Manahawkin woman charged with heroin possession
A 32-year-old Manahawkin woman was arrested and charged with several drug related offenses after her vehicle was stopped for driving with a suspended registration Friday night. After the vehicle was stopped for the motor vehicle violation, the officer approached the vehicle and observed drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. The police then searched the vehicle and found heroin and hypodermic needles in the vehicle. Police then obtained a search warrant and searched the defendant's home. As a result, they found additional heroin and hypodermic needles at the residence. The defendant was charged with traffic offenses, possession of CDS in a motor vehicle, possession of heroin, and possession of hypodermic syringes.
This is another example of the plain view exception to the warrant requirement. Ordinarily, police are prohibited from searching your vehicle unless they are conducting a search incident to arrest or the vehicle is being impounded based on a motor vehicle violation. However, as in this case, when the police observe in "plain view" evidence of a crime such as drug paraphernalia, this allows them to conduct a search of the vehicle to obtain other evidence without getting a search warrant first. Notice, however, that the police did need to them obtain a search warrant to search the defendant's home. This search also led to additional evidence of criminal activity.
