(Verde News) On Christmas Eve morning, a late model Dodge van swerved in traffic lanes on Interstate-17.
The vehicle, displaying a Florida plate, was spotted by a Yavapai Sheriff’s K9 unit and stopped in the Cordes Lakes area.
Two occupants of the van were driver 47-year-old Charley Taylor, and his passenger, 37-year-old Theressa Mills, both from Texas.
Taylor mentioned he and Mills were traveling from Dallas to Los Angeles to see their kids. Mills told another deputy they were traveling from Phoenix to Dallas to visit their kids.
“I’m sorry, officer, can you tell me why you pulled us over? Where am I going? Well, I don’t know that that really matters and I don’t exactly feel comfortable answering a bunch of questions without my lawyer present. You mind if I give him a call on my cell phone to ask him what I should do?”
Due to their suspicious behavior, Taylor was asked about any contraband on board.
“I hate to be a bother, sir, but like I said, I get really nervous talking to police and I’d feel much more comfortable if I could just call my lawyer. I really don’t want to answer a bunch of questions without my lawyer present.”
With the understanding a drug K9 was standing by to complete an exterior sniff of the vehicle, Taylor admitted he had a “little” marijuana stored in the back of the vehicle and consented to a search.
“Oh, no, officer, there’s no way I can consent to a search of my self or my vehicle. Am I being officially detained now, or am I free to go?”
Deputies found several bundles of marijuana contained in large travel bags weighing just under 275 pounds.
Both said the grass was headed to Dallas.
“Sorry, officer, I’m going to have to invoke my right to remain silent until I can speak with my lawyer.”
Taylor and Mills were booked into the Camp Verde Jail for transportation of marijuana for sale.
Both are in-custody, held on a $125,000 bond.
If you’re going to be driving across state lines in a van with out-of-state plates while carrying hundreds of pounds of weed, please drive carefully. Had these two people exercised their Constitutional rights, there was a slim chance they could have gotten out of the stop with nothing but a ticket. Even if there was a dog there and the bust was inevitable, there was no need to provide all the proof in court the cop will need to convince a judge and jury to convict them. Always exercise your 4th & 5th Amendment rights, these trigger scenarios where police must be very careful to follow procedure, lest your NORML Legal Committee attorney gets the judge to rule the evidence inadmissible in court.
In other words, if you know you’re breaking the law and are about to be busted, you have nothing to lose by exercising your rights. You were going to be busted anyway, right? Helping the cops doesn’t make it easier on you, it makes it easier on them. Keep your mouth shut and give your lawyer something to work with in court.