JUDGE SUPPRESSES DRUG EVIDENCE

Rules Trooper Waited Too Long For Canine Unit To Arrive At Scene

For the second time in less than a month, a Sangamon County judge has
suppressed evidence in a major marijuana seizure.

Circuit Judge Dennis Schwartz on Wednesday said a state trooper
unconstitutionally stalled for time until a drug-sniffing dog could be
brought to where the trooper had stopped a pickup for speeding.

The 15-minute detention was unconstitutional, Schwartz ruled.

If upheld on appeal, the ruling would throw out charges against Joel Ortiz,
32, of Aurora, who was arrested Nov. 26.

Troopers seized 741 pounds of suspected marijuana from the bed of the pickup
Ortiz was driving. It is thought to be the largest marijuana haul ever
seized by Illinois State Police in the Springfield area.

Ortiz was driving a pickup belonging to another man northbound on Interstate
55 between the Clear Lake Avenue and Sherman exits near Springfield about 11
a.m. Nov. 26 when he was stopped for speeding by Illinois State Trooper
Michael Jennings.

At the time, Jennings was escorting two foreign dignitaries who were members
of an international drug interdiction unit, according to a memorandum filed
by defense attorney Jeff Page of Springfield in support of the motion to
suppress.

Ortiz and a passenger, Alvin Davis, 33, also of Aurora, were detained for 15
minutes while the officer gave Ortiz a warning ticket for speeding, then
began questioning him.

After a canine unit arrived, the trooper asked Ortiz for permission to
search the vehicle. When Ortiz refused, he was told the canine would be
walked around the truck.

The dog alerted officers to the presence of drugs. They then searched and
found the suspected marijuana under a tarpaulin in the bed of the truck.

Ortiz and Davis were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to
distribute, a Class X felony based on the amount of drugs seized.

A hearing on the motion to suppress, which originally was filed by
Springfield attorney Matthew Maurer, was held Jan. 14.

On Wednesday, Schwartz ruled that no valid basis for searching Ortiz's
vehicle existed until the police dog alerted the officers. Detaining Ortiz
and his passenger for 15 minutes was longer than reasonably necessary for
the trooper to conduct the routine traffic stop, Schwartz said.

"In this court's opinion, Trooper Jennings was stalling for additional time
so that the canine unit could arrive," Schwartz wrote. That amounted to
illegal detention in violation of the Fourth Amendment, he said.

Davis' attorney is expected to file a similar motion in his client's case.

Assistant state's attorney Steve Weinhoeft said the state will appeal the
ruling and will seek to keep both Ortiz and Davis in custody while the issue
is on appeal.

In January, Schwartz ruled that police did not have probable cause to enter
a Springfield motel room last June and seize about 30 pounds of marijuana.
As a result, felony drug charges were dismissed against two Phoenix men.

Chris Dettro can be reached at 788-1510 or chris.dettro@sj-r.com.