Suspect freed by cloudy pot laws Ex-con shot by cops was released in ’10

Suspect freed by cloudy pot laws

Ex-con shot by cops was released in ’10

By Dave Wedge  |   Tuesday, January 11, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

An alleged machine- gun-toting ex-con who was shot by cops over the weekend was sprung from jail just weeks ago on a previous gun rap after a judge ruled officers had no right to search him because of newly relaxed pot laws.

Marvin Veiga, who was held on $500,000 bail yesterday on charges he pointed an M16-style assault rifle at Boston police Saturday night, was busted in January 2010 when cops allegedly found a handgun in his backpack.

He was being held on $30,000 bail but in November his bail was cut to $5,000 after Suffolk Superior Court Judge Charles Hely ruled the backpack search was illegal.

The judge said cops, who smelled “burnt marijuana” coming from the car Veiga was riding in, had no right to search the vehicle or the occupants because possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is now a civil offense — not criminal.

“The issue is all about marijuana — is the smell of marijuana enough for a search? I contend that it’s not,” Veiga’s attorney, Michael Roitman, said.

In a nine-page ruling, Hely wrote: “Applying a fair interpretation of the 2008 marijuana act, the search of the defendant’s person and the search of the car and the backpack found on the rear seat were unlawful.”

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley has appealed the case.

“In this case, a good arrest was made and a gun was taken away from what we find a year later is a very dangerous defendant,” Conley said. “Thank goodness nobody was killed Saturday night.”

The state’s highest court heard arguments in a similar case last month and that ruling could impact Veiga’s case, Roitman said.

“This is something the district attorneys predicted would happen when we opposed (the new marijuana law) two years ago,” Conley said. “It’s an open question that needs to be answered.”

One veteran gang cop, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said such searches should be legal because marijuana is still an illegal substance and there’s no way of knowing whether the perpetrator has more or less than an ounce.

“How do you know there’s not a pound of weed in the car?” the cop said. “This kid was arrested with a gun and should still be in jail. We shouldn’t be chasing him around with an assault rifle.”

In addition to the 2010 gun case, Veiga, 21, served three months for a 2007 cop assault and had a 2009 Quincy gun charge dismissed, prosecutors said.

The Herald reported yesterday that Veiga is the brother of Manuel DeVeiga, who police said fatally shot himself during an April standoff with police.

Marvin Veiga, who pleaded not guilty yesterday to the new gun charges, was shot in the leg by police after a car stop in Dorchester.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1308706