Federal Narcotics and Firearms Investigation: Closed Without Criminal Prosecution
Federal law enforcement officers operating in an undercover capacity performed a limited amount of surveillance on an individual they suspected of trafficking in both drugs and firearms. Believing the suspected trafficker just received a resupply of fentanyl, agents swarmed and raided his apartment without a warrant. Inside they discovered various quantities of heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, multiple firearms and a large amount of U.S. Currency. Agents seized and inventoried their findings.
They also arrested and charged the man for the evidence discovered inside his home. The man quickly retained Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him in this matter. Attorney Calcagni quickly pounced on the warrantless search of the man’s home. Police did not even attempt to secure the premises while they sought a search warrant. Because of their hasty actions, Attorney Calcagni targeted this case for a motion to suppress the physical items discovered and seized from inside the man’s apartment.
To avoid this major oversight from becoming part of the public record, Attorney Calcagni successfully persuaded the government to dismiss this matter in its entirety and close the case without further prosecution. Based on this once-in-a-lifetime disposition, the man avoided prosecution in United States District Court, but was required to forfeit the large amount of money taken from his apartment.