Criminal defense lawyer Andrew D. Stine is defending event planner Michael Kagdis, 42, who is facing four felony drug charges, including trafficking of Roxycodone. He was arrested after a search where police found a small bag of cocaine in a jacket in his bedroom closet and 50 Roxycodone pills in an unmarked prescription bottle in his car.

The following information is as according to an article in Palm Beach Daily News.

The informant was a friend

Kagdis’s personal friend is the person who informed the Palm Beach Police Department that he may be involved in narcotic activity. Kagdis lent his personal vehicle to that friend the night before he was arrested. The woman also had keys to his house.

Kagdis took the witness stand Tuesday, and testified that he and the confidential informant were friends for about three years and the relationship was “tantamount to an older brother/younger sister.” He said he never saw her use drugs, although it was implied by her behavior.

The woman (the confidential informant) was under investigation starting in 2009. Trash pulls at her home revealed baggies containing cocaine residue and burnt marijuana, according to Nicholas Caristo, the lead detective. Caristo and Detective Joseph Recarey searched her home and found a plate of cocaine under her bed. They offered her a deal in investigating others in exchange for not charging her with a felony.

“A quid pro quo,” said Andrew D. Stine. “You do something for me and I do something for you?”

“Yes,” Caristo said.

The takedown

On July 17, 2009, Caristo and Recarey patted down the woman (without performing a cavity search) before she met with Kagdis outside of Bice. Kagdis reached in her car and allegedly placed the cocaine in the cupholder. The detectives testify that they did not witness a hand to hand transfer.

“I saw Mr. Kagdis reach in and said ‘You’ll have to get with me later,’” Caristo said.

Caristo said the informant drove about a half- mile from the restaurant, where the police took three bags of cocaine from her cupholder. Caristo said the informant didn’t pay for the cocaine at the time she received the drugs, but went back later. None of the officers followed her back to Bice to confirm that she made the payment, he said.

“How many times does an alleged drug trafficker sell drugs and say, ‘I’ll get the money later?” Stine asked.

Kagdis said the night his friend, the informant, came into Bice, he went out to her car to return her credit card to her. He said he had borrowed the card two months earlier to go away. Kagdis said the woman owed him money and gave him the credit card to use for his trip.

The evidence

He testified that he lent her his car “several times” in spring and early summer 2009. One of those times was Aug. 13, 2009, the night before his arrest. Kagdis said he left his car at her house about 11 a.m. and didn’t expect it back until the next day. As for the cocaine found in a white jacket in his closet, Kagdis said he hadn’t worn that jacket since November 2007, when he bought it to attend an event.

Criminal defense lawyer Andrew D. Stine moved for a mistrial twice during jury instructions when the pages turned up out of order and some jurors were missing pages. Stine said the jurors appeared confused. Circuit Judge Edward Fine denied the motion both times.

Closing arguments are set for today.

Criminal Defense

If you have ever been accused of drug trafficking or other drug related crimes, it is paramount that you contact a criminal defense lawyer. A lawyer like Andrew D. Stine understands exactly how to analyze your situation and design the most effective defense possible.