New York Times
TALLAHASSEE,
FL - New York police officers responded to a loud complaint at
apartment 311 an hour before midnight. Frank Giardina, 49, opened the
door while smoking a pipe that had a distinctive smell. The smell led
Police officers to ask about the aroma.
“Oh that’s weed,” Giardina said.
Chief
of Police at Florida A&M University, Terrence Calloway, a police
officer of nineteen years, was informed of the Giardina case and
commented saying that he witnessed individuals who hallucinated after
they smoked marijuana.
Giardina
invited the police officers into the apartment after they requested for
identification. Officers noticed five pounds of heroin on the kitchen
table. Giardina was soon arrested.
“Really
in a sense you’re asking to get arrested,” said Calloway. He further
explained, “In a legal aspect it gave them the option to look and see
certain things in his house.” He began to explain that the moment
Giardina opened his doors and invited police offers in to his apartment
with five pounds of cocaine in plain view, that they had the right to
arrest him.
An electrician who wanted to remain anonymous was in the area.
“There’s no dope around here that I know of,” the electrician said.
Police
officers obtained a search warrant and seized 1,948 glassine bags
filled with heroin. Materials used for packing were also found. The
Heroin found in apartment 311 had a street value estimated at $400,000.
On
Sunday, Giardina was charged with first-degree criminal drug
possession. His next court date is March 24. If convicted, he will face a
minimum of eight years.
Last year in New York, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized 317 pounds of heroin.
Calloway
had been a police officer for 19 years and stated that he has seen it
all. He grew up in an inner city housing project in Cleveland, Ohio
where the life expectancy was 17 years of age. As a youth he was robbed
at gunpoint and witnessed someone being shot in the head, he even
participated in drug raids.
Calloway said, “Yes, I think any time you deal with drugs it has the ability to alter your mindset and way of thinking.”
By Gabrielle Dawkins, with contributions from the New York Times
Photo, New York Times
Video, New York Times
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