By Audrey Sawyer and Kiana Khatibi
WOODLAND, CA – Defense and prosecution lawyers clashed here in Yolo County Superior Court this week over the potential intent of a man—who has a prior felony drug conviction—facing charges over possession of a controlled substance; the defense said the drugs were for personal use and the prosecution said the drugs were for sale.
During the preliminary hearing, it was noted the accused did not have a scale either found in his residence or on him. And, Officer Mitchell Williams did not reference being aware of any cash being found, and that, while drug use was indicated, nothing was found that indicated sales, said the officer.
Despite this, Williams testified he was convinced the accused had an intent to sell, citing there was too large of an amount of drugs on the accused for it to solely be for personal use.
The accused was stopped by Officer Williams in the late evening on Jan. 22 this year when the officer said he conducted an enforcement stop on the accused upon observing him riding his motorbike on a sidewalk.
After searching the accused, Officer Williams reports finding two plastic baggies: one with a pink, chalky substance, and another with a clear substance. Officer Williams also testified that he found 25 other empty plastic bags on the person of the accused.
The presence of these 25 plastic bags is what Williams cited as key evidence regarding the accused’s supposed intent to sell, as he believed the accused was going to cut down the bulk drugs into smaller, easier to sell portions.
Williams said he originally believed the first plastic bag to be fentanyl (pink chalky substance) and the second plastic bag (clear substance) to be cocaine.
Upon lab analysis, the officer explained, the pink chalky substance tested positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine, while the clear substance was found to be fentanyl, rather than cocaine. The weight of these bags greatly varied, with the fentanyl-methamphetamine mixture having a net weight of 11.852 grams while the pure fentanyl had a net weight of 1.076 grams.
The accused’s intent behind possessing these drugs continued to be a point of contention throughout this hearing.
Deputy Public Defender Aram Davtyan repeatedly asked Officer Williams whether this amount of fentanyl was typical for a user to have on them, or how many days this amount of substances would last a typical user. Officer Williams was unable to answer, he said, because of the large variance in potency of these drugs, particularly fentanyl.
Officer Williams did emphasize that fentanyl is typically extremely potent, and that possessing a net weight of 11.852 grams of a substance including fentanyl would be unusually high for somebody utilizing that drug for personal use. However, lab results indicated that a large bag of fentanyl was cut with methamphetamine, reducing the potency.
Davtyan argued, “This amount might only be a few day’s worth of controlled substances, so the amount itself is not indicative of sales when you can get through that amount in a week.”
Davtyan noted the lack of a scale both on the accused and in the residence, so the accused would have no method to weigh the measurements. And, the DPD added, “How is he supposed to pay people or give them cash if he doesn’t have cash?”
Continuing, he argued some sort of cutting agent would be required, and that it is not enough to say that it is for sales.
The preliminary hearing concluded with Count 2 being dismissed. The accused remains on $20,000 bail bond. An arraignment on the remaining charge is set for April 18.
