COURT REVERSES DRUG CONVICTION, CITES ILLEGAL POLICE SEARCH

BROOKFIELD, Wis. (AP) -- A man' s conviction on a drug possession charge
was thrown out Wednesday by a state appeals court that said police found
the drugs during an illegal search.

Luis Bermudez pleaded guilty to one count of possessing cocaine with the
intent to sell it, but he claimed officers entered his hotel room without
permission or a search warrant.

The 2nd District Court of Appeals said the search was not only illegal, but
police failed to get permission from Bermudez' wife to search the room.

His wife " was not told that the officers did not have a warrant or that
she did not have to consent to the search, " Judge Harry Snyder wrote.

The case began last year in a Brookfield hotel room occupied by Bermudez,
his friends and relatives. Bermudez and a friend left to get groceries, and
Bermudez was later stopped for a traffic violation.

He was arrested for driving on a revoked or suspended license, and police
said they found marijuana and a firearm in the vehicle.

Police then searched the Bermudez family' s hotel room and found cocaine
and drug paraphernalia.

The appeals court ruling means the evidence cannot be used against Bermudez
in court. The decision reverses Bermudez' conviction in Waukesha County
Circuit Court.

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Copyright 1998. All rights reserved.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski