After exercising a warrant at a Rock Hall apartment on June 14, authorities took three people into custody on charges of possession of heroin with an intent to distribute. The Kent County Narcotics Task Force also seized suspected crack and powdered cocaine as well as heroin. Three children under the age of 10 were found living in the apartment at the time of the seizure.
The three alleged offenders were charged with the possession of heroin, crack cocaine and powdered cocaine with the intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a common nuisance. In addition to the drug charges, one of the individuals taken into custody was charged with three counts of reckless endangerment and another was charged with three counts of neglect of a minor.
Investigators with the narcotics task force, uniformed police officers from the sheriff’s office, the Kent County SWAT team and troopers from the Maryland State Police’s Centreville barrack were all part of the knock-and-announce search and seizure. During the search, approximately 13 grams of suspected heroin, 2.6 grams of suspected powdered cocaine, 2 grams of suspected crack cocaine and 1 gram of suspected marijuana was found. Distribution evidence along with $795 cash was also seized.
The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution guarantees individuals the right from being subjected to unreasonable searches and seizures. Because most drug cases rely on the drugs and paraphernalia seized in order to build a case, it’s important that a search warrant be legally obtained prior to the search. Without it, the evidence is inadmissible in court and the case may be thrown out. In this case, a lawyer may look over the search warrant and the circumstances surrounding the search and seizure. If it wasn’t legally obtained, the attorney could have the drug seizure thrown out. Without this evidence, the prosecution may have no case.