State won't prosecute Mass. woman after reviewing video of marijuana traffic stop
State's Attorney David J. Smith said Thursday in New London Superior Court that after reviewing dashboard camera video of an October 2016 traffic stop by state police, there was not enough evidence to prosecute a Massachusetts woman charged with transporting more than 20 pounds of marijuana through the region.
Defense attorney James Ruane, who represented Betsy Cardoso, 26, of Dorchester, Mass., said police had conducted an illegal search of her car.
Cardoso had been charged Oct. 25 with illegal possession, transportation, distribution or sale of marijuana, possession of less than a half-ounce of marijuana and reckless driving. The traffic stop and Cardoso's alleged consent to search her 2006 Honda Accord had been recorded on a trooper's dashboard camera.
"After reviewing the video and re-reading the reports, the state would have a lack of evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," Smith said. He entered a "nolle" in the case, meaning the charges would be dismissed after 13 months if Cardoso did not reoffend.
Ruane said Cordoso and her passenger told him from the beginning that they had never consented to a search of the car, and that the dashboard camera video, turned over by state police at his request, provided proof.
According to an arrest report, state Trooper Christopher Hubbard was monitoring traffic on the Gold Star Bridge when he clocked Cardoso driving south at 89 mph in a 55 mph zone and pulled her over near Exit 81 in Waterford. Approaching the car, the trooper said he noticed a strong smell of marijuana. The report said Cardoso initially denied having any marijuana but after more discussion handed the trooper a Styrofoam coffee cup with a partially smoked marijuana cigarette.
The trooper said he asked Cardoso and a female passenger to get out of the car and that she consented to a search. In the trunk, he said he found in plain view in an open shopping bag and in a large suitcase vacuum-sealed plastic bags containing a total of 20.6 pounds of marijuana.
Ruane said the video showed the trooper saying, "Stand over there. I'm going to search your car."
The state seized the Honda following Cardoso's arrest but returned it in January, according to the court file. She was free on a $99,000 bond while her case was pending. She is pursuing a career in nursing, according to her attorney.
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