Not Guilty of Possession With Intent to Distribute 18 Kilos
In the case of People v. Santiago, the Sheppard firm obtained an acquittal for a defendant charged with Possession with the Intent to Distribute 15 kilos of cocaine and three kilos of heroin. Through cross-examination of the police officer, Barry Sheppard adduced evidence that the defendant did not have exclusive control over the garage where the drugs were found and other evidence which raised reasonable doubt as to whether the drugs in question belonged to the defendant. At the close of the State’s case, we made a motion for a finding of acquittal. We presented a Memorandum of Law in Support of Acquittal which outlined the relevant case-law in the area of Constructive Possession (controlling the area where the drugs are located). The judge granted our motion for a finding of acquittal at the close of the State’s case and the defendant was alleviated from testifying or from calling any witnesses on his behalf.
