WASHINGTON CITY — The Washington County Drug Task Force assisted Washington City Police in the arrest of four people Friday early morning on drug charges after the scent of marijuana led one detective to investigate a home located at 436 N. Creek Ridge Drive in Washington.
Just before 4 a.m., a Washington City police detective was in an area near the home when he smelled marijuana. He then requested and obtained a search warrant for the house where two residents, Travis Jay Brown, 41, and Arthur Collins, 47, and two visitors, Kristin Reed, 48, of Hurricane, and Sandra Dee Wilson, 57, of St. George, were found inside.
Upon searching Brown’s room, investigators found a glass pipe with a crystalline substance inside it that tested positive for methamphetamine, Washington County Drug Task Force Capt. Kyle Whitehead said. Additional paraphernalia related to methamphetamine use or its containment was also found in his room, along with four firearms — which are illegal for Brown to possess because he is a convicted felon.
After identifying Collins’ room, officers discovered marijuana, packaging related to the distribution of drugs, and white crystalline substance that was tested and found to have methamphetamine properties.
Reed was there visiting but sometimes she stayed at the house and slept on the floor, Whitehead said. Substance and a pipe, both testing positive for methamphetamine, were located close to her. Investigators also found methamphetamine and a pipe in the purse that was identified as belonging to Wilson.
Brown, Reed, Collins and Wilson were arrested and booked into Washington County’s Purgatory Correctional Facility.
Brown was charged with four second-degree felonies for firearm possession, one class-A misdemeanor for drug paraphernalia and one second-degree felony for drug possession. According to bookings information his bail stands at $51,850.
Collins was charged with one first-degree felony for the possession of meth with the intent to distribute, one second-degree felony for the possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, one class-A misdemeanor for drug paraphernalia and one second-degree felony for drug possession. According to bookings information Collins’ bail stands at $41,850.
Reed and Wilson were each charged with one class-A misdemeanor for drug paraphernalia and one second-degree felony for drug possession. According to bookings information Reed and Wilson’s bail amounts each stand at $11,850.
All charges were enhanced because the location of the house was within 1,000 feet of a church, which is defined as a drug-free zone.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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The cops must have forgotten that the supreme court ruled the the smell from a police officer (including the dog) is not grounds for a search warrant.
You’re mistaken. The issue the Supreme Court decided was whether or not the officer could cross the curtlidge of a home to run a police dog. The Supreme Court said the police could not trespass to collect evidence for the warrant. What isn’t mentioned in the article above is whether the police officer was in a place he was legally allowed to be when he smelled the marijuana.
If he was, then he can apply for a search warrant. The search warrant has to be approved by a judge before it can be served.
We all know they used the marijuana smell excuse to get the warrant.