A suspected drug dealer was arrested in a north side Indianapolis hotel after police received a tip about possible drug dealing. The sequence of events leading to the arrest raises some questions about the methods used by officers and detectives to enter the suspect’s hotel room and seize evidence of alleged drug crimes.
Police officers were called to a hotel in the Castleton Area because someone noticed what they called “suspicious items” in a hotel room. The officers notified the North District Flex Team, and detectives from the unit arrived at the hotel to interview the tenant. The detectives allege that while they were interviewing the tenant, they noticed a number of unspecified illegal items in the hotel room.
The detectives next obtained a search warrant and entered the hotel room to conduct a search. According to police, the detectives seized a number of illicit items, including a pill press, with dyes and compounds, 120 ecstasy pills, 98 controlled pills, 161 methamphetamine pills, 85 grams of heroin/
Fentanyl, 1 gram of crack cocaine, 3.5 grams of psilocybin mushroom, $8,514 in cash and 8 .380 bullets. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of dealing and manufacturing methamphetamine, dealing and manufacturing heroin/fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a public nuisance and other drug related crimes. Marion County prosecutors will make the final decision on which charges to pursue.
This case raises several questions. An experienced defense attorney may be able to use these questions and others to undermine the prosecution’s case. Anyone facing drug charges under similar circumstances may benefit from a consultation with a capable criminal defense attorney to explore these and other questions about the case.
Source: Indianapolis Star, “Arrest made after drugs and cash found in northside Indianapolis hotel room,” Arika Herron, Jan. 13, 2018
