Recently Illinois State Police arrested a 27-year-old resident of California that was driving through the State of Illinois. The 27-year-old was arrested for the possession of 72 pounds of marijuana, found in the trunk of his car. The California native is being held on a $200,000 bond.

Illinois State Police say they stopped the California native for speeding. The trooper says he noticed suspicious behavior from the driver and called an Illinois State Police K-9 to the scene. Police say the K-9 picked up the scent of an illegal substance coming from the trunk of the vehicle. Police then found 72 pounds of marijuana in three duffle bags, worth around $359,000.

This case raises an interesting question that the criminal defense lawyers at Labovitz & Whiteley commonly come across. Was the search legal? In a majority of drug possession cases the defendant was driving a car and was pulled over by the police and their car was eventually searched and drugs are found.

When facing criminal charges for possession of controlled substances the defendant needs a criminal attorney who understands what to look for. An experienced and knowledgeable criminal defense attorney will know to review the police reports and make sure the traffic stop was legal and to also make sure the search of the vehicle after the traffic stop was legal.

If the traffic stop or the search of the vehicle were conducted illegally a motion to suppress evidence can be filed on behalf of the defendant. With this valuable pretrial tool an experienced criminal defense attorney may be able to get all the evidence against the defendant suppressed and potentially get the case against the defendant dismissed.

Contact a Criminal Defense Lawyerat our law firm today if you are facing charges and need to discuss your options.