After about 70 people were arrested on drug and other charges at a birthday party on New Year’s Eve, the Bartow County district attorney’s office now says it may drop many of the charges.
While police found at least one stolen gun and what they suspected was cocaine, many of the partygoers were charged for less than an ounce of marijuana found in the Cartersville house on Cain Drive, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
Bartow County District Attorney Rosemary Greene told Channel 2 Action News that she’s waiting on a report from the Drug Task Force to see whether all the people arrested at the party will face charges.
“What an incredible waste of resources, to take almost 70 people into custody and process them for what could only reasonably have belonged to one or two people,” Channel 2 legal analyst Esther Panitch said.
The attorney for the Georgia chapter of the NAACP, Gerald Griggs, previously told The AJC those charges should be dropped.
“We believe, based on what we know from the police report and independent witnesses and video, that there was a violation of people’s Fourth Amendment rights,” Griggs said.
The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures of property.
Panitch said she was shocked when she found out about the arrests by Cartersville police.
“I’m wondering if race played a role in it because on its face it seems ridiculous,” Panitch said.
Along with the drugs, police said they also found three firearms, one of which proved to have been stolen in Detroit. Two college students who were at the party told Channel 2 that they had gun licenses and permits for their weapons.
Police showed up at the party after a report of shots fired, The AJC previously reported.
“People aren’t treated the same and this is an obvious example,” Panitch said.
None of the people arrested have had a court date yet, Channel 2 reported. They're waiting on word from the district attorney.
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