Court Watching: Judge dismisses charge against speeder with 56 fentanyl in borrowed car

After a preliminary examination at 34th District Court on Dec. 6, Judge Lisa Martin dismissed the charge of controlled substance – deliver/manufacture (narcotic or cocaine) more than 50 grams against Christian Devon Harris, 22, of Van Buren Township.
A companion misdemeanor charge of driving while license suspended was set to go on the Belleville pretrial docket on Dec. 20.
The charges were from a traffic stop at midnight on May 2, 2021 near the corner of North Liberty and Third Street in the city of Belleville.
In the preliminary exam on Dec. 6, Belleville Police Officer Chad Adam testified that he was patrolling with his partner Ashley Rosenhall and he clocked a driver on radar going 45 mph in a 30 mph speed zone. The driver turned left disregarding a stop sign, Officer Adam said.
He said he put on his overhead lights and pulled the car over. He said he asked the driver for identification and the driver did not produce a driver’s license, which he said is an arrestable misdemeanor.
Adam testified he asked the driver to step out of the car and the driver was acting pretty nervous. The driver was detained for having no driver’s license and also a warrant was out for his arrest for driving while license suspended.
Adam said while he was placing the driver in the back of the squad car, his partner started an inventory search of the car which was going to be impounded. She opened the center arm rest and pointed out to Adam what she found, leaving it in place.
He said there was an amber prescription vial with no name on it with what turned out to be 56 fentanyl pills inside. A recent lab report was produced from the Michigan State Police identifying the pills.
He described the blue, round pills as having an “M” in a block on one side and the number “30” on the other side. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mohamed Mohamed asked him why he suspected what the pills were and he started to explain a police bulletin he saw from Evansville, IN. At this point, defense attorney Kerry Martin objected to the quote from a bulletin as heresay evidence. Judge Martin sustained the objection.
Officer Adam said when they first encountered the pill bottle, he advised his partner where his Narcan was and she told him where her Narcan was in case they were accidentally exposed to fentanyl and needed an antidote.
He also testified that once they got the driver identified as Harris back to the jail, they found he had $2,700 in cash in one pants pocket and a scale in his other pocket.
Under cross examination, Adam also testified that Harris was not the registered owner of the car. The car was run through the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) to find the owner.
Defense attorney Martin said the car was owned by Rajoun Dell II and he was not present with his car. Martin repeated the name a second time.
Attorney Martin said his client had been hanging out with friends and drove his friend’s car to the store to get “juice.” Martin said the pills in the center console could have belonged to someone else.
Martin said his client wasn’t nervous about the police finding anything in the car. Adam said he didn’t note Harris being nervous initially, but he appeared nervous as the questions progressed.
He said he Mirandized Harris and then asked him about it. Adam said Harris said he didn’t know anything about the pills.
Martin pointed out that you don’t have to weigh pills on a scale. You just count them out. And, there were no small baggies, no one was overdosing or using drugs, and there was no confidential informant, he said.
Martin said it was not his client’s car, he was hanging out and then went to get juice. He said there is no evidence to prove the intent of distribution.
“All we have is Mr. Harris driving a car that’s not his that happens to have pills in it,” Martin said.
Prosecutor Mohamed asked Judge Martin to bind Harris over to circuit court for trial. He said Harris had a large sum of money and scales and 56 pills of fentanyl, “Which is a very dangerous drug to the community.”
He said there were drugs in this vehicle and he doesn’t need to go into its danger to the community.
Martin argued that Judge Martin should not bind Harris over. He said driving 45 in a 30 or DWLS has no bearing on the drugs charge.
“They weren’t using drugs themselves and weren’t possessing,” Martin said, of Harris and his front seat passenger who was not identified in the testimony. Martin said he does not wish to go into the dangers of fentanyl. Harris was driving his buddy’s car, Martin said.
Martin said two and a half years ago was during the pandemic and there were stimulus checks sent to a lot of people. He said many of his clients at that time had cash.
Judge Martin announced she would not bind Harris over on the felony charge, which she dismissed.
During the exam Martin pointed out that the charges against Harris were originally filed July 26, 2023 and then dismissed by Judge Tina Brooks Green on Oct. 4 for “lack of evidence.” Defense attorney Martin said there was no body or dash camera evidence. But Prosecutor Mohamed said it was dismissed because the MSP lab was busy and didn’t get to the pills in time for the court session.
The charges were refiled on Oct. 5, went on LEIN on Oct. 6, and Harris was before an out-county judge on Oct. 7. There was no record of his arraignment and so he was arraigned before his preliminary exam on Dec. 6.
Prosecutor Mohamed entered the MSP lab report into the record at the very beginning of the exam, noting that the 56 tablets were tested and found to be fentanyl.
Background
Harris was video-arraigned Aug. 9 while in custody on three bench warrants from Belleville and Van Buren Township of driving while license suspended in 2020 and additional 2021 charges of DWLS and delivering / manufacturing of narcotics or cocaine more than 50 grams in Van Buren Township.
A probable cause conference was set for Aug. 23 on the 2020 drugs and DWLS charges. Bond of $50,000/10% was posted by a bail bondsman. His preliminary exam was set for Oct. 4. At that time charges were dismissed and the cases closed.
The two other DWLS charges had September pretrials and personal bonds of $3,000 each. He failed to appear for either one and bench warrants were issued.
On Oct. 18 he was present in person for his probable cause conference on charges of delivering and manufacturing drugs and DWLS on May 2, 2021 in the city of Belleville, that were originally dismissed and refiled the same day, his attorney said. His attorney Kerry Martin said he did not have the minimum of discovery and asked for it by Oct. 24 or he will ask for the charges to be dismissed. The prosecutor said the Belleville Police Chief will provide the discovery.
Judge Martin adjourned the probable cause conference until Oct. 25 and at that time the preliminary exam was set for Dec. 6. Judge Martin reminded the defendant he also had hearings for Nov. 2 and 16.