Salem Police Arrest Alleged Drug Dealer Passed Out On His Product

SALEM, MA -- Accused drug dealer Billy Colon Jr., 23, of Lynn, learned the hard way about the perils of sampling his own product. Salem Police arrested Colon Thursday after finding him passed out in his car and charged him with heroin trafficking, driving while under the influence of marijuana, driving to endanger and driving after license suspension. Colon pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday in Salem District Court, where a judge set bail at $10,000.

The Salem News reported over the weekend that Colon allegedly smoked marijuana and ingested some edible marijuana products while waiting for his load to finish drying at a Salem laundromat. A passerby called police after noticing Colon passed out. Police fielded another call from a driver who said they saw Colon's car drift through a parking lot and hit a curb.

That was where police found Colon, sleeping behind the wheel. Police found $2,100 in cash, two cellphones, 400 milligram THC candy, a small bag of marijuana, and 40 grams of heroin. Police reportedly stopped conducting field sobriety tests because they were worried Colon was going to topple over.

Police say Colon admitted that he had smoked a joint estimated to weigh 3.5 grams and ingested 10 of the candies before passing out. The case may not, however, be an open and shut affair. The Salem News noted that Colon's attorney, Michael Bencal, argued that the police had no reason to order him from his car, based on Supreme Judicial Court precedent that says the odor of marijuana is not enough to issue an exit order.

If Bencal successfully makes that argument, the evidence in the car, including the heroin, could be suppressed at trial. Bencal also argued that Massachusetts has yet to establish dosage levels for marijuana and referenced another SJC case that ruled field sobriety tests are not sufficient in determining marijuana impairment.

On Friday, a judge revoked Colon's bail on a previous domestic abuse charge and set a pretrial hearing for Nov. 27. Salem Police also requested that the Registry of Motor Vehicles classify Colon as an immediate threat.

For more on this story, see the Salem News. Subscribe to Salem Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).