The Associated Press
NEWPORT, Vt. (AP) -- A District Court judge has ruled a sting operation unconstitutional because police conducted electronic surveillance of the alleged heroin deal without first obtaining a warrant.
As a result, the five counts of selling heroin that Ashley Rush, 20, of Derby was facing were dismissed. She pleaded guilty to heroin possession, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to eight to nine months of probation and a $300 fine.
District Court Judge Dennis Pearson said the Vermont Supreme Court’s interpretations of the state Constitution are quite clear that electronic monitoring in a home is not permitted without a warrant.
The Dec. 5, 2002, sting involved an unnamed individual who cooperated with Orleans County Sheriff’s Detective Daniel Locke and other officers in exchange for consideration on his or her own charges.
According to his affidavit, Locke outfitted the cooperating witness with electronics. Police then listened but did not tape a conversation the individual had with Rush in her Derby apartment. The individual allegedly bought heroin, Locke said.
Based on that incident, Locke said, he got a warrant for electronic surveillance in order to tape conversations while the individual allegedly bought heroin from Rush on Dec. 9 and twice on Dec. 16, 2002.
These sting operations were tainted by the use of the original surveillance without a warrant on Dec. 5, the judge ruled.
Another cooperating individual reported buying heroin on Jan. 27, 2003, prompting a fifth charge of selling heroin, according to Locke’s affidavit.
The judge said that incident could be proven separately by the state using the individual’s testimony, but state prosecutors dropped the charge, according to court records.