Felony Drug Charges Dismissed based upon warrantless use of GPS
(Adapted from the Times Herald Record)

2-month-old court ruling sinks New Windsor drug case Prosecutors ask judge to dismiss felony charges against pair

By Oliver Mackson
Times Herald-Record
July 30, 2009 2:00 AM

GOSHEN — A two-month-old ruling by New York's highest court sent ripples into a local courtroom Wednesday, as a judge dismissed charges from a big New Windsor cocaine bust earlier this year.

Prosecutors asked Orange County Court Judge Nicholas DeRosa to dismiss felony drug-possession charges against Carlos Mansilla and Michelle Kipp because the arrests involved the use of a Global Positioning System tracker that police attached to Kipp's car.

Back in February, police in New York could do that without a warrant. But on May 12, the state Court of Appeals ruled that the state and federal constitutions guarantee a right to privacy, and that means police must obtain a search warrant to attach a GPS tracker on someone's car.

The device uses satellite technology to allow a car's position to be remotely monitored.

New Windsor police used a GPS tracker to bust Mansilla and Kipp in a car on Feb. 13, according to court papers. That bust led to a search of an apartment in the Knox Village complex, which turned up more than 15 ounces of cocaine, as well as painkillers, methadone and a stolen gun.

Police said it was one of the biggest cocaine seizures in the town's history.

But the high court's decision on GPS trackers "would make it virtually impossible to prosecute this case," Assistant District Attorney Matt Healy told DeRosa Wednesday. The claim of the illegal GPS was first raised by defense lawyers Stewart Rosenwasser and Tom Murphy.

The GPS case was pending in the Court of Appeals when Mansilla and Kipp were arrested and indicted. But "pending" is a far cry from "decided."

In deciding to present a case to a grand jury, "We're going to go with what the law is today. We can't predict what the Court of Appeals will do," said Executive Assistant District Attorney David Huey. "I would say most, if not all, prosecutors were surprised by the Court of Appeals decision."

Mansilla's legal problems didn't end Wednesday. The case against him is now being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office, which charged him with violations of federal drug and weapon-possession laws.

He was arrested Monday and is being held in the Westchester County Jail while he awaits another court date on Aug. 26. omackson@th-record.com

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