SPRINGFIELD - A drug case against Bobby D. Owens and Lismary Ramos was dismissed after a judge tossed out all the evidence.

In late January Hampden Superior Court Judge John S. Ferrara ruled - after a hearing - police should not have gone into Ramos' 303 Maple St. apartment Nov. 9, 2011, without a warrant or her consent. When Owens, 25, and Ramos, 21, were arrested police said they seized two handguns and more than 200 grams of cocaine from the apartment.



Police said then Owens was a top target for the city's anti-gang unit.

Ramos, represented by Bernard T. O’Connor, and Owens, represented by Jeanne A. Liddy, argued the entrance to Ramos’ apartment violated constitutional rights.

The prosecution argued that the initial entry into her apartment occurred in order for the police to execute an arrest warrant, assure officer safety and prevent the destruction of evidence.

Police Sgt. John M. Delaney said he would not comment on Ferrara’s decision but said, “These detectives are hard working professionals that dedicate themselves to making Springfield safer by getting drugs and guns off the street like in this case.”

In his "findings of fact," Ferrara wrote police detective Christopher Bates was trying to locate Owens and Norman Dyer on outstanding warrants for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and other charges.



Ramos' mother told police her daughter had been dating Owens on and off but to her knowledge they were not then dating, Ferrara said. She did provide her daughter's address.



Ferrara said police may have suspected Owens was staying with or visiting Ramos but he credits Ramos' mother's testimony she was not the source of that information.

Police asked the apartment building’s superintendent to give them a key to Ramos’ apartment so they wouldn’t have to break the door and he did.

When Bates and other officers were in the building’s hallway, Bates saw Owens and Ramos leave an apartment and stand in the hallway. Bates yelled to Owens to get down, he did and he was handcuffed.

Ramos went into her apartment leaving the door partially open. Police went into her apartment "believing it possible that Norman Dyer was in the apartment, and concerned that Dyer, Ms. Ramos or another occupant of the apartment might pose a threat to their safety," Ferrara wrote.



Police asked Ramos if there were any guns in the apartment and she indicated a gun was under a bed. Police found two guns in a shoe box under the bed.

Police saw what they believed to be narcotics in plain view and Ramos was arrested.

Police secured the apartment and then sought a search warrant to seize the evidence.



In his ruling, Ferrara said the state didn't meet its burden of proving police had reliable information that Owens and Dyer were living at Ramos' apartment.

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said the reason his office will not appeal Ferrara's ruling is because the judge made his decision based on crediting Ramos' mother's testimony at the hearing.



He said the appellate courts rarely dispute a judge's decision finding a person's testimony credible, believing the judge is in the best position to decide whether to believe that person.

“If the judge was wrong on the law then we could appeal,” Mastroianni said, adding he is “not saying we agree with the judge’s finding.”

Mastroianni said police work very hard every day to try to deal with drugs and guns.



The now-dismissed charges against Owens and Ramos were trafficking cocaine over 200 grams, possession of a firearm without a firearms identification card, possession of a large capacity feeding device, receiving stolen property in the amount of over $250 and possessing a firearm without a firearms identification card.

The case for which police had a warrant for Dyer and Owens the day they went into Ramos' apartment ended for Owens in November when a Hampden Superior Court jury acquitted him.



Dyer and another man had previously pleaded guilty in that case.