October 04, 2011

• Steven Topazio wrote this April 27, 2014 at 1:13 pm

The Clients, a 58 year old owner of a convenience store located in Brockton, and his 42 year old clerk, were charged with selling cigarettes and drug paraphernalia to a minor who acted as a confidential informant for the police in a sting operation. In the Sting Operation, the clients sold a bottle of Inositol and a digital scale, which were displayed for sale in the store, to the under aged confidential informant. As a result of the sale, the police obtained a search warrant and seized from the clients several glass pipes, water pipes, bongs, digital scales, gas masks with a pipe attached to its front, and bottles of Super Insoitol, Mannitol, and Lactose. The police argued that the pipes were being sold to smoke marijuana and the Inositol, a white powder, were cutting agents commonly used to dilute illegal drugs such as cocaine, in order to increase the profits from the illegal sale and distribution. Selling Drug Paraphernalia is a felony punishable by a state prison sentence of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years. Attorney Topazio learned that the clients recently received Asylum in the United States due to persecution in their country of origin, and wanted to avoid any adverse immigration consequences, as well as jail time, that a guilty plea or admission to these offenses would create. Attorney Topazio continued the cases so as to build his defense. Although confronted with the daunting fact of an undercover purchase by an informant, followed by the execution of a search warrant, Attorney Topazio requested and obtained the shop’s Board of Health records which revealed that a day prior to the commencement of the police investigation, the shop was inspected by the Board of Health which acknowledged that the sale of pipes were in compliance with state law. Today, as a result of this information, Attorney Topazio was able to convince the District Attorney to dismiss all charges against his clients on the payment of $300.00 court costs each, and the court agreed.