Commonwealth v. Rodriguez
Annotate this CaseA police officer stopped a vehicle based on the officer’s detection of an odor of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle. During the course of the stop, police discovered sixty Percocet pills. Defendant, a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the stop, was charged with several drug-related offenses all in connection with the pills. Defendant moved to suppress evidence of the pills. The motion judge denied the motion to suppress, concluding that the stop was justified. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed, holding that there was at best reasonable suspicion to believe that a civil marijuana infraction was occurring, but not probable cause, and therefore, the stop was impermissible.
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