NORWICH – The jury case in Chenango County Court continues this week involving Jose Iran Gonzalez, 48, of New Berlin who was originally arrested in Oct. 1, 2014 by the Norwich Police Department.
It is alleged that at approximately 1:34 a.m. on Oct. 1 at the Howard Johnson's Hotel parking lot, located at 75 N. Broad St. in the City of Norwich, Gonzalez did knowingly and unlawfully possess 45 envelopes containing the narcotic drug heroin and 10 oblong white tablets marked “176” containing the narcotic drug dihydrocodeinone with acetaminophen, with the intent to sell.
This arrest stemmed from an alert, which was put out by the New Berlin Police Department for a stolen vehicle.
It is also alleged that when the vehicle was located in the Howard Johnson's parking lot that there was another individual inside the vehicle. Gonzalez was not in the vehicle when the car was approached but was found nearby.
Gonzalez, then 47, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony; possession with intent to sell; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a class A misdemeanor; and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in the third degree, a class A misdemeanor.
Opening statements and witness testimonies were finally heard on Thursday Sept. 10, following a prolonged attempt to fill the 14-jury seats.
Following the opening statements and hearing the testimony of the first witness which was Norwich Police Officer Thomas Miller, fellow employee NPD Officer Ryan Legacy was called to the witness stand by the prosecution.
After swearing Legacy in to speak truthfully under oath, Thomas Bowen for the prosecution began by asking some basic questions involving his employment, before digging deeper into the night in question, Oct. 1, 2014.
Legacy gave his account of the night, which matched Miller’s account very closely.
Legacy noted, “When we placed him into custody, he was a little tense, only a bit of struggle.”
“Have you dealt with people who have been high before, how many times?” asked Bowen.
“Yes I have, probably hundreds of times,” answered Legacy.
“Did he appear to be high when you arrested him?” said Bowen.
“No he did not,” replied Legacy.
To which Bowen asked, “Are you familiar with heroin paraphernalia?
Legacy replied, “Yes I am, they usually have spoons or a syringe.”
“Did he appear high on heroin?” asked Bowen.
Legacy answered “No,” before being interrupted by Cameron who was voicing an objection for leading questions. The objection was sustained by Downey.
“I don’t know that much about it honestly, but I have dealt with people under the influence before. I did not notice any marks on him at the time of the arrest,” said Legacy further responding.
At this time Cameron was given the chance to cross-examine the witness to which he began by asking Legacy, “Were you present for the shift briefing that morning and was Gonzalez talked about?”
“That is correct, I was there and we discussed Gonzalez having the stolen car,” said Legacy.
Cameron then asked Legacy if he was familiar with how heroin could be ingested other than by injection. “Like snorting, smoking, or putting it in your mouth?”
To which Legacy responded, “They could I suppose.”
Legacy then confirmed that Officer Miller was the actual arresting officer and that he was simply observing, and therefore Miller was the one who processed the evidence.
A few more questions were asked regarding the size of the metal pipe as well as regarding the location Gonzalez was when he Legacy first approached him.
“It was about three to four inches approximately. When I came around from out front I first found Gonzalez in the lobby of Denny’s,” said Legacy.
At this time Legacy was dismissed and the third witness, James Lamphere, who works for the New York State Police crime lab, was called to the stand and sworn in.
District Attorney Joseph A. McBride was present at this time and asked to be the one who interviewed Lamphere for the prosecution.
Lamphere per request from McBride first explained the different tests that are done in the lab to a substance to determine what drug it actually is. Lamphere explained three separate tests that are done, telling how each test gets more and more specific as well as accurate.
“Did you examine evidence from the NPD on the date in question?” then asked McBride.
“Yes I did, it was in November of last year though not in October. I only tested one of the bags because that is our policy. It was less than an eighth in total so our policy says we only have to test one,” said Lamphere.
At this time McBride displayed the actual lab reports to Lamphere, who confirmed they were his. McBride then submitted these reports into evidence.
Cameron was given a chance to cross-examine the witness.
“You only tested one bag because that is all you need to prove and convict a case?” asked Cameron.
“Well it wasn’t an eighth amount so we only had to do one bag. I think it was about one and half grams only,” said Lamphere.
“But there were 45 separate bags that were there?” said Cameron.
“That is correct, 45 separate bags,” said Lamphere.
At this time, Lamphere was dismissed and the fourth witness was called to the stand. Michael A. Purdy, the Chief Narcotics Investigator for the Norwich Police Department walked in and was sworn in.
McBride began the interview by asking, “How are drugs usually distributed?”
“It really all depends, but usually they come from the bigger cities,” answered Purdy.
“Is there a noticeable difference in drug users and dealers?” asked McBride.
“Drug dealers will usually keep clean, the better ones stay sober completely for the most part. Drug users usually obtain an amount of drugs that usually they would want to use right away,” said Purdy.
“Objection your honor, Purdy is not an expert these are just claims,” said Cameron on the matter.
To establish Purdy’s relevancy McBride then asked various questions regarding the training and time, which Purdy has gone through in order to be properly trained.
“I have seen addicts who just started using two bags to the worst case with a female I saw, she was using like 10-12 bags of junk. I’m not a doctor but the amount all depends on the level of addiction and the user, still there is no way he could consume that much,” explained Purdy.
At this time Cameron was give the opportunity to interview Purdy.
“45 packets of heroin all at once would be ridiculous but certainly over a long weekend he could have?” asked Cameron.
“Yes sir he could have, but I would like to add again that it depends on the addiction level. That is a large amount of heroin,” said Purdy.
Purdy was dismissed shortly after followed by McBride stating that the people were done calling witnesses and they wished to rest.
Following a 20-minute recess, Assistant Public Defender, Aaron A. Dean spoke on behalf of the defendant saying, “We are asking that you dismiss the trial because the prosecution has failed to establish a matter of law and failed to establish a definite proof of sale, exchange, given, or disposal of the heroin. There has been no testimony of any sales, no direct evidence, only circumstantial evidence that the defendant was going to make a sale of heroin. No rational person could find the person guilty, at this time the defense would like all 4 counts to be dismissed,” said Dean.
“Up to the jury to decide. He had 45 bags on him and 10 hydros. There has been no evidence that he suffered from a narcotic addiction. The only inference you can make is that he was here to sell the 45 bags,” said McBride in response.
At this time the motion from Dean was dismissed by Downey.
After learning that Jose Gonzalez was planning on testifying himself, as well as another individual speaking on his possible addiction, McBride requested the medical records be made available.
“If Mr. Gonzalez does take the stand and he alleges that he is an addict, we will make a motion to have his medical records available per his approval,” said Downey.
“All I ask is that if he is up there, I am able to ask about his past treatments or lack there of,” said McBride.
At this time, Chenango County Court concluded for the day, taking its afternoon recess. Court subsequently resumed the next day, Friday, at 9:30 a.m. where more witness testimonies were heard, as well as the testimony of Jose Iran Gonzalez.
As of Friday at 4:00 p.m., court was still not complete on the matter, more testimonies may be heard today, Monday Sept. 14. Further information will appear in Tuesday’s edition of The Evening Sun.
Correction from Friday’s edition: The quote: ““The pipe we found on Gonzalez is normally used for smoking marijuana, cocaine or crack, not marijuana,” should have read: “The pipe we found on Gonzalez is normally used for smoking marijuana, cocaine or crack, not heroin,”