novelraw Chapter 1240 - 680: The Arrest (Part 3)
Chapter 1240 - 680: The Arrest (Part 3)
Kevin: "Did he confess?"
Jimmy: "Not yet, but we should be able to dig something up."
Kevin: "Alright."
For the murder case, they don't have any leads at the moment. Picking up a drug case temporarily isn't bad; at least Mark and the others can feel a little better, and improve their enthusiasm for work in the future.
It's not that Jimmy doesn't want to participate in the murder case; it's mainly because there are no leads at all right now. There are many murder cases that remain unsolved; not every case allows Jimmy to find clues. It's fine with the two of them on it for now; this case can be shelved until a new one comes up.
Cole's surveillance footage was indeed retrieved. Mark and the others interrogated Cole while the tech department extracted and repaired the footage, since the murder took place at night. They're looking to see if any suspicious individuals passed through the area during that time. The surveillance footage has a poor field of view and resolution, so normally you can't make out much.
Jimmy observed the interrogation. The facts were there, and silence was futile. For Jimmy and the others, a confession would only alleviate the Federal Prosecutor's workload slightly, and it wouldn't have much impact on the judge's ruling.
However, after the first round of questioning, Jimmy instructed Mark and Julia to bring in the Westwood Assistant District Attorney and his wife. Since they were the landlords and related to Cole, it was perfectly fine to ask for their assistance in the investigation.
Westwood was quite law-savvy; he had already notified a lawyer for his wife when Mark and the others visited. Being an Assistant District Attorney, he obviously had a law license himself, so he didn't need to call someone else for the moment.
But undeniably, news of a District Attorney being taken away by the FBI spread quickly. They hadn't even returned to the office when Jimmy received a call from Kevin, mainly to remind Jimmy not to go overboard, considering the difference in their status.
During the conversation with the Westwoods, Jimmy was present, but Mark led the questioning. Both claimed they knew nothing about Cole's marijuana growing operations, saying the house was only given to him because he was the wife's brother.
Since the first inquiry didn't yield final results, Jimmy didn't plan to detain them directly. After taking their statements, they were simply informed not to leave New York for the time being and to await the FBI's investigation. They were temporarily allowed to go home.
Sometimes, that's just how it works: different people receive different treatment. They didn't even spend the night in the FBI building, just signed and left within a few hours. However, Cole was a different story; he was directly thrown into jail, waiting for the outcome concerning the Westwoods, and then peacefully anticipating the Federal Prosecutor's arraignment process.
The neighbor didn't escape either; they were in the marijuana business together. Forensics collected the neighbor's fingerprints from the basement, indicating they were in it together.
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Notes:
Medical marijuana was legalized quite early in the United States; California passed the medical marijuana bill (Proposition 215) as early as 1996, allowing patients with specific diseases to use medical marijuana.
The first state to legalize recreational marijuana was Colorado in 2012, with New York State following in 2021. Regardless of industrial hemp, medical marijuana, or later recreational marijuana, cultivation requires a government-issued permit and must be supervised by the relevant state departments.
As of 2021, California, Colorado, Washington State, Oregon, Alaska, Maine, and Missouri allow adults to grow up to six marijuana plants at home. Some states permit a maximum of twelve plants per household, which can be viewed as the limit for private marijuana cultivation permissible across various states in the United States.
However, under United States federal law, marijuana remains classified as an illegal substance. Personal cultivation still falls under illegal activity according to federal law.
This brings up issues of state rights versus federal powers. Generally speaking, lawful use of marijuana in states where it has been legalized will not be prosecuted under federal law. However, if it involves federal properties or areas under federal jurisdiction, one may face repercussions under federal law. This applies to federal buildings, federal agency offices, federal courts, and other such locations.
Moreover, activities like interstate marijuana transport, large-scale sales, tax evasion, and money laundering fall within the scope of federal law and will still face prosecution.
Finally, the November subscription data has been released; it's been declining steadily over the past three months. I'm considering whether it's time to prepare for concluding this storyline and drafting the outline for the second book...