Commonwealth v. J.R.

Philadelphia police set up a narcotics surveillance on the 3300 Block of H Street. An officer claimed that he observed a Chevy Tahoe pull onto the block and that J.R. got into the vehicle for a few moments. When he exited he stuck a rack of heroin into his waistband and entered a house on the block. The officer reported that several minutes later he saw J.R. exit the house holding “blue objects” that he believed to be packets of heroin. These packets were then allegedly sold to multiple individuals on the block. Police then executed a warrant on the house J.R. was seen going into and recovered numerous packets and bulk heroin, packaging materials and a firearm. Prior to trial the defense conducted an investigation and it was revealed that the investigating officer had committed perjury at a prior hearing in 2012. Although the Commonwealth still insisted on taking the matter to trial, the defense filed a motion to dismiss the various offense charges, arguing that the Commonwealth had violated J.R.’s speedy trial rights by failing to turn over that exculpatory information to the defense in a timely manner.