Wow. Don't drive in Ohio if your car has been modified.

[Adam]

Norman Gurley arrested in Ohio for having empty hidden compartment in car

LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio -- A man was arrested in Ohio Wednesday for having a hidden compartment in his car.

The kicker? The compartment was empty.

Norman Gurley, 30, was arrested by state troopers in Northeast Ohio after being pulled over on the turnpike in Lorain County.

According to WKYC-TV , Gurley, from Michigan, was pulled over for speeding, but troopers then noticed several wires running to the back of his vehicle. Those wires led them directly to an empty hidden compartment.

Gurley was then arrested, becoming the first person in the state to be arrested under Ohio's new "hidden compartment" law.

WKYC reports the law is meant to combat criminals who modify the inside of their car, allowing them to store drugs or weapons inside secret compartments. The compartments can often only be accessed electronically.

Whoa. So any "secret compartment" in a car, even if it doesn't contain anything illegal, even if the police have absolutely no evidence that anything illegal has ever been in that compartment or even in that car, is now grounds for a felony charge according to the state troopers in Ohio.


Who here has ever seen one of these?





According to the troopers' interpretation of the law, this, even if it just contains a key or even just air.



Here's the law. I don't see any way that this ever stands up in court, and some troopers (and any prosecutor who presses this case) need to get fired, bigtime. The important bit at the bottom:

(I) This section does not apply to a box, safe, container, or other item added to a vehicle for the purpose of securing valuables, electronics, or firearms provided that at the time of discovery the box, safe, container, or other item added to the vehicle does not contain a controlled substance or visible residue of a controlled substance.

So, at least according to the news reports, and according to the troopers, this guy's hidden space contained ... nothing. No visible residue (which would be grounds for arrest regardless of this law), no controlled substance at all. Their claim, according to this report, is that the entire reason for the search is that the troopers smelled "raw marijuana." I'm not buying that shit for a second. Not that one can't smell raw pot; obviously that's possible even with the worst of colds. What I'm not buying is that this was somehow detectable outside of the car or that it was valid grounds for a search. Had there been a bunch of pot in the car, I might buy it (doubtful, though), but with no pot in the car? Someone just flat-out made up that claim. It's not like that hasn't been done before, just like the fake "drug dog 'hit' on drugs in your car" claim that should result in arrests and lengthy jail sentences across the land.


This is a bad law with even worse application in this case. There are some people who need to lose their jobs over this and Kasich needs to lead the charge to get this law that he signed repealed ASAP.

[phillygirl]

Sounds like he needs to walk on the basis of the built in defense in the statute. My guess...they did catch him in between runs, they know him as a drug courier, and he simply got lucky. It is what it is.

[Gramps]

Whoa. So any "secret compartment" in a car, even if it doesn't contain anything illegal, even if the police have absolutely no evidence that anything illegal has ever been in that compartment or even in that car, is now grounds for a felony charge according to the state troopers in Ohio.


Who here has ever seen one of these?





According to the troopers' interpretation of the law, this, even if it just contains a key or even just air.



Here's the law. I don't see any way that this ever stands up in court, and some troopers (and any prosecutor who presses this case) need to get fired, bigtime. The important bit at the bottom:



So, at least according to the news reports, and according to the troopers, this guy's hidden space contained ... nothing. No visible residue (which would be grounds for arrest regardless of this law), no controlled substance at all. Their claim, according to this report, is that the entire reason for the search is that the troopers smelled "raw marijuana." I'm not buying that shit for a second. Not that one can't smell raw pot; obviously that's possible even with the worst of colds. What I'm not buying is that this was somehow detectable outside of the car or that it was valid grounds for a search. Had there been a bunch of pot in the car, I might buy it (doubtful, though), but with no pot in the car? Someone just flat-out made up that claim. It's not like that hasn't been done before, just like the fake "drug dog 'hit' on drugs in your car" claim that should result in arrests and lengthy jail sentences across the land.


This is a bad law with even worse application in this case. There are some people who need to lose their jobs over this and Kasich needs to lead the charge to get this law that he signed repealed ASAP.

I'm betting he wasn't even speeding, or just barely over.
The 'newest' program is interdiction.
Those officers are 'trained' to hone in on profiles.

They use any excuse, even make them up, to pull a vehicle over and eventually find a reason to arrest them.
My SIL is involved in this.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

Wow. So I would be at risk for being pulled over any time I'm carrying a travel mug of coffee. I make coffee with chicory at home, and chicory smells just like "raw marijuana."

I don't care if this guy is running heroin for the cartels or explosives for the militia nuts through Ohio, they shouldn't be ab;e to stop him unless he committed a crime; shouldn't be able to search his car unless they have damned substantial probable cause and shouldn't be ab;e to arrest him unless he's legally stopped, legally searched and found in actual possession of something illegal.

[Gingersnap]

No drugs necessary: Driver arrested for having empty compartment

No drugs necessary: Driver arrested for having empty compartment
5:54 PM 12/30/2013

Civil libertarians are criticizing Ohio police for arresting a driver because his car contained a compartment that could theoretically store illegal drugs, though no drugs were found at that time.

The driver, 30-year-old Norman Gurley of Michigan, was pulled over for speeding. A highway patrolman noticed wires running to a secret compartment in the car and arrested Gurley, even though there were no drugs in the compartment. The officer also claimed he smelled marijuana in the compartment — giving him probable cause to search it — though none was ultimately discovered.

It makes no difference whether police find drugs or not, according to a new Ohio law that prohibits secret compartments.


“No person shall knowingly operate, possess, or use a vehicle with a hidden compartment with knowledge that the hidden compartment is used or intended to be used to facilitate the unlawful concealment or transportation of a controlled substance,” the law states.

Gurley is actually the first person to be arrested under the law. A police spokesperson praised the arrest, noting that even one fewer drug “trap” car on the streets was a positive thing and downplaying the fact that Gurley didn’t have any drugs.

“We apparently caught them between runs, so to speak, so this takes away one tool they have in their illegal trade,” said Lt. Michael Combs in a statement to local news. “The law does help us and is on our side.”

It’s a justification that rings hollow to John Whitehead, president of civil liberties group the Rutherford Institute.

More at the link.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/12/30/dr...#ixzz2p43zegmp

[Frostbit]

More at the link.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/12/30/dr...#ixzz2p43zegmp

There's already a thread about this on here somewhere. I think Adam put it up awhile ago.

[Administrator]

There's already a thread about this on here somewhere. I think Adam put it up awhile ago.

Indeed. A-merging we will go....