Mr. T was seen by a Mesa Police Officer near 6th Street and Standage, possibly sleeping in his vehicle. The Officer ran a license plate check, and because the car came back as belonging to a female owner, he went back in order to make contact with Mr. T. Mr. T drove away as the Officer was pulling up, and he was then pulled over by the Officer. Because he provided a false identification, and his real name revealed that Mr. T had 2 prior Felony Convictions, he was removed from the car, arrested and searched.
2 baggies of methamphetamine, along with some drug paraphernalia were found on Mr. T. He was then charged with Felony Possession of Dangerous Drugs (Methamphetamine) under Arizona Revised Statute ARS 13-3407. Because of his 2 prior convictions, he was facing a possible 15 years in Prison if convicted.
At Trial, we were able to show that the methamphetamine was actually not in his possession, but was in a fanny pack next to Mr. T. Mr. T had told the Police that the fanny pack did not belong to him, but belonged to a person named “Matt” who was a friend of his girlfriend. Because the Police had not fingerprinted the fanny pack or baggies, the Jury found reasonable doubt and returned a verdict of Not Guilty on all charges.