SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
– Drug charges against three men accused of running a
”
super lab
”
in San Juan Bautista were dismissed because they may not have
been advised of their rights.
SAN JUAN BAUTISTA – Drug charges against three men accused of running a “super lab” in San Juan Bautista were dismissed because they may not have been advised of their rights.
Criminal drug manufacturing charges against Octavio Guadalupe Abad, 38; Francisco Moroyoqui Diaz, 71; and Jesus Torres, 21, were dropped during a hearing Tuesday when it was determined that arresting officers could not prove they had advised the suspects of their Miranda rights, a local defense attorney said.
“The UNET officer who was called to testify, could not establish that he gave each of the defendants their Miranda rights,” attorney Harry Damkar said. “The prosecution decided to dismiss the case and possibly refile against them at a later date.”
According to court procedures, suspects who are arrested must be advised of their rights before they can be questioned. With only a few exceptions, statements made by subjects under arrest are not considered admissible in court as evidence unless the person has been advised and understands their Miranda rights.
Because a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime under the double jeopardy rule, prosecutors decided rather than possibly lose the case with insufficient testimony, they could dismiss the current charges and refile within days and rearrest the suspects to start the prosecution anew.
“I was pleased that the DA’s office dismissed charges against my client, because I believe the evidence will show my client had nothing to do with any drug-making operation,” said Damkar, who recently retired as the county’s district attorney.
Damkar, who was appointed to represent Torres, joins attorneys Greg LaForge and Arthur Cantu who are representing the other two co-defendants.
Cantu, who is representing Diaz, said the District Attorney’s office is seeking after the wrong people for the methamphetamine lab discovered at 482 Olympia Road.
“The person who owned the house, who was in charge of the house and who was found to be the main dealer, was let go by the DA,” Cantu said.
He said the Unified Narcotic Enforcement Team had arrested Jose Vidrio, 59, of 181 Southside Drive in San Jose, and developed information indicating that he allowed the production of methamphetamine to take place at the residence.
Cantu said there was enough evidence to prove Vidrio is the person prosecutors should focus their effort on.
“We’re confident that when all is revealed, they will find that the person who they let get away is the one responsible for this,” Cantu said.
Prosecutors could not be reached for comment.
