WC was arrested last winter for Unlawful Use of Weapons (handgun) a Class 4 Felony. Chicago Police had received a call of a man with a gun and responded to the area of WC’s house. Upon arrival, the officers saw WC and detained him for questioning. They claimed to see some footprints in the snow which led to a covered BBQ grill. The officers entered the yard, uncovered the grill and found a Glock 9 millimeter handgun inside.
During our initial interview, it became obvious that the police had violated WC’s Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful searches and seizures. We filed a Motion to Suppress Evidence and requested a hearing. We subpoenaed and obtained the 911 and dispatch recordings from the night of the arrest. We obtained every single police report as well as a transcript of the preliminary hearing.
On the day of hearing, the officers testified inconsistently with their prior reports. Associate Aaron Rosenblatt attacked both officers during cross-examination. Apparently, the officers had handcuffed and detained WC prior to seeing anything remotely resembling criminal activity. They had detained him in front of his own house and gone into his back yard without permission. Furthermore, they had searched his property without consent while he was being improperly detained. The court agreed with our argument and granted our Motion to Suppress the evidence – CASE DISMISSED