People v. E.M.
N/AOUTCOME: Dismissed
Chicago Police conducted a traffic stop of E.M. at approximately 10:50 p.m. when they observed his Hummer vehicle travel the wrong way on a one-way street. When the officer approached E.M. at the driv ... er’s side window he requested E.M. to produce a driver’s license. At this time the officer alleges he observed a “golf ball” sized bag in E.M.’s left jacket pocket. The officer made a verbal command to see E.M.’s hands and saw E.M. attempt to chew an item. The officer recovered a small plastic bag containing 5 small clear plastic bags each containing a substance which appeared to be cocaine. The items were sent to the crime lab and determined to be 2.4 grams of cocaine. At the preliminary hearing, the officer testified about the nature of the stop. Upon cross-examination, the officer admitted that the vehicle E.M. drove was a Hummer and was high off the ground. The officer reluctantly admitted that he stood just over 5 feet tall. The defense argued that it was not likely that the officer could have made the observations that he alleged. The Court made a finding of no probable cause to arrest and the charge of Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance was dismissed.
