TOPEKA – A case against a Hutchinson woman going back to July of 2007 may be finally on its way to a possible trial. Dinah Sanchez-Loredo was charged when the vehicle she and Amber Moore were in was stopped by drug detectives as they were coming back to Hutchinson. Drug Unit detectives had followed the two to Dodge City, and made the stop once inside Reno County believing there had drugs.
They allegedly had a large quantity of drugs and both were charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to package.
Both filed a motion to suppress, because the believed their rights were violated when the drug unit detectives searched the vehicle without a warrant. This after a drug sniffing dog failed to detect the drugs. They requested that Deputy District Attorney Tom Stanton obtain a search warrant for the vehicle. That took around 75-minutes, and an officer obtained the warrant and returned to the scene. Judge Tim Chambers ruled that a warrant-less search is the exception not the rule and suppressed the evidence.
The state filed an appeal and the Kansas Court of Appeals overturned the judge. The defense then asked for a review, and the Kansas Supreme Court sided with the state saying that Judge Chambers finding that their was probable cause for the stop believing there was drugs and other contraband in the vehicle was enough and that the state shouldn’t have to prove anything else. So the case will come back to District Court.
Sanchez-Loredo had waived her right to a preliminary hearing back in February in two other cases involving the alleged distribution of methamphetamine.
She was arrested in January for being in possession of meth with intent to sell. She was allegedly caught with the drugs and paraphernalia and allegedly had 3-ounces on her. She was also arrested back in early November of last year, along with Natasha Willm for allegedly having over a pound of meth.
Those two cases against Sanchez-Loredo are also pending before Judge Tim Chambers.