Don’t make assumptions about shady motels and the people who stay there. Yes, plenty of crimes take place at establishments where you can buy a night of privacy by paying in cash and giving a name that the front desk clerk cannot prove or disprove is your real name. Some people go to such places to buy or sell illicit drugs or to meet up with sex workers with whom they have exchanged messages online. Others go there because it is the closest thing they can afford to a night of peace and quiet between couch-surfing destinations. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being nearby when a crime occurred does not make you guilty of the crime. Sometimes, police try to intimidate you into thinking it does, though. Plenty of people who have never knowingly broken the law but who live in high-crime neighborhoods out of economic necessity have had disturbing interactions with police officers who assumed that they were up to no good just because they were in a place where no good tends to happen.
If you are being accused of drug crimes just because a security camera showed you walking down the hall of a scuzzy motel, contact a Texas drug crimes attorney.
Security Cameras Don’t Lie, but They Don’t Tell the Whole Story, Either
In 2023, eight defendants received criminal charges for allegedly running a drug trafficking operation out of two so-called “trap rooms” at a Dallas area motel. One of the defendants worked as a doorman at the motel and installed cameras in the hallways to enable other defendants to see when law enforcement was nearby. Other defendants are alleged buyers and sellers whom cameras showed entering the rooms that contained large stashes of drugs, as well as weapons and cash when police executed a search warrant. The camera footage shows several instances where children, the youngest of whom appeared to be about three, enter trap rooms with their adult guardians. Police allege that the workings of the trap rooms included filling capsules with a drug powder that contained fentanyl.
Police will need more evidence to convict the defendants than simply showing that, at one moment, they entered a room that, on another day, contained illegal drugs. Prosecutors will have to prove who else was in the room when the defendants entered; this may require going over many days of camera footage. Furthermore, testimony from witnesses who saw the defendants later on the days that they allegedly bought the drugs could strengthen or weaken the prosecution’s claims. In other words, the alibi defense might apply, especially if a defendant can support this defense with evidence such as smartphone data or receipts from places where he made purchases at the time that prosecutors claim that he was buying drugs at the motel.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges arising from security camera footage at a shady motel. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, in Dallas, Texas, to discuss your case.