Couple Spends Month in Jail for Posession of Homemade Soap

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

She was roundly mocked online after telling a state trooper that two "bricks" in the back of her car contained homemade soap not cocaine, but it was no laughing matter for Annadel Cruz and her companion Alexander Bernstein who spent the past month in jail despite telling the truth.
Cruz, 26, was pulled over in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, on November 13th for going five miles over the speed limit down Interstate 78.
The unidentified state trooper asked Cruz if he could search the vehicle after smelling pot in the car.
Cruz acknowledged smoking a joint before leaving New York City, and allowed her vehicle to be searched.
It was in the trunk where the trooper discovered two "bricks" wrapped in clear plastic and sealed with red tape.
The trooper allegedly performed a field test on the packages and concluded they were two-pound bricks of cocaine on their way to be sold.
Cruz assured the trooper she was only transporting homemade soap, but after investigators found a small amount of marijuana hidden in her bra, both she and Bernstein, 30, were charged with possession with intent to deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine, conspiracy and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Adding insult to insult, Cruz was also slapped with a marijuana possession charge and two traffic violations.
They were placed behind bars and assigned inflated bails: Cruz, $250,000; Bernstein, $500,000.
Bernstein finally managed to bail last week yesterday — one day before the charges against both him and Cruz were completely dropped.
A state police lab finally confirmed on Wednesday what Cruz and Bernstein knew all along: The bricks were full of soap.
Not willing to let the state wash its hands of the incident, the two have since hired attorneys who have called into question the entire process leading up to their arrest.
"I think it is a nice car with out-of-state plates and a Hispanic female behind the wheel" which led to the stop, Bernstein's lawyer Josh Karoly told The Morning Call. "A young man spent a month in jail, spent a substantial amount of money to get out of jail and missed Thanksgiving with his 17-month-old son."
Karoly is not so sure the trooper even performed a field test as he claimed.
Cruz's attorney, Robert Goldman, echoed Karoly's remarks.
"After this, everyone should pause about jumping to conclusions when a field test is said to be positive by law enforcement," he said. "There are people going to jail on high bail amounts based upon these field tests."
Goldman said his client, a community college student with a spotless record before last month's arrest, was upset about the rush to judgement she encountered on the web and beyond.
"It's going to take her a good deal of time to get her good name back," he said.

Wow this would be really funny if these poor folks didn't lose a month of their life.

 

[KevanG]

What type of tests do you do that test between soap and drugs? I'm sure there can't be that many similar chemicals to produce a false positive unless the cop was talking out his ass.

 

[Duran Man]

At first I thought this story didn't wash.

 

[KevanG]

Get out.

 

[Mike_D202]

What type of tests do you do that test between soap and drugs? I'm sure there can't be that many similar chemicals to produce a false positive unless the cop was talking out his ass.

They have field tests to determine if the substance is cocaine or not (pretty quick too), I have no idea why they didn't in this case.

 

[KevanG]

That's what I mean. If he did any sort of test short of eating the soap it would be nearly impossible to turn out a false positive. The cop didn't do any sort of test and just decided to screw with them. I'd understand if he ran them in for the pot and the traffic issues. I have no idea what the status of the legality of pot there is.

 

[Piper Maru]

Well lather is the best medicine after all.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Maybe the cop didn't know how to use the field test ....
Note for self : don't openly carry candy or soap if you go to the US

 

[Lantern Venom]

Were the cops stupid? Yes. However, she was driving after using an intoxicant. 30 days in jail seems fitting.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Were the cops stupid? Yes. However, she was driving after using an intoxicant. 30 days in jail seems fitting.

And her companion?

 

[Nightwing]

I cant believe noone has picked up on the fact that the male managed, in 30 days, to produce $500,000 to get out of jail....

Is it me or does that sound like he's in with Walter White?

 

[Mike_D202]

I cant believe noone has picked up on the fact that the male managed, in 30 days, to produce $500,000 to get out of jail....

The plot thickens...maybe there IS some truth to this drug trafficking charge.

 

[Teelie]

You don't have to have $500,000 in cash to get bail yourself. You can get a bail bondsman to loan it, or you can put up something valuable as collateral like a house.

I don't know what was in the homemade soap but I doubt there was anything to create a false positive on a cocaine field test. Or maybe there was but in either case this sounds like ********. Why was there no further examination of the "cocaine" after their arrest before a month had gone by and who would be dumb enough to freely submit to a search with several pounds of cocaine easily discovered?

Of course they also had homemade soap in bags wrapped looking like cocaine but that's not criminal. Just kind of weird.

 

[Piper Maru]

I cant believe noone has picked up on the fact that the male managed, in 30 days, to produce $500,000 to get out of jail....

Is it me or does that sound like he's in with Walter White?

Breaking Suds?

 

[Feenix]

This reminds me of Fight Club.

 

[KevanG]

Well lather is the best medicine after all.

I just caught that.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Breaking Suds?

Breaking buds I would say....if you get me

 

[Imjenn]

I just caught that.

KevanG, you make me laugh again. I'm taking this by the way. Just a little memento of you, that's all.


On topic...wow. How does one confuse soap with cocaine? Did the cop not notice that his hands were cleaner after the field test?

 

[Nightwing]

Breaking Suds?

I like it...or maybe its a product already out

Shake n Vac? Breaking Bad?

It almost sounds the same....


Ah what would you know...you're just a voice in my head im listening to

 

[KevanG]

KevanG, you make me laugh again. I'm taking this by the way. Just a little memento of you, that's all.


On topic...wow. How does one confuse soap with cocaine? Did the cop not notice that his hands were cleaner after the field test?

Sure, go for it. I'll send you the bill.