Police: Newspaper’s office used as drug drop

From the Barnstable Patriot:
Police: Newspaper’s office used as drug drop
Written by David Still II
February 11, 2011

Patriot reporter arrested


Undercover Massachusetts State Police officers walked into the offices of The Barnstable Patriot Feb. 3 and walked out with one of its reporters, later charging him with possession with intent to distribute a class D substance.

J. James Joiner Jr., 35, has worked as a Patriot reporter since September, and had worked on a freelance basis for several months prior to that. He lives in Cotuit.

According to the state police arrest report generated for the Feb. 4 arraignment in Barnstable District Court, a U.S. postal inspector intercepted a suspicious package addressed to Joiner in care of the Patriot’s 4 Ocean St. address, and notified the Cape Cod Drug Task Force. A search by a drug-sniffing K9 from the sheriff’s office indicated the odor of narcotics.

Undercover State Police officers arranged for a controlled delivery of the package to the Patriot’s office, where Joiner signed for it.

Officers interviewed Joiner in a Patriot conference room. According to the report, after he signed a “consent to search” form, officers opened the package and found six pounds of “a green leafy substance suspected to be marijuana wrapped in plastic and masked with gear oil.”

According to the report, “Joiner confessed that the marijuana belonged to him and was intended for resale.”

He was arrested and booked at the Yarmouth State Police barracks on a charge of possession of a class D substance with the intent to distribute. He pleaded not guilty at a Feb. 4 arraignment. A March 2 pretrial conference was set.

Police estimated the street value of the seized pot at $21,000.

Joiner is no longer employed by The Barnstable Patriot.
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Slow news day? Let's make our own!
$21,000/ 6 = $3,300# / 16 = $218.75oz. Correct change please. How are these values computed?