Updated Sun., Feb. 21, 10:15 am
Drug charges against Zachary Dupon were dismissed in Edgartown District Court Friday. The drug charges were unrelated to the collision in Tisbury that led to a motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation charge against Dupon for the death of Emma Hall. The drug charges, two counts of possession of a Class C drug (Xanax and clonazepam), were filed by Oak Bluffs Police in October. Dupon’s attorney, Rachel Self, achieved the dismissal through a successful motion to suppress evidence.
The case stemmed from a stop and search in the center of Oak Bluffs. Oak Bluffs Police officers received a report that Dupon and a man named Robert McLaughlin tried to sell two pedestrians marijuana near Giordano’s restaurant. Oak Bluffs Police, upon encountering Dupon and McLaughlin, deemed them “highly intoxicated,” according to a police report. Dupon was searched at the scene, and pills in “a tinfoil package” and “a grinder with marijuana” were allegedly found on his person, according to a report. An initial search of McLaughlin didn’t yield any contraband. Dupon was taken into custody, and McLaughlin was taken into protective custody, according to a report. A Class C drug (clonazepam) was allegedly later found in McLaughlin’s possession.Self filed a motion to suppress evidence based on a stance that a stop and search of Dupon was unjustified. Judge Benjamin Barnes upheld that motion Friday. Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Matt Palazzolo told the court that the commonwealth could no longer proceed based on the success of the motion, and Judge Barnes dismissed the drug charges against Dupon. Dupon is expected back on court on Feb. 26 for a hearing relative to the vehicular homicide charge. Dupon has been held at the Dukes County Jail since December.
