"What's goin' on here? You're askin' me a lot of questions here, you know. I mean, what is this? Some sort of XBox court? I mean, you know, last time I checked it was okay to travel around El Paso and get as many XBoxes as you wanted! You know, what happened to my XBox rights?!

Link

//shampoo

FTFA : " Deputies said Valenzuela appeared nervous and kept looking at a bag on the passenger's seat"


Why do they ALWAYS keep the drugs ON THE PASSENGER SEAT ?

One Bad Apple: FTFA : " Deputies said Valenzuela appeared nervous and kept looking at a bag on the passenger's seat"


Why do they ALWAYS keep the drugs ON THE PASSENGER SEAT ?

Because cocaine is a terrible driver.

One Bad Apple: FTFA : " Deputies said Valenzuela appeared nervous and kept looking at a bag on the passenger's seat"


Why do they ALWAYS keep the drugs ON THE PASSENGER SEAT ?

Well I'd prefer to sit on my drugs in case people get suspicious. And if it's too much I will just loosen by pants and try to squeeze it up there.

Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

"odor of marijuana"
"appeared nervous"

that's their warrant

NSFW language Link

So what's the point of smuggling 2/3 of your drugs in a well concealed location and leaving the third brick out?

Further, If I was a cop and I saw a twitchy guy with an x-box in a bag with no cords, controllers or games, I'd assume about a 10% chance that it was being taken in for repair and a 90% chance it was stolen. Either way, I'd pick it up and take a look.

Yeah, I don't care what your other arguments about police searches might be.

"Hiding" your kilo of drugs in a bag on the front seat of the car, and then staring at the bag like it was about to explode when you get pulled over on a bullshiat completely legitimate pretext traffic stop is entirely your fault. Why not just hand the thing to the officer when he says "License, registration, proof of insurance?"

I have about as much sympathy in this case as I do when people get pulled over for speeding and then get nailed for drug smuggling. If you have to do something wildly illegal, try to be discreet about it.

Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

They just say that shiat to protect the informant.

One Bad Apple: FTFA : " Deputies said Valenzuela appeared nervous and kept looking at a bag on the passenger's seat"


Why do they ALWAYS keep the drugs ON THE PASSENGER SEAT ?

Because they're idiots like you?

bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

I'm gonna guess they profiled him. They saw the way he looks, the car he was driving or something that they didn't like. Bullshiat it was a turn signal and the dude acting nervous.

bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

Profiling, it's pretty common. When I was a new driver and had to stick a big "N" on the back of my dad's nice car while driving I would get pulled over all the time but when it was stolen I never got pulled over.

change1211: bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

Profiling, it's pretty common. When I was a new driver and had to stick a big "N" on the back of my dad's nice car while driving I would get pulled over all the time but when it was stolen I never got pulled over.

What was stolen, the car you were driving or the big "N"? Pronouns refer to the last noun, so I will assume that means you were driving around in a stolen vehicle.

I guess you can say he bricked his Xbox



YEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!

bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

If these minor violations get you pulled over then half the cops in my town should get pulled over and searched for not using directionals. I would agree with the opinion that they were watching him for awhile. And the few times I was pulled over for violations (speeding, going the wrong way down a one way) it never resulted in a search for drugs. Not that I had any.

lennavan: bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

I'm gonna guess they profiled him. They saw the way he looks, the car he was driving or something that they didn't like. Bullshiat it was a turn signal and the dude acting nervous.

Profiling... good example local to me: people with Vermont plates in the bad neighborhoods around Chicopee, Holyoke and Springfield, MA are typically there to buy heroin... At least according to the cops they interview after busting them, the last article I saw, the chick made an illegal u-turn after scoring.... she was profiled and then stopped after she provided cause.

foxbrook78: So what's the point of smuggling 2/3 of your drugs in a well concealed location and leaving the third brick out?

I thought that was stupid as well.

lennavan: bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

I'm gonna guess they profiled him. They saw the way he looks, the car he was driving or something that they didn't like. Bullshiat it was a turn signal and the dude acting nervous.

Well, it's also that if you get pulled over, the cops can look inside your car for anything in "plain view". If you start acting squirrely, they have probable cause to look a little harder. It's called a pretext stop. They can absolutely pull you over for a turn signal or swerving across the yellow line, it's just that mostly they don't because a well-dressed professional in a Lexus driving downtown is probably not doing anything ELSE wrong.

OTOH, a mangy-looking twentysomething in an equally mangy-looking car driving in a squalid neighborhood probably DOES have something else in the car the cops might like to have; so they pull him over for the turn signal or the lane change. Then lo and behold, he's sweaty, nervous, can't seem to remember where he's been or why that big bag is on the front seat...and ta-da! big ass drug bust.

Cops play the percentages. You just don't hear about all the times they miss. I've been stopped once or twice in a less-than-good neighborhood, mostly for being a white girl in a bad part of town; after handing over a valid ID, insurance and registration and a legit story about why I was there, they sent me on my way. That's why I say: If you must do illegal stuff, try to do everything ELSE legally.

probably he didn't argue enough.

"it was yellow"

"everyone else was going"

"I didn't see the sign"

FTA:
"El Paso County Sheriff's Office Strike Team deputies pulled Valenzuela over when he failed to signal a turn in his older model Mercedes Benz. "

I work in law, and the percentage of clients I get who wind up getting arrested/detained (and immigrants who ultimately wind up with an "ICE hold") because they were driving and make a turn without a signal/have a busted tail light is probably in the 60% range.

For f*cks sake, people. If you have ANY concern about being detained/arrested by the police for ANY reason, you MUST be sure to:
a) Drive within the speed limit
b) Obey ALL the traffic laws (signals, etc)
c) Make sure your car is properly registered, inspected, and without any observable defect (busted tail light/functioning headlights/etc).
d) Behave yourself properly with the police

One would think it's common sense, but you would be amazed.

/The really, REALLY stupid people who give me a particular headache get charged an extra "DMF" or "PITA" fee on top of my regular rates
// (Dumb Motherf*cker/"Pain In The Ass" fee)

Gyrfalcon: That's why I say: If you must do illegal stuff, try to do everything ELSE legally.

Pretty much the cliff notes version of my little rant.
It's common sense... unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be so common these days.

Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

CSB:

Back in my home town, there was a person who was driving with a suspended license and everytime he would get into his car, there would be the cops with a radar. hoping to be able to nail him for something..... anything so they could make a bust

He was aware of that, and always drove under the speed limit, made sure he used his blinkers when turning... just in case a cop was waiting to bust him for failing to do this-or-that

Nice to see my tax dollars are put to such good use and nice to see the police don't have any real criminals to arrest

been a driver for many years. most of the times i've been pulled over was due to a burned-out license plate bulb. take 5 minutes to check all lights are functioning before taking cookies to grandmas house, it's worth it.

in younger days i usually owned 3 cars at all times. leave 2 of the 3 in bar parking lots. cars were much cheaper back then but it's still worth doing today if your life sometimes gets sketchy.

thanks to FARK i've learned that when in public do not break more than one law at a time.

lennavan: bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

I'm gonna guess they profiled him. They saw the way he looks, the car he was driving or something that they didn't like. Bullshiat it was a turn signal and the dude acting nervous.

To play devil's advocate, he's probably a shiatty driver. There's plenty of them where I live. Other than being shiatty drivers, I suspect most of them are doing nothing wrong. Still, in many cases, just being a shiatty driver is reason enough for a stop. Of course it varies based on local law, but come on. Think of the average person and then realize half of them are dumber than that (George Carlin).

I use my turn signal even when I don't see anyone behind me. The turn signal is not available for my sake, it's for the sake of anyone who might be driving near me. 6-7% of photons that hit the eye will actually reach the brain. Roughly 93% of visible information does not reach the brain. I don't feel too bad about this case.

Gyrfalcon: lennavan: bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

I'm gonna guess they profiled him. They saw the way he looks, the car he was driving or something that they didn't like. Bullshiat it was a turn signal and the dude acting nervous.

Well, it's also that if you get pulled over, the cops can look inside your car for anything in "plain view". If you start acting squirrely, they have probable cause to look a little harder. It's called a pretext stop. They can absolutely pull you over for a turn signal or swerving across the yellow line, it's just that mostly they don't because a well-dressed professional in a Lexus driving downtown is probably not doing anything ELSE wrong.

OTOH, a mangy-looking twentysomething in an equally mangy-looking car driving in a squalid neighborhood probably DOES have something else in the car the cops might like to have; so they pull him over for the turn signal or the lane change. Then lo and behold, he's sweaty, nervous, can't seem to remember where he's been or why that big bag is on the front seat...and ta-da! big ass drug bust.

Cops play the percentages. You just don't hear about all the times they miss. I've been stopped once or twice in a less-than-good neighborhood, mostly for being a white girl in a bad part of town; after handing over a valid ID, insurance and registration and a legit story about why I was there, they sent me on my way. That's why I say: If you must do illegal stuff, try to do everything ELSE legally.

Oh, I agree with all of that. I didn't actually mean to imply what the cops did was wrong or illegal. But they can't admit they profiled the guy, so instead it was a traffic stop and someone acting nervous.

Same thing happened to me, I was pulled over once in a shiatty neighborhood. Except it was night time, so the cop didn't see me, he just saw my bright red shiny new car in the shiatty neighborhood. He walked up to the window, took one look at me and my girlfriend and I could tell right away we weren't what he was lookin for. He asked, so I handed him my license and the best I had was an insurance card that expired a few months before. I was actually up to date but was just too lazy/stupid to put the new card they sent me in my wallet. He asked why I was in the neighborhood and I told him I worked on one side of it and live on the other side but I gotta drive through it to get home. He told me my plate tag was expired and sent me on my way. He didn't even run my name through his computer. This cop was clearly lookin for drugs or something like that. This was not a revenue generating stop, I've had my share of tickets.

lennavan: bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

I'm gonna guess they profiled him. They saw the way he looks, the car he was driving or something that they didn't like. Bullshiat it was a turn signal and the dude acting nervous.

I assume it's a cover story, for either a deep cover agent, a snitch, or some surveillance that was questionably legal.

appeared nervous and kept looking at a bag on the passenger's seat

Sounds like copspeak for "I wanted to search him, so here's some bullshiat to justify it."

El Morro: FTA:
"El Paso County Sheriff's Office Strike Team deputies pulled Valenzuela over when he failed to signal a turn in his older model Mercedes Benz. "

I work in law, and the percentage of clients I get who wind up getting arrested/detained (and immigrants who ultimately wind up with an "ICE hold") because they were driving and make a turn without a signal/have a busted tail light is probably in the 60% range.

I got stopped once for having a license plate light out. The officer was very, very careful to phrase it that way, as well, which made me suspicious. Not "Your license plate light is burned out" but "You've got A license plate light out". He wouldn't let me get out of the car to fix it, even though I had a spare bulb in the glove box, but instead took a long look around the inside of the car (without letting me get out) and then sent me on my way with a "get that fixed immediately" verbal warning. When I got home, I discovered that what I had suspected was true, my car had TWO license plate lights (one on either side of the plate) and ONE of them had burned out. The remaining one lit the plate well enough that I could read it from fifty feet away, in the dark.

I wonder how many of your clients actually missed using a signal or had a light out and how many were victims of lying cops. I won't even get into the story of a local cop around here (been fifteen or so years ago now) that would just walk up to the back of your car after pulling you over and smash out your taillight with his baton. He (eventually) got fired for that.

TL;DR = having your car in top working order won't save you from a dishonest cop who is bored/prejudiced/an asshole/all of the above.

imontheinternet: appeared nervous and kept looking at a bag on the passenger's seat

Sounds like copspeak for "I wanted to search him, so here's some bullshiat to justify it."

Sooo .... the cop planted the coke...inside the X Box ?

Mason jars, the trunk, and non-consent to searches. Use them.

/wont help you if you're a nervous idiot

Sgt Otter: lennavan: bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

I'm gonna guess they profiled him. They saw the way he looks, the car he was driving or something that they didn't like. Bullshiat it was a turn signal and the dude acting nervous.

I assume it's a cover story, for either a deep cover agent, a snitch, or some surveillance that was questionably legal.

Yeah, people suggested that earlier in the thread. I can see one of those being it too.

One Bad Apple: imontheinternet: appeared nervous and kept looking at a bag on the passenger's seat

Sounds like copspeak for "I wanted to search him, so here's some bullshiat to justify it."

Sooo .... the cop planted the coke...inside the X Box ?

If you search enough cars, you'll find something eventually. That's when your department calls the reporters.

i often drive around with MANY xboxes.... I wonder what'd happed if I get pulled over.

/sells surplus electronics... not coke.

older mercedes benz.

/snark

you'd have gotten away with this if you'd have been driving a white prius.

don't do more than 1 illegal thing at a time

try fect taa daa: i often drive around with MANY xboxes.... I wonder what'd happed if I get pulled over.

/sells surplus electronics... not coke.

Nothing.

Unless you get busted for being a geek.

If you wanna hang out you've got to take her out, XBox
If you wanna get down, down on the ground, XBox
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie, XBox

If you got bad news, you wanna kick them blues, XBox
When your day is done and you wanna run, XBox
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie, XBox

If your thing is gone and you wanna ride on, XBox
Don't forget this fact, you can't get it back, XBox
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie, XBox

outatime: I wonder how many of your clients actually missed using a signal or had a light out and how many were victims of lying cops.

I can say with near certainty that at least ONE of my clients was the victim of a "lying cop". I have good friends who are officers, so I understand and respect just how difficult a job it is, but there are also bad apples out there.

Anyway, as for that one instance, it was an American woman with her "illegal" immigrant husband who has been here for 20+ years. Officer pulls her over and asks them both to step out of the vehicle.

He has them stand by the squad car, then goes to "investigate" my client's car. Lo and behold, he comes back and shows them a very small baggie with what looks to be some residue of coke. He shows my client and his wife and asks about it. My client promptly FLIPS the f*ck out, accuses the officer of planting the drugs, insults him for having the gall to pull such a move, and gets arrested.

Long story short, he hires a criminal attorney who believes my client (honestly, even I thought the coke was probably his, despite he and his fiancee swearing on every deity out there that they never did drugs). He insisted that they drop the charge, otherwise he was going to go to trial, and wouldn't settle for anything less, because "Police should never lie, I don't do drugs, and I'll be damned if they're going to say I do."

The government tried to push a "Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance" charge, then offered to reduce it to a "Disorderly Conduct" charge, then offered to reduce it to a "Disorderly Conduct" with an ACD (Adjournment in Contemplation with Dismissal- basically, it's like the thing never happened so long as he stays out of trouble for enough time), then when they saw he was willing to fight it no matter what, they dismissed the charges completely. My guy never budged an inch. He insisted from the jump that he was innocent, and didn't care what it took... he was going to fight it.

I respect him for his resolve and dedication. Sometimes I wonder what percentage of people wind up taking the ACD on a false charge, just to avoid problems and move on with their lives.

/that went WAY longer than I expected.... sorry.

bim1154
I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

I knew a Kansas trooper who would sit on I-70 and catch drug runners like nobody's business. They teach them the profile and some people have the gift. I went to one of the trials in a small town. This hippie looking guy got caught red handed, but he carried a Bible through his whole trial and jury acquitted him.

bim1154: Karma Chameleon: Failure to use a turn signal? Please. They've been watching him for a while.

I've always wondered about that. I see these news pieces where someone gets pulled over for some seemingly minor thing and the next thing you know.... big drug bust! It's like the farking cops have x-ray vision or something.

Most often it's exactly like this story. Driver was nervous and twitchy so they do something to get themselves pulled over. Once pulled over they telegraph where to look for the dope, they can't help looking at where it's hidden like it's going to burst into song at any moment.

Shoulda gone this route...

Why "K-9 unit" and not "dog"? It would save two letters, one number, one space, one hyphen and two syllables.

El Morro: The government tried to push a "Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance" charge, then offered to reduce it to a "Disorderly Conduct" charge, then offered to reduce it to a "Disorderly Conduct" with an ACD (Adjournment in Contemplation with Dismissal- basically, it's like the thing never happened so long as he stays out of trouble for enough time), then when they saw he was willing to fight it no matter what, they dismissed the charges completely. My guy never budged an inch. He insisted from the jump that he was innocent, and didn't care what it took... he was going to fight it.

I respect him for his resolve and dedication. Sometimes I wonder what percentage of people wind up taking the ACD on a false charge, just to avoid problems and move on with their lives.

/that went WAY longer than I expected.... sorry.


Lots. Anyone with a prior record is going to take the plea, because what they're going to get when they go to court and get found guilty (because who are you going to believe, ladies and gentlemen of the jury? This honest police officer or that lying scumbag gangbanger who's already got one drug conviction?). Anyone who can't afford a good attorney is going to take the plea, because a public defender won't have the time, and trust me, you can't possibly do the work pro se to get yourself off even if you're Mother Theresa. And anyone who doesn't have the time, money, or patience to fight through the system will take the plea, because going through court is a hassle of incredible proportions and often it's easier to explain to your boss that the charge was bogus than prove your innocence and lose your job.

The easy fix, of course, is to stop requiring cops to make QUANTITY arrests, and require them to make QUALITY arrests--instead of tallying up the mere number of felony arrests a cop brings in, he should only get credit for the arrests that actually result in felony convictions. Combine that with decriminalization of drug possession across the board, and this kind of petty crap would drop off tremendously.

croesius: Shoulda gone this route...
[www.trailertheater.com image 480x360]

A traffic stop tip which led to an unconstitutional search led to the arrest of Carlos Valenzuela, 42, who was found with three bundles of cocaine, police said.

FTFT.