Two Philadelphia men arrested last year on the Pennsylvania Turnpike after police found 27 pounds of marijuana in their car trunk contend the vehicle search was illegal and the criminal charges against them should be dismissed.
Lawyers for Joseph Ricardo Wright, 33, and and Dwayne Dwight Augustus, 36, contend police had no probable cause to stop their Nissan Altima near New Stanton as it traveled across state from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia.
During a hearing Tuesday, Pennsylvania state police trooper Justin Coda testified he spotted and stopped the men’s vehicle shortly before 1 p.m. on Aug. 15, 2018, because of an obscured license plate. Coda said a scratched and dirty plastic covering over the plate made it impossible to read.
“Both the driver and passenger were extremely nervous. Their hands were shaking and I could see the passenger’s heart beating through his shirt,” Coda testified. Police became more suspicious when they discovered neither Wright, the driver, nor Augustus owned the car, he said.
Coda testified he searched the car after detecting a strong odor of marijuana and found the drugs wrapped in plastic and stored in suitcases and trash bags.
Defense attorney Joseph Hudak suggested Coda initiated the search based on Wright’s and Augustus’ race and Jamaican accents.
“I did not,” Coda responded.
Coda said both men spoke English and neither claimed ownership of the drugs. Wright claimed the marijuana belonged to Augustus. Augustus said he didn’t know the drugs were in the trunk, Coda testified.
Both Wright and Augustus were assisted in court on Tuesday by a translator who spoke the Patois dialect, which is a form of Jamaican Creole.
They are each charged with two drug-related counts. Augustus is free after he posted a $100,000 bond last year. Wright is also free on a $10,000 bond.
