A man was taken into custody on Aug. 24 after he was accused of attempting to smuggle heroin into a Florida jail using his prosthetic leg. He had initially been brought to the jail on a warrant for neglecting to appear in court on a driving with a suspended license charge.
The man was being booked into the Marion County Jail when he was asked to remove his prosthetic leg in order to be searched. Deputies said that the man appeared hesitant and questioned them on whether the removal was actually necessary. After he complied, authorities recovered a syringe from the false leg. The man claimed that he used the needle to inject vitamins into chickens, but the liquid inside the syringe tested positive for heroin.
The accused man maintained that the needle was not used for heroin, even though he did allegedly admit that he used morphine and methamphetamine. After he was arrested, the needle was taken to be used for evidence. The 53-year-old Alabama man was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and smuggling drugs or contraband into a jail facility.
Florida authorities aggressively prosecute drug crimes. As such, those who have been charged with drug possession could face serious legal consequences, including jail time and fines that could leave a person in debt. Even if prosecution has strong evidence against the accused person, there are still certain cases where the evidence can be suppressed or the charges could even be dismissed. For example, if a criminal law attorney determines that the person’s constitutional rights were violated in some way, the case could be dismissed. Otherwise, the attorney may mount a strong defense that creates doubt.
