Florida Supreme Court tosses out drug trafficking charge for Jacksonville man and orders him resentenced

The Florida Supreme Court has thrown out a drug trafficking charge against a Jacksonville man, saying the way the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office tested the drugs was insufficient to prove he had as much cocaine as the state alleged. Instead of the 15-year sentence that was imposed after trial, Baron Greenwade is now looking at a maximum of five years in prison on a cocaine possession charge, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. When Greenwade was arrested in 2009, police found a bag inside his garage with nine individual plastic bags inside, the newspaper reported. Police then dumped all nine into one bag before sending the drugs off to be tested by a forensic chemist, the newspaper reported. Because the combined amount was more than 200 grams, Greenwade could then be charged with trafficking in this Jacksonville Drug Crimes Case, which opened him up to a minimum mandatory sentence of seven years in prison.

Greenwade’s Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorneys argued that the state should have sent each individual bag of cocaine to the chemist to be tested – a practice that is followed in other major Florida cities, including Miami and Tampa, the newspaper reported. The Supreme Court agreed. One main reason is that drug dealers sometimes put fake cocaine in a baggie, if they think they can get away with it, so it is possible there was less than 200 grams or actual cocaine in the larger bag police found. This Jacksonville Drug Crimes Case decision by the Supreme Court will now force Jacksonville police to individually test each baggie or container they find.

Drug charges and sentences are based on the type of drug and the amount the person is accused of having. As was proven in this Jacksonville Drug Crimes Case, a few grams either way can make an enormous difference in the amount of time a person receives. Greenwade was initially charged with a first-degree felony and is now guilty of just a third-degree felony, which has a maximum sentence of five years in prison. His maximum sentence is more than the minimum seven years he was required to serve on the trafficking charge. While Jacksonville Drug Crimes laws seem like they’d be pretty straightforward, cases like this are always changing the landscape of Jacksonville Criminal Defense Cases. Our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney stays on top of all of the latest rulings and has the latest information at her fingertips to advise you or your loved one.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Jacksonville Drug Crimes Attorney, Victoria “Tori” Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.