The Law Offices of Kathleen Colton, Ltd.
Criminal Defense / P.O. Box 1364 / St. Charles, IL 60174
Search that netted 18 pounds of marijuana ruled illegal
YORKVILLE — A judge has ruled the search of a Boulder Hill home that turned up 18 pounds of marijuana was illegal.
By Beacon Staff
April, 1, 2004
Sixteenth Circuit Judge James Wilson suppressed the evidence, after a motion by the attorney for the two residents of the home who were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.
Samantha Donaldson, 21, and Armando Quintanilla, 22, were arrested on Jan. 15, after Kendall County sheriff's deputies found a suitcase full of marijuana in the couple's home.
Deputies were dispatched to the couple's residence in the 1-99 block of Rocky Way in Boulder Hill in response to an anonymous call of a domestic disturbance.
When deputies knocked on the door, Donaldson said there had been no disturbance. She did not invite them into the home, according to their attorney, Kathleen Colton.
Colton argued that deputies insisted on searching the residence to be sure no one had been injured. When deputies opened a closet door, they found Donaldson's boyfriend, Quintanilla, and the marijuana.
Both were arrested on multiple drug charges. The street value of the marijuana was estimated at $84,000.
At the couple's hearing Tuesday, Colton argued that the evidence against them had been obtained via an illegal search and should be inadmissible under legal precedent and the Fourth Amendment.
Wilson approved her motion and quashed the evidence.
That will make it impossible to convict Quintanilla or Donaldson, Kendall County Assistant State's Attorney Jean Fletcher said Wednesday.
However, she said, charges have not yet been dropped against the couple because the state's attorney has the option to appeal the suppression.
Fletcher said the state's attorney's office would decide whether to make the appeal or drop the charges next week.
