Woman accused of allowing drug dealer to live in her house

The police have reported a raid in Swansea in which they arrested the homeowner on charges of trading a room for a supply of methamphetamine from the alleged drug dealer who lived in the room. The case seems ordinary on the surface, but the defendant is raising an energetic defense predicated on a single argument — the police lied in the affidavit in which she was accused of accepting drugs as rent.

Two women were arrested on Friday morning after members of the St. Clair County Drug Tactical Unit claim that they found meth in the house owned by one of the women. In the affidavit submitted in support of the police request for a search warrant, officers claimed that they had learned from a confidential source that the two women were selling meth from the house’s garage. After the arrests, an article containing these facts was posted on line. The homeowner, one of the two women charged with selling meth, called the local newspaper and said the online story was false.

The woman asserted that she had never even been given a speeding ticket. In her words, she does not “get in trouble.” She faulted herself for not checking into her tenant’s background. She said that she offered her extra room to the other defendant when she found out that the woman had no water or power at her house. The original stay was supposed to last for only a few days, but it appeared to be stretching into an indefinitely long period. The woman also said that police had alleged that she allowed a man to stay in her home and that the man was selling methamphetamine. His whereabouts are unknown.

The woman who is attempting to defend herself by attacking the truthfulness of police allegations may be better off if she consulted an experienced criminal defense attorney. This case appears to have many factual conflicts, and an experienced attorney will know how to exploit these inconsistencies and how to craft an effective defense.