Running Head: VIOLENCE AND DRUGS IN CENTERVALE 1 VIOLENCE AND DRUGS IN CENTERVALE 2 VIOLENCE AND DRUGS IN CENTERVALE Name: Donecia Hudson Institutional Affiliations: Argosy University Teacher: William J. Muniak Class: Criminal Procedure Date: November 20, 2017 VIOLENCE AND DRUGS IN CENTERVALE Over the period, the United States of America has been at war. Not a physical battle, but a fight with drug abuse and various forms of domestic violence. Authorities have put their efforts on bringing the culprits to justice. Those who are typically found culpable for either of the crimes have been sentenced to some periods in prison as a way of rectifying their illegal actions (Int'L, 2015). That is why; looking at the case involving Abby and Bobby there is a clear basis in the law that can be applied in bringing them to books. In law, there is an aspect that states 'a person arrested remains as a suspect until proven guilty.' Proving of a case depends on the shreds of evidence that get presented in court by the prosecutor. Therefore, in proving a case against a suspected criminal, a prosecutor will majorly have to rely on the pieces of evidence that are gathered at the scene of the crime. Having this information, as a police officer, the evidence which I witnessed at the couple’s house must be protected so that the same can get applied during the trial process the said couple. In safeguarding the evidence, it will be instrumental for me to undertake two critical actions. First, I will need to inform both Christiana and David who were to remain at the scene of the crime about the illegal things which I saw in the house so that they become aware of the same as they continue to code off the house. Secondly, it will be of importance if I equally take photos of these illegal products in the house which in any case, can be used in backing up the case against the two. Besides, in case of any further discovery of evidence either from their house or in their possession, an almost similar procedure can equally apply. The only distinction will be the need to take the said evidence and keep them under my jurisdiction or take them directly to the prosecutor who might decide to keep them as per the court’s acts on procedures of storing evidence. Based on the utterances which were made by Abby in our presence, there is enough ground upon which she can get arrested. Take for instance, while her husband was being taken away, Abby shouted that she would sell the remaining stock of “goods” and raise the money which he would use to bail out Bobby. At the time of her utterance, other police officers were not aware of the kind of goods she was referring to except me. Since I had already noticed a baggie of marijuana, it was clear that apart from being consumers of marijuana as a drug, these couples were also trading on this illegal product upon which they were raising money for their other expenses. Her association with Bobby was also a platfor ...

1. Running Head: VIOLENCE AND DRUGS IN CENTERVALE
1
VIOLENCE AND DRUGS IN CENTERVALE
2
VIOLENCE AND DRUGS IN CENTERVALE
Name: Donecia Hudson
Institutional Affiliations: Argosy University
Teacher: William J. Muniak
Class: Criminal Procedure
Date: November 20, 2017
VIOLENCE AND DRUGS IN CENTERVALE
Over the period, the United States of America has been at war.
Not a physical battle, but a fight with drug abuse and various
forms of domestic violence. Authorities have put their efforts
on bringing the culprits to justice. Those who are typically
found culpable for either of the crimes have been sentenced to
some periods in prison as a way of rectifying their illegal

2. actions (Int'L, 2015). That is why; looking at the case
involving Abby and Bobby there is a clear basis in the law that
can be applied in bringing them to books.
In law, there is an aspect that states 'a person arrested remains
as a suspect until proven guilty.' Proving of a case depends on
the shreds of evidence that get presented in court by the
prosecutor. Therefore, in proving a case against a suspected
criminal, a prosecutor will majorly have to rely on the pieces of
evidence that are gathered at the scene of the crime. Having
this information, as a police officer, the evidence which I
witnessed at the couple’s house must be protected so that the
same can get applied during the trial process the said couple. In
safeguarding the evidence, it will be instrumental for me to
undertake two critical actions. First, I will need to inform both
Christiana and David who were to remain at the scene of the
crime about the illegal things which I saw in the house so that
they become aware of the same as they continue to code off the
house. Secondly, it will be of importance if I equally take
photos of these illegal products in the house which in any case,
can be used in backing up the case against
the two. Besides, in case of any further discovery of evidence
either from their house or in their possession, an almost similar
procedure can equally apply. The only distinction will be the
need to take the said evidence and keep them under my
jurisdiction or take them directly to the prosecutor who might
decide to keep them as per the court’s acts on procedures of
storing evidence.
Based on the utterances which were made by Abby in our
presence, there is enough ground upon which she can get
arrested. Take for instance, while her husband was being taken
away, Abby shouted that she would sell the remaining stock of
“goods” and raise the money which he would use to bail out
Bobby. At the time of her utterance, other police officers were
not aware of the kind of goods she was referring to except me.
Since I had already noticed a baggie of marijuana, it was clear
that apart from being consumers of marijuana as a drug, these

3. couples were also trading on this illegal product upon which
they were raising money for their other expenses. Her
association with Bobby was also a platform upon which she can
get arrested. She knew how violent and armed Bobby was but
she did not bother to report him to the nearest police station yet
there were clear signs that her life was continuously being
placed at risk.
All of the illegal activities which both couples were engaging in
would be more visible if their house was to be searched in
totality. Based on the laws, searching an offender’s home can
just be carried by police officers upon having a warrant for
conducting the same from the court. In securing a search
warrant, the police officer concerned with the search activity
must swear an affidavit which contains reasons for the need of
undertaking a search activity in the house of an offender. Just as
the case of this couple, in an affidavit for securing a search
warrant, I would include the marijuana and presence of a gun in
the couple’s house which I saw as part of reasons for obtaining
such a permit. The presence of the said two illegal products
serves as evidence that some of the similar kinds of products
might be available in the hidden corners of the couple's house.
As a method of preventing interference with the evidence which
already I had seen inside the house of this couple, and any other
form of evidence that might be available, the best way both
Christina and David would protect such evidence is by coding
off the entire area and its locality from any form of penetration.
The best material used in such cases is a ribbon with writings of
crime scenes around it as such would bar the public away from
the locality of the house (Rahtz, 2012). The officers, also, need
to stay attentive and alert all around until that time when the
entire evidence might have been collected.
Search warrant always has various reasons as to why it might be
carried out on a person’s house. For instance, a search might be
carried out with the aim of protecting the officers and the public
from any other possible attacks, preventing the offender from
possible escape or making a discovery and subsequent seizing

4. of the elements of crimes from the offender (Shahidullah,
2008). Therefore, based on this case, the reason for the need of
the search warrant is to look for the available illegal products
(marijuana, guns and any other) that were at the premises of
Abby and Bobby. Once these illegal products are identified and
taken away, they can be used for justifying the case concerning
these two people.
Upon Arrival at the precinct of Abby and Booby, undertaking a
personal search on them would be only possible upon approval
by the court. This is because forcefully searching get considered
as a trespass by law since it goes against the rights of the
accused. Though if there can be an agreement with them,
examining them would be made accessible and more legal. At
the crime scene even without taking any measure of searching,
there will be the presence of blood samples which will have
dropped as a result of a small fracture that both of them might
have suffered as result of their fighting. Because of the battle
that is evidential from this couple in addition to signs of abuse
of drugs, there might be significant need of proving this as part
of the case. Because it is not legal to forcefully search person’s
body without his or her consent or approval by the court, based
on this kind of scenario, it would be appropriate to seek for
permission from the courts to undertake this step. It is more of
evidence that because the body parts of each of them had some
fractures, both might be hibernating some form of crude weapon
on them. Additionally, since their behavior seems to be more of
influenced by subsistence abuses which evidently is inside their
house, there is some possibility that they might have some in
their pocket. For such a reason, searching their pockets, for
example, would be most appropriate since it would assist in
proving the case against the two beyond any other reasonable
doubts.

5. References
Int'L, B. P. U. (2015). Belize criminal laws, regulations and
procedures handbook: Strategic information, regulations ...
procedures. Place of publication not identified: Intl Business
Pubns Usa.
Rahtz, H. (2012). Drugs, crime, and violence: From trafficking
to treatment. Lanham, Maryland: Hamilton Books.
Shahidullah, S. M. (2008). Crime policy in America: Laws,
institutions, and programs.
The Module 3 LASA 1 Paper Assignment focused on probable
cause, searches, search warrants and best practices for the
admissibility of collected evidence.
Assignment Background – Violence and Drugs in Centervale:
You have been working as a police officer for the Centervale
Police Department for two years. You are on your nightly patrol
in your marked police vehicle with your partner, Edward, who
has been on the force for seven years. You receive a call on the
radio to respond to a domestic abuse situation requiring backup.
Your partner and you are second to respond to the call. You
arrive at the scene, which is in a neighborhood with a bad
reputation. Upon arrival, you witness a couple, Abby and
Bobby, standing outside their house, yelling obscenities at each
other.

6. The couple refuses to calm down and speak with the officers,
Christina and David, who are already on the scene. The
girlfriend, Abby, is slurring her speech and seems unaware of
the trickle of blood running down the side of her head. The
boyfriend, Bobby, has extremely bloodshot eyes and does not
appear to have slept in days. Moreover, Bobby's speech is
accelerated, and he's breathing rapidly as if he has just sprinted
from the drugstore down the block. You notice that Bobby's
hands and face have scratches all over them.
Also, the front door is open.
Your partner, Edward, has known this couple as they have been
in trouble with the law before. He steps in between Abby and
Bobby and begins to gather information from Abby, while you
call for an ambulance.
As Edward speaks with the couple, you begin to walk around
the yard, observing what you can. You look in through the front
door, and while there is only one light on in the house, you
observe what appears to be a bong and a baggie of marijuana on
the coffee table in the front room of the house. Because Edward
is standing with Abby and there are two other officers outside
with Bobby, you decide to enter the house to take a closer look.
You discover that there is indeed a bong and a baggie of
marijuana on the table. Looking under the couch next to the
coffee table, you discover a shotgun as well. You begin to
wonder what other illegal items might be in the house, when
you hear a yell from outside and run out to discover that Bobby
is being handcuffed and put in a police car. Apparently, Bobby
tried to use a weapon on Abby in front of Edward and the other
officers.
He is quoted as saying, "Just because the cops are here doesn't
mean I won't finish what I started!" as he reached for his
waistband.
As Bobby is being driven away, Abby breaks down into tears
and cries out after her boyfriend, "Don't worry, baby! I'll come
bail you out as soon as I can turn a little profit with the goods!"
You tell your partner what you observed in the house. After the

7. paramedics declare that Abby's head injury is nothing more than
a bad scratch, your partner and you drive Abby down to the
police precinct for further questioning, leaving Christina and
David at the scene to secure it until more investigation can be
done.
Assignment Instructions:
Utilizing APA guidelines and citing relevant case law and
specific details from external sources, present a 4-6-page
research paper that explains what you need to do next with
respect to the evidence left behind at the scene. In addition,
consider what you need to do with any other evidence you may
discover at the precinct from Abby and Bobby or on their
persons. As you consider your next steps, address the following
issues:
· Do you have probable cause to arrest Abby for any crime?
Explain.
· What information, if any, must you list on an affidavit to
secure a search warrant for Abby and Bobby's house?
· What actions (or inactions) taken by officers Christina and
David were relevant with respect to the evidence you discovered
on the scene?
· What is the scope of your warrant?
· Should you search Abby and Bobby upon their arrival at the
precinct? What do you expect to discover on their persons and
at the crime scene? How will you obtain evidence that may or
may not be found on Abby and Bobby's person? For instance,
they may have drugs in their pockets, or Bobby may have
another weapon on his person.