Commonwealth v. J.M.

J.M. was arrested after a Philadelphia narcotics sergeant and another officer on patrol alleged that they saw him in a narcotics transaction with two other males. The Sgt. claimed that as she was driving she saw J.M. hand another male a large bag of marijuana, who then placed the bag in a mailbox. When the police approached all three fled, and J.M. was arrested despite the fact that there were no narcotics or currency recovered from his person. Police went back to the mailbox and recovered three bags containing large amounts of marijuana and money. At trial, the defense attacked the Sgt. as to her ability to perceive events that were occurring from a distance away, on a porch. In addition, the defense caught the Commonwealth by surprise and called the other officer to the stand as a defense witness. This officer contradicted almost everything the Sgt. had testified to. After closing arguments, the judge stated on the record that she did not believe a word the Sgt. had said on the stand.