suspicion’ enables car searches

to try it,” Grady said on Monday.

A “ghost gun” is an untraceable handgun assembled from parts bought online.

Grady was referencing a July 21 case when police arrested Jaylen Ahnarie Sudler, 20, of Smyrna, Delaware, and charged him with possession of a firearm as a minor, possession of a firearm without a serial number, having a loaded handgun in a vehicle, having a handgun in a vehicle and obstructing and hindering.

under the age of 21 a search of the vehicle was conducted,” police wrote in the report.

Police found a bag in reach of the Sudler, the left rear-seat passenger. Inside was a 9mm handgun with no serial number and a 24-round magazine.

gun with a loaded, extended magazine in Davis’ waistband.

Around 3 a.m. on July 21, police pulled over a sedan near 37th Street and Coastal Highway because part of the license plate was unilluminated and couldn’t be fully read, according to a police report.

Sudler was a passenger.

While police were speaking with the driver, they reportedly smelled cannabis coming from the car. All four occupants allegedly told police they were underage after police asked.

“Due to all the occupants being under the age of 21, and it being illegal to possess Marijuana (THC)

A backpack containing 10 rounds of 9mm ammunition, four bags of cannabis and a digital scale with cannabis residue was also found in the search. Police found another bag of cannabis inside the car.

When police tried to handcuff the people from the car the report said Sudler tried to flee, and officers arrested him for the handgun.

On Aug. 12, police again searched a vehicle occupied by minors based on the smell of cannabis.

Policed arrested Markez Davis, 19, of Milford, Delaware, on nine charges, including possession of a firearm, five counts of theft and stealing credit cards, according to a report.

Davis was charged for what was found on him, and was presumably also charged based on evidence that police found in the search of a vehicle after his arrest.

The search of his alleged accomplices’ car was based on police smelling cannabis inside and the fact that all the occupants were minors.

Police detained Davis on Aug.12 because officers thought he matched the description of someone tampering with cars nearby. Someone who witnessed the incident couldn’t identify Davis, so police said he was free to go. Davis allegedly agreed to speak with police.

While talking to him, police asked Davis to empty his pockets, which he reportedly agreed to do, and pulled out a debit card and three credit cards.

Then police found a 9mm hand-

Police detained another person while Davis was getting processed. The person told police Davis had been involved in tampering with and stealing from cars, along with other friends. The person said the other friends were in a car on 62nd Street.

Police found the car and detained the driver, then they smelled cannabis coming from it.

“Due to all of the occupants of the vehicle being under 21, officers conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle,” police wrote.

Inside the car, police found a credit card and a prescription medication, both of which did not belong to the passengers. They also found a single 9mm round of ammunition.

Davis was charged with five counts of theft — the four cards found on him, presumanly along with the one from the car.

Heiser said her role in the search protocol was that she provided guidance on the issue to the OCPD in a memorandum in May.

She said it is common for police to ask her for guidance when a law changes and police run into situations or think of hypotheticals.

Although HB1071 states police can’t search based on certain kinds of cannabis-related evidence alone, the presence of evidence found in conjunction with cannabis smell, or any other type of cannabis-related evidence, could constitute “reasonable articulable suspicion.” Reasonable suspicion is a lower standard than probable cause, Heiser said.

Therefore, if a vehicle smells like cannabis, and everyone in the car is too young to possess cannabis in the first place, then both facts in conjunction could be considered reasonable suspicion that something illegal is going on, Heiser said.

From her perspective, Heiser said she wants to make sure that police in Worcester County are following the law, but she also wants to prevent crime.