Cody Gregg was cruising through an industrial neighbourhood southwest of downtown Oklahoma City on Aug. 12 when police spotted him. It was around 10:30 p.m., according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Oklahoman, and the officers noticed that the shirtless, backpack-clad homeless man didn’t have any rear lights on his bicycle. They tried to stop him but he only pedalled harder, ditching the bike after about three blocks and running away on foot.
Police concluded that the substance was cocaine and charged Gregg with a felony. Last week, after spending nearly two months in jail, the 29-year-old pleaded guilty to cocaine possession with the intent to distribute, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. But on Thursday, just two days after learning his fate, Gregg was back in court again, this time to withdraw his guilty plea.
As The Washington Post reported wrote last year, the list of innocent items that have been misidentified as dangerous drugs includes chocolate chip cookies, breath mints and the glaze from a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Despite growing awareness that the tests have a high error rate – some studies have found that they result in false positives a fifth or even a third of the time – many police departments continue to rely on them.
After cops found the sketchy-looking but ultimately innocent white powder, Gregg was charged with trafficking illegal drugs and jailed on a $50,000 bond. He initially pleaded not guilty, but after nearly two months in jail, he changed his mind. On Oct. 8, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute.
lol
Wow. How about that? I guess I have a huge bag of cocaine in my baking cupboard. It makes 10 l.