15 Pounds of Marijuana - All Evidence Suppressed (Grant County)

Interesting case, fantastic results. Client was pulled over for having the wrong license plates on his vehicle. Once he was pulled over, the officer determined the title of the vehicle was also incorrect. So he suspected something more was going on. So, he called for a drug dog.

We reviewed the video of the interaction and determined that the officer intentionally delayed filling out the paperwork to allow the dog to show up. Once the dog appeared, it “hit” on the vehicle and police discovered 15 pounds of marijuana in the back seat.

We had a motion hearing with briefing on the issue and after all was said and done, the court agreed that the police unlawfully extended the detention and suppressed all the evidence.

Party To A Crime Possession of 72 Grams of Cocaine - Charges Dismissed (Dane County)

The first case involves a client who was a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation.  In the course of that stop, officers located 72 grams of cocaine in the vehicle and $3,800 in cash in the clients purse.  

Now, to be fair, the driver of the vehicle said that the cocaine belonged to him, which is helpful.  The client told the police that the driver asked her to hold $4,000 in cash which was located in her purse, which is not helpful.  The State then made a decision to run DNA tests on the baggy in which the drugs were located and the scale located in the vehicle.  The portions of the scale had a positive DNA match for only one person in the vehicle, our client.

So, now we had a client as a passenger in a vehicle with 72 grams of cocaine, holding $4000.00 for the driver and her DNA on the scale used to weigh the drugs.  Seems like a good party to the crime case for the state.  

The State moved to dismiss the case against the client.  No cooperation, no amendment.  Just a straight dismissal.

Felony Charge of Maintaining A Drug Dwelling Dismissed

Our client and his housemates were charged with maintaining a drug trafficking dwelling in Rock County after law enforcement raided their home.  Our attorneys reviewed the search warrant and found problems with certain aspects that allowed us to file a motion to challenge the validity of the warrant.  In speaking with prosecutors in advance of the hearing on the motion to challenge the search warrant, the prosecution made an offer to dismiss the felony and have the client plead to a simple possession of marijuana with expungement of the case after one year of probation.  The client, who accepted this offer, was very pleased with the outcome.

Felony Drug Manufacturing/Maintaining Charges Dismissed in Rock County

What started as a seemingly benign "unlawful fishing" case rapidly turned into a multi-count, felony drug case for one recent Chirafisi & Verhoff client.  DNR wardens contacted the client on suspicion that he was illegally trapping and transporting minnows.  After contacting him, the wardens asked if they could go to his property to "have a look around."  The client felt pressure and consented.  Once on the property, authorities smelled the strong odor of marijuana coming from a shed.  They then obtained search warrants and located a marijuana grow operation.  After authorities took the client to jail, prosecutors charged him with two felony crimes, manufacturing THC and maintaining a drug trafficking dwelling.  The client was particularly concerned because a felony conviction would jeopardize his long-time job.  Through the course of negotiations, Attorney Verhoff was able to point out evidence to prosecutors to support his argument that while the client grew marijuana, he did so only for personal use to manage pain symptoms. Ultimately, Attorney Verhoff was able to convince the prosecution to dismiss the felony charges and allow the client to be convicted of low-level, misdemeanor possession of marijuana charges.