SAN FRANCISCO — A judge dismissed two felony drug sale charges during a preliminary hearing Thursday after finding prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence that the accused intended to sell methamphetamine, despite the large quantity recovered at the time of arrest.
In a preliminary hearing Thursday, July 2, Judge John Echeverria ordered Deputy District Attorney Patrick McKuin to drop charges of possession of drugs with intent to sell against the accused for lack of sufficient evidence.
Deputy Public Defender Anjuli Webb represented the accused and argued during the hearing that the prosecution lacked enough evidence to hold the accused to answer for the charges brought against them.
Webb cited the arresting officer’s own testimony, in which the officer said it was “50/50” whether the accused actually intended to sell the drugs that were found upon their arrest.
Judge Echeverria stated that he would not hold someone to answer for a crime when sufficient evidence is not present, even though the evidentiary standard for a preliminary hearing is relatively low. He explained the standard is only “probable cause,” requiring enough evidence to create a “strong suspicion” of the crime, unlike the trial standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
McKuin maintained that the police officer’s testimony was that the amount of methamphetamine — 77 grams — would be enough for “11 doses for a heavy user.” McKuin argued this meant the accused intended to sell the drugs because, even if they also consumed some, enough remained to sell afterward.
Judge Echeverria explained that methamphetamine tends to be a “social drug,” meaning it is often shared with others at the time of consumption. Echeverria also stated that the other charge was transportation with intent to sell and that, so far, he was not convinced the prosecution had proven the accused intended to sell any of it.
McKuin responded by emphasizing that the sheer amount of methamphetamine found on the accused indicated there was an intent to sell and argued that Judge Echeverria should still hold the accused to answer for drug sales charges.
“I just don’t know how to get around the officer saying it’s a 50/50,” Echeverria said, further explaining that he did not see any other evidence of intent to sell presented before him besides the officer’s statement, which he said indicated only a 50/50 chance.
Webb argued that the only evidence supporting intent to sell was the volume of the drugs found, and even then the officer said there was only a 50% chance they were intended for sale. The drugs were also kept in a single bag inside the pocket of the accused’s hoodie, and no additional bags or a scale to measure the drugs for sale were found.
Judge Echeverria stated that he did not rule out the possibility that the drugs were intended for sale, but that “possibility” is not sufficient to hold someone to answer for a crime.
Echeverria ordered the two counts relating to intent to sell dismissed because the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence.
McKuin then stated that he wanted to amend the charges to simple possession instead of possession with intent to sell, which Judge Echeverria allowed.
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