Criminal Charge: Possession of CDS
Case: State v. Lonny Karr
Court: [CF-08-158, Choctaw County]
Result: Case Dismissed
Summary:
Mr. Karr was a passenger in a car pulled over by Drug Task Force agents for allegedly running a stop sign.
At the preliminary hearing, one agent testified he called a drug dog to the scene when the driver refused to consent to a search of his vehicle. [In Oklahoma, it is legal to search a car with a dog even though it may not be legal for the cops on the scene to search the car themselves without a warrant]. The dog handler testified the dog “alerted” on the car so they proceeded to search themselves and alleged they recovered drugs from the console and trunk.
The prosecutor offered Mr. Karr a plea bargain: 10 years in prison.
Haslam argued that there was insufficient probable cause to believe Mr. Karr had “dominion and control” over the drugs to continue the case, and that his “mere proximity” to the drugs in car is simply not enough, as a matter of black-letter law, to convict someone of possession.
Judge Wolfe agreed and dismissed the case completely. Mr. Karr was released from jail after the hearing.