People v. EM
Our Client was charged with Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance. Officers alleged that they stopped our Client for driving the wrong way down a one-way street. The testifying officer claimed to have seen our Client reach into his pocket and stuff a golf ball size bag of narcotics into his mouth and begin to chew and swallow it. The testifying officer stated that he grabbed our Client at which point the bag exploded and several small bags flew out of our Client's mouth into the passenger compartment of the car. The problem with the officer's testimony was that he said he saw our Client pull this golf ball sized item out of his pocket while our Client was seated in the driver's seat of a Hummer and the Officer, who admitted to being only 5'3" stood outside. At 5'3", there is no way for the officer to make the observation he claimed to have made because of the size of the vehicle. All charged were dismissed at the Preliminary Hearing.
People v. WM
Our Client was charged with Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance. The Police claimed to have information that the vehicle our Client was driving had been involved in narcotics sales. Our Client allegedly failed to make a complete stop at a stop sign prior to parking the vehicle. As the Police approached, they stated that our Client was making "furtive" movements towards his waistband area. Our Client was ordered out of the vehicle and a protective pat down was performed. The officers recovered multiple baggies of narcotics. All charges were dismissed at the Preliminary Hearing.
People v. SH
Our Client was charged with Unlawful Use of a Weapon - 1000 Feet of a Park. The Client was looking at 2-5 years in prison. We took the case to trial and the Police officer testified that a witness told her that she saw our Client playing with the gun at a park bench. Unfortunately, the report she wrote did not indicate that the witness saw the gun, but instead only "heard the slide rack." The Officer then allegedly sped her squad toward our Client at over 20 miles an hour in the park and was able to stop without skidding inches from our Client. Despite being told that our Client had a gun and testifying that she saw the gun while approaching in her vehicle, she did not draw her weapon for her own protection. Our Client was found Not Guilty.
People v. DG
Our Client was charged with Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance. The Police responded to a call of a man asleep at the wheel with his car stopped in oncoming traffic. When officers arrived, our Client was allegedly asleep behind the wheel of his car. They searched our Client and his car and recovered multiple bags of narcotics. All felony charges were dismissed at the Preliminary Hearing.
People v. AA
Client was charged with Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance. The case was dismissed at the Preliminary Hearing Stages.
People v. TB
Client was facing 3-5 years in prison for stealing from JCP. Client was caught red handed on video trying to exit the store with almost $700 worth of stuff. We avoided prison for our client and negotiated a deal with the prosecution for probation and also convinced the Judge to waive all the probation fees!
People v. CB
Client was charged with Felony Possession of Less than 15 Grams of a Controlled Substance and Felony Possession of 30 - 500 grams of Cannabis. The Police claim that our Client was standing in front of a known narcotics "hot spot." The Officer testified that he decided to approach our Client for no reason...just because of where he was standing. Our Client then allegedly dropped 16 bags of narcotics right in front of the officer and then fled into the residence. The Officer gave chase and claims to have found our Client in a bathroom attempting to flush 15 bags of cannabis down the toilet. After cross-examination at the Preliminary Hearing, ALL CHARGES WERE DISMISSED.
People v. FR - Felony Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon
Our Client was charged with Felony Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon. He was facing a mandatory prison sentence if convicted. The Police pulled over an Uber van that our Client was riding in, and the Uber driver opened the sliding van door exposing our Client to the police. The officer's ordered our Client out of the vehicle and searched him, recovering a loaded semi-automatic weapon. We were able to avoid a lengthy prison sentence for our Client and got him time considered served for the time he spent on house arrest.
People v. AJ
Our Client was charged with Class X - Felony Armed Violence, Multiple Counts of Felony Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Felony Possession of Cannabis with Intent to Deliver. Our Client was facing a minimum mandatory prison sentence of 15 years up to 30 years. It was alleged that our Client was pulled over for a couple of minor traffic violations. Upon approach, the officers observed a gun on our Client's lap. As they continued their investigation, the officers realized that our Client was in a security uniform. When asked for his armed security credentials, our Client presented some of the credentials, but not all of them, and one item was expired. Even though the one card our Client had on his person was expired, he was issued a valid card that wasn't expired - he just didn't have it on him. The police arrested him anyways. They made no attempt to contact the Illinois State Police. They made no attempt to contact the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. They made no attempt to contact our Client's employer. After arresting our Client, removing him from his vehicle and placing him in handcuffs, the police then went back and searched our Client's car. This search revealed cannabis and a scale inside of a closed backpack. We filed a Motion to Suppress Evidence. During the hearing on the Motion, we argued that the police were not allowed to go back and search our Client's vehicle after they arrested our Client and removed him from the vehicle. The Judge agreed and granted our Motion. The cannabis, scales and everything else which was recovered from the car was suppressed. As a result, the state could not prevail on the Armed Violence charge or the Possession of Cannabis with Intent to Deliver charge. We took the rest of our Client's case to trial and argued that he had all the necessary credentials to possess the loaded firearm. All the police had to do was spend about a minute on a cell phone to verify our Client's credentials (either calling the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation or looking our Client's credentials up on the IDPR website). The Verdict was NOT GUILTY ON ALL OF THE REMAINING COUNTS!!!
People v. DJ
Our Client was charged with Felony Possession of Cannabis. The Police claimed that they saw him sitting in a vehicle with his windows rolled down. They say they smelled a strong odor of cannabis as they approached the vehicle. They also claimed to have observed a joint on the center console in plain view. They asked our Client to exit the vehicle. The Police then searched the vehicle and recovered the joint as well as additional cannabis from the center console. All charges were dismissed at the Preliminary Hearing.
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