, he escaped having to serve a three-year sentence when his trial judge credited him a year served. He has also had probation revoked multiple times, having struggled with drugs for most of his adult life.

This includes a 2015 incident in which he lost his probation when a judge found he used drugs and did not go to his doctor’s appointments.

View the original article at thefix.com

4 June 2018