Boston Criminal Lawyers Blog
Six individuals were indicted this past Friday by an Essex County Grand Jury in Salem on several Massachusetts Drug Crimes Charges.
Roger Jones and his girlfriend, Chrystalina Cruz, of Salem, were both charged with Drug Trafficking Over 200 grams of Opium after they allegedly received a package in the mail from Florida of 2,000 percocets, valued on the street at approximately $60,000.
According to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, a postal inspector came across the ‘suspicious package’ that was to be delivered to an address in Lynn and then contacted authorities. Police officers then engaged in a controlled-delivery of the package to the address, which was allegedly signed for by a woman at the request of Chrystalina Cruz.
After signing for the package, the woman, at the direction of police officers, then call Cruz to come and retrieve the package. Sometime later, both Cruz and Roger Jones arrived at the Lynn address to retrieve the package, where they were then both arrested on these Drug Crimes Charges.
The Drug Crime of Trafficking Over 200 grams of Opium carries a minimum-mandatory state prison sentence of 15 to 20 years.
Prosecuting drug cases such as these where a controlled-delivery was made by the police are still not easy to prove. The critical question in these types of cases is whether the person(s) receiving the package had knowledge of the contents of the package, as well as possession of the controlled substance. Possession can be ‘actual’ possesion; or ‘constructive’, meaning knowledge of the item coupled with the intention to exercise dominion and control over the item at any given time.
From all reports, it does not appear that Roger Jones had any knowledge of the contents of the package when he allegedly went with Cruz to retrieve it from that Lynn apartment. If so, his defense to the charge of Drug Trafficking could be ‘mere presence’, and denial of any knowledge of the drugs…
Boston Criminal Defense Attorney Lefteris K. Travayiakis is available 24/7 for consultation on all Massachusetts Drug Crimes Charges, including Drug Trafficking, Drug Possession, and Distribution of Drugs.
To schedule a Free Consultation, Click Here to Contact a Boston Drug Crimes Lawyer or call 617-325-9500.