Judge dismisses motion to throw out charges
A federal judge in Pittsburgh has dismissed a request to throw out the charges against a Uniontown man charged with possessing more than two pounds of cocaine and an illegal firearm in 2007. Tyree Truley was indicted last year on charges of possessing cocaine with intent to deliver it and possession of a firearm while trafficking drugs. State police alleged he had about one kilogram of cocaine in his possession on April 30, 2007. Trooper Christian Lieberum stopped a car in which Truley was a passenger and found the drugs, according to court paperwork. Truley’s defense attorney had asked a judge to throw out the charges, claiming the stop that led to the discovery of the drugs was not justified.
If a judge believed police did not have reason to stop the car in which Truley was a passenger, a judge could have ruled that evidence taken from the vehicle was inadmissible.
U.S. District Court Judge Gustave Diamond ruled Monday that Lieberum had reason to stop the vehicle because he believed the tinting on the windows was illegal. Although Lieberum ultimately discovered it was not, Diamond ruled that police are able to conduct an investigatory stop if they believe there is a traffic violation.
Diamond indicated that Lieberum only needed to be able to justify he reasonably believed there was a justification for the stop.
Police conducted the stop on Connellsville Street.
The maximum penalties for the offenses charged are life in prison and a fine of $2.25 million.
The charges were initially filed in state court, but when the federal indictment was handed down, those charges were dismissed.
A trial date has yet to be scheduled.