October 21, 2013
- Steven Topazio wrote this May 5, 2014 at 4:18 am
The client, a 23 year old barber, was arrested by Malden Police after they executed a search warrant at the client’s house and found a quantity of marijuana and packaging materials, hired Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Steven J. Topazio to defend him. The police further alleged that the client possessed marijuana with the intent to distribute within 300 feet of a school/daycare, exposing him to mandatory jail time. The basis for the search warrant was five controlled buys at the client’s home with a cooperating informant. A “Controlled Drug” buy in Massachusetts is when the police have an informant purchase drugs in attempt to establish probable cause to search the alleged seller’s residence for illegal narcotics. Because of the high level of police investigation into obtaining the search warrant in this case Attorney Topazio realized a motion to suppress to attack probable cause might not have been successful, so he attacked the credentials of the school instead to get rid of the school zone charge. The prosecutor identified Little Rascals Family Childcare as a child care or daycare center licensed with EEC as the named school. In Massachusetts, a license is required to provide most childcare services by the Department of Education, office of Early Education & Care Programs (EEC) and if someone is to run a daycare service out of their home, EEC requires the homeowner to be licensed with the state. Although the prosecutor claimed Little Rascals Day Care was a school licensed with EEC, and a school for purposes of the school zone statute, Attorney Topazio proved there was no active license with the EEC and filed a motion to dismiss the school zone charge arguing that it did not qualify as a school under the statute. Today, Attorney Topazio obtained a dismissal of the school zone charge but because of the strength of the Commonwealth’s case, the client decided to tender a change of plea on the remaining charge. Despite the prosecutor’s recommendation of a guilty finding on the possession with intent to distribute charge because of five controlled drug buys, Attorney Topazio convinced the court to give his client a continuance without a finding.