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zepedamartin
I Use Mycotopia


Registered: 01/22/10
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Last seen: 2 months, 18 days
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Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine 1
#19284316 - 12/16/13 02:44 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Link to story
A New York couple spent nearly a month in jail after a Pennsylvania state trooper mistakenly identified two bricks of homemade soap as cocaine and arrested them for transporting the drug.
On December 12, law enforcement authorities officially dropped the charges against the couple – 26-year-old Annadel Cruz and 30-year-old Alexander Bernstein – who were pulled over in Pennsylvania as they were driving from New York to Florida.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by the Morning Call newspaper, Cruz was driving five miles over the speed limit on November 13 when a state trooper pulled her over. The officer apparently questioned her about the car, a new Mercedes-Benz, which Cruz said was a rental.
The trooper said he smelled marijuana, to which Cruz replied that she had smoked earlier that day, just not in the car. She gave the trooper permission to search the car, and the ensuing search turned up two brick-size packages that were encased in plastic wrap and red tape.
Although Cruz said the bricks were soap that she made herself, a field test performed by the officer identified the substance as cocaine. The officer also found marijuana in Cruz’s bra.
The couple was arrested and charged with intent to deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine, and conspiracy and possession of drug paraphernalia. Additional charges of possession of marijuana, disregarding traffic lanes, and speeding were applied to Cruz. Bernstein was jailed on a $500,000 bond, while Cruz was under a $250,000 bail.
While the couple spent the month in jail, tests by the state police lab confirmed that the bricks were composed of soap. The Lehigh County district attorney’s office eventually dropped the charges, but attorneys for the couple told the Morning Call that they suffered from racial profiling.
"I think it is a nice car with out-of-state plates and a Hispanic female behind the wheel" that triggered the officer’s interest, said attorney Josh Karoly, who represents Bernstein. "If it was me driving that car, this wouldn't have happened."
"After this, everyone should pause about jumping to conclusions when a field test is said to be positive by law enforcement,” said Cruz's attorney, Robert Goldman. “There are people going to jail on high bail amounts based upon these field tests."
The field test also came under fire from Karoly, who questioned whether it was performed properly or if it ever actually occurred.
"A young man spent a month in jail, spent a substantial amount of money to get out of jail and missed Thanksgiving with his 17-month-old son," he said. "To do that on a field test, we better be darn sure that these field tests are accurate."
Police have yet to comment on the incident, though Goldman said Cruz had no criminal record before she was pulled over.
"Her name is all over the place, making light of her defense that she was just transporting soap," he said. "She was labeled online as a drug dealer, she was incarcerated with people who do commit crimes. It's going to take her a good deal of time to get her good name back.”
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trampis
mad hatter


Registered: 01/01/06
Posts: 3,545
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: zepedamartin] 1
#19284342 - 12/16/13 02:49 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
The trooper said he smelled marijuana, to which Cruz replied that she had smoked earlier that day, just not in the car. She gave the trooper permission to search the car, and the ensuing search turned up two brick-size packages that were encased in plastic wrap and red tape.

Why do people do this shit? First of all, never admit anything incriminating to police, it won't do you any favors.
Second, NEVER consent to a search. Even if you know you have nothing in the vehicle to worry about. Exercise your rights.
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pwnasaurus
Stranger



Registered: 07/16/08
Posts: 12,317
Loc: Canada
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: trampis]
#19284384 - 12/16/13 02:58 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
trampis said:
Quote:
The trooper said he smelled marijuana, to which Cruz replied that she had smoked earlier that day, just not in the car. She gave the trooper permission to search the car, and the ensuing search turned up two brick-size packages that were encased in plastic wrap and red tape.

Why do people do this shit? First of all, never admit anything incriminating to police, it won't do you any favors.
Second, NEVER consent to a search. Even if you know you have nothing in the vehicle to worry about. Exercise your rights.
Yup. People are morons.
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d0urd3n
Just call me "D"


Registered: 09/15/10
Posts: 5,237
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: pwnasaurus]
#19284528 - 12/16/13 03:30 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
pwnasaurus said:
Quote:
trampis said:
Quote:
The trooper said he smelled marijuana, to which Cruz replied that she had smoked earlier that day, just not in the car. She gave the trooper permission to search the car, and the ensuing search turned up two brick-size packages that were encased in plastic wrap and red tape.

Why do people do this shit? First of all, never admit anything incriminating to police, it won't do you any favors.
Second, NEVER consent to a search. Even if you know you have nothing in the vehicle to worry about. Exercise your rights.
Yup. People are morons.
Sounds like a nice honest person. But yeah I would never allow to a search. I don't think you could get in trouble for admitting to smoking earlier in the day could you?
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trampis
mad hatter


Registered: 01/01/06
Posts: 3,545
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: d0urd3n] 1
#19284568 - 12/16/13 03:39 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Well, if you're driving and you admit to smoking you could be charged with driving under the influence. There is just nothing good that could come from admitting that, so don't do it.
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D.M.T
Shroomery Contaminant


Registered: 10/31/09
Posts: 10,991
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: d0urd3n]
#19284587 - 12/16/13 03:42 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Not everyone is aware of their rights or why they're important like we are because they don't experience the drug world or police in the way we do. You know? Their ignorance isn't completely their fault, and we also don't know what sort of pressure the cops gave her to get that search. He might have threatened to bring in a dog and they just wanted to get out of there so they consented.
The saddest thing is if they have a 17-month old son and had a Benz rental car, they must have also had a decent job that I am going to guess they lost while they were in jail. Hopefully there's enough demand in homemade soap to pay the bills...
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Deemstar
Doctor Deemstar



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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: d0urd3n]
#19284599 - 12/16/13 03:44 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
d0urd3n said:
Sounds like a nice honest person. But yeah I would never allow to a search. I don't think you could get in trouble for admitting to smoking earlier in the day could you?
You can either be charged with use of a controlled substance or operating while intoxicated.
-------------------- Gnome-miii-odd JAH!!! Pasta-far-eye! R.I.P. Georgie poor G A.K.A. Jorgon Lucy
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arby313616
Stranger

Registered: 03/27/13
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: Deemstar]
#19284778 - 12/16/13 04:13 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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the same kinda thing happen to me a few years ago in Detroit. first we got pulled over they found a bag of creatine I used for working out. then they said that it was meth I told them to test it. the cop said this is drtroit and we don't have field tests in the car and that I was under arrest. then they took me to the jail and being Detroit I was the only white person there and after 9 hours they tested it and dropped the charges but took 150 dollars from me and my bag with all my stuff in it and then I was in the hood in Detroit im lucky they dident take my phone
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Camwritesgonzo
The Unflushable Stool



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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: zepedamartin]
#19285156 - 12/16/13 05:34 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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"We got us a new coke dealer in town. All we know is he stamps his bricks with little birds, so he's definitely trying to appeal to the young-ens."
-------------------- "I've always maintained that reality is for those who can't face drugs."-Tom Waits "I feel the same way about disco as I feel about herpes."-Hunter S. Thompson A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous, got me?
 
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Fungi
Psycho4ctive


Registered: 09/29/13
Posts: 393
Loc: Melbourne
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: Camwritesgonzo]
#19287352 - 12/17/13 06:35 AM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Talking with any cop anywhere is like playing hide and seek with a wild lion, nothing good will ever come off it. Cops want to charge as many people as often as possible, that's how they get paid and promoted. Don't talk to them! Even if you are caught red handed, don't talk to police, no interviews, no statements. Do talk to your lawyer and tell the cops "no comment".
Often cops say that if you co operate then they and the judge will go easy on you. It's a blatant lie.
If you talk, you are doing their job for them. Period! You made a confession.
Even if you were stopped for speeding, never admit to it and never talk to a cop about it. They record everything you say. Very often you can get out of fines by keeping quiet. Arguing or explaining why you did it will never help you, being quiet will.
-------------------- Formerly known as Psycho4ctive To Fathom Hell or Soar Angelic, Just Take a Pinch of Psychedelic
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allseeingike



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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: Fungi]
#19287385 - 12/17/13 06:52 AM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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is it just me or are or does anyone thinks these field tests are made to always test positive i have read so many stories of soaps and shampoos and sage ect testing positive on field test and then at the lab it has no trace of any drugs
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StygianKnight
A Mushroom

Registered: 03/12/12
Posts: 2,717
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: allseeingike]
#19287702 - 12/17/13 09:16 AM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Just another excuse to arrest and harass people. Hopefully the cops get their asses sued off for wrongful imprisonment.
These kits are probably just reagent kits and in proper use are meant to confirm suspicions not to start them. Someone says, "Here have some Meth." and they use the kit to test if it's really meth before making the deal/bust. If you go around testing random substances, of course the kit will change all sorts of interesting colors, it's reacting to pretty basic chemicals.
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PurpleHaze147



Registered: 04/09/13
Posts: 657
Last seen: 6 years, 2 months
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: allseeingike]
#19287913 - 12/17/13 10:26 AM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
allseeingike said: is it just me or are or does anyone thinks these field tests are made to always test positive i have read so many stories of soaps and shampoos and sage ect testing positive on field test and then at the lab it has no trace of any drugs
U read the story about police arresting a couple black men in New York because their unopened wrapped jolly ranchers tested positive for methamphetamine, which turned out to be regular jolly ranchers? My guess is corrupt cops, I don't think a field test would be that inaccurate I'd understand if nasal decongestant came up false positive for meth (some otc brands r literally methamphetamine. Levmetamfetamine is just a clever way of saying levo-methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is a mix of dextro/levo-methamphetamine so a lab test might not even b able to tell its the legal isomer) but hardened sugar shouldn't
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D.M.T
Shroomery Contaminant


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Posts: 10,991
Loc: In your brain
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: PurpleHaze147]
#19288251 - 12/17/13 12:05 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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a mass spectrometer can definitely tell the difference in meth's isomers.
a lot of things share the molecular backbones of illegal compounds so field test kits are unreliable unless you have an idea already of what you have.
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travelleler
a horse-fart in a hurricane



Registered: 08/30/08
Posts: 3,955
Loc: yonder mountains
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: D.M.T]
#19288258 - 12/17/13 12:06 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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I'm really surprised that nobody said anything about this:
Quote:
a The officer also found marijuana in Cruz’s bra.


Hello??!!
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"Whales have deep thoughts"
Dreams are the fuel of the soul
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2859558484
Growery is Better



Registered: 01/10/06
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Re: Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine [Re: travelleler]
#19288319 - 12/17/13 12:18 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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I watched the cops test 2cb ( I assumed it would false positive for meth or MDMA) with no results. They were quite pissed.
long story short, 3000$ lab confirmation that I had a good source.
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