ALLEGED DRUG DEALER WALKS

It was about 3:00 AM. JH was the front seat passenger in a car being driven by a highly intoxicated woman. There were two men in the back seat. The car got pulled over by the Groveland PD. During an examination of the car the police discovered a baggie on the floor by JH’s feet. Inside the bag were three smaller bags. The three small bags contained 1 gram of marijhuana, 1 gram of marijhuana, and 5 grams of marijhuana respectively. JH admitted to the police that the weed was his. Also JH had in his possession a pipe for smoking marijhuana. It looked like a simple possession case and that the police might let him go. The police then discovered that JH had $6,100 in cash in his pocket. That changed everything and the police charged JH with possession with intent to distribute marijhuana. JH, a painter, insisted that the cash was his that he earned from his work. In addition JH insisted that he had taken the money earlier that evening from home for the purpose of looking at a car. JH retained Lewin & Lewin. Attorney Robert Lewin spoke at length to the Assistant District Attorney at Haverhill District Court; the Assistant DA was reluctant to drop the case and suggested that the attorneys speak to the police. On October 5, 2010 Attorneys Robert Lewin and Joshua Lewin went to the Groveland Police Department and met face to face with the arresting officer and his superior. After a lengthy meeting at the police station an agreement was worked out. The charge against JH was dismissed and the money was split; the police kept $3,000 and returned $3,100 to JH. JH was relieved: he did not have to go to trial and he avoided the risk of losing his driver’s license for two years. (A conviction for Possession of Class D with Intent to Distribute carries a mandatory 2 year loss of license.) This was an example of lawyers being willing to go the extra step to get the result that the client wanted – a dismissal of the charge.