Stash House Investigated Due To Anonymous Tip Results In Four Arrests Says Lakeland Criminal Defense Attorney

Lakeland, FL (Law Firm Newswire) March 6, 2014 – Anonymous tips may or may not lead to a valid arrest. This stash house tip could have resulted in almost anyone being arrested.

“Not all anonymous tips pan out and in this case, even though the police in Polk County did find drugs and several individuals on the premises, does not necessarily mean guilt by merely being present in the area, or on the front lawn,” says Lakeland criminal defense attorney, Thomas Grajek, who is not involved in the defense of the accused in this case.

According to the Sheriff’s office drug unit, detectives arrested four and in the process also collected a significant amount of illegal narcotics at a resident in Winter Haven. The anonymous tip they received referred to the home in question as a stash house. When police arrived they noticed a man sitting in the front yard. It turned out that he had an active warrant out for his arrest for Failure to Appear on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia. The 55-year-old man was arrested and when searched it was discovered that he had marijuana and crack cocaine in his possession. At the time of the man’s arrest, the police allegedly smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the house. Law enforcement went for a warrant to enter the premises.

During the execution of the warrant, the police found large quantities of various drugs, typically sold on the streets, such as crack cocaine, meth, and marijuana. They also located a fully loaded Glock 22, and $5,357 and a high tech surveillance system in play. There were three other individuals in the home at the time and they were also arrested.

The four arrested face a series of various charges including: possession of drug paraphernalia, armed trafficking in meth, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, maintaining a location for trafficking in illegal narcotics and possession of cocaine and marijuana with the intention to sell within 1,000 feet of a church, conspiracy to traffic, resisting arrest and disorderly intoxication.

“If an individual is found guilty by a judge of a crime dealing with controlled substances, your driver’s license is suspended for two years. This can be prevented by having a criminal defense attorney get a withhold of adjudication so the person does not lose their license. There are many legal issues in cases such as this that could result in charges being dismissed or dropped. For instance, was the information forming the basis of the search old, outdated and stale? Was the search conducted in a timely manner? Can the search warrant be thrown out of court?” points out Grajek. Evidence against an alleged offender may even be suppressed or excluded. This is why those facing charges of this nature need an experienced criminal defense attorney to act on their behalf.