Man accused of being a drug trafficker now a free man

TAMPA -- Mark O'Hara spent two years in prison on a 25-year drug trafficking sentence before an appeals court ordered a new trial this summer, leaving him in legal limbo.

Prosecutors pledged to retry him. O'Hara got released from incarceration, and his attorneys pledged to clear his name.

Today the two sides settled somewhere in the middle.

O'Hara pleaded guilty to a lesser felony, possession of hydrocodone. A judge freed him by sentencing him to two years' time served.

"We had a productive discussion with Mr. O'Hara, and we came to the conclusion that this was the appropriate outcome for this case," Assistant State Attorney Darrell Dirks said after court.

Tampa airport police arrested the Dunedin man in August 2004 after they found 58 Vicodin pills in his bread truck.

At trial, two doctors said they prescribed the pills in the eight months before his arrest, trying to treat his pain related to gout and auto accident injuries.

Prosecutors did not contend that O'Hara sold any of the pills. But, under Florida drug laws, simply possessing the quantity of pills he had constituted trafficking.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal said the state's position would make patients with valid prescriptions criminal as soon as they left the drugstore.

- Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer

Comments

[Drew]

Our government is retarded

[MELISSA]

Why not get the facts straight before you convict someone to 25 years in prision, ruin a life and give this man a felony charge! If it was prescribed to him and he was not trafficking them then where is the issue??? This state id F-- up with their backwards a-- laws. Sure lets let the real criminals run free. No wonder this state of Fla is so trashy! How do we know this guy didn't just pick up these prescriptions from the pharmacy they are prescribed and he still gets thrown in prision! These law makers need to revaluate these laws a bit more! RIDICILOUS!

[frank]

melissa is right. our police/courts seem to focus on arrest/convict and then, if you have time, get the facts right. if he was a trafficker, would he really be driving a bread truck? common sense goes out the window once laws become involved.

[Tony G]

Why would he take a guilty plea? There must be more to this story. Plenty of people take a plea and don't end up a felon. Seems like these laws need to be looked at.

[John Gibson]

Prime example of runaway prosecutors bent on a win/loss record instead of justice.

The guy took the plea to get this behind him so he can get on with his life.

[L. Ranger]

Its obvious justice has not been served in this case. This is a clear cut case of false arrest and imprisonment. The problem for the state and courts is if they retried the case and he was found innocent (which according to the Doctor's testimony the man was in legal possession of the proper amount of drugs legally prescribed to him) then he would be able to sue the courts for reimbursment for the 2 years he spent in prison.
By pressuring him to plea to possesion of hydrocones, and sentencing him to time served merely absolves the state from liability of the first trial. Its a shame Mr. O'Hara had to roll over and accept this travesty of justice to get his life back on track, because by doing so, not only does it give him a permanent felony criminal record, it allows the state to continue to persue similar injustices against others who are caught in this ridiculous law that allows the police and prosecutors to falsely arrest and prosecute people who are in legal possession of pain medications. THIS LAW NEEDS TO BE CHANGED the only question is who is going to stand up against the state bullies who are ruining the lives of innocent people who are already victims of chronic pain and are paying thousands of dollars to doctors to treat them.
Obviously in this case it wasn't Mr. O'Hara's defense attorneys. Wasnt enough money in it for them!

[Rob]

Police officers are hypocrites! They break the laws that they are supposed to uphold. Criminal charges of neglect should apply to police officers, then they might pay attention to what they are doing! Our government and law enforcement are pathetic. Hopefully one of the cops or judges end up with chronic pain and need vicodin, then they better stay at home!

[Baylink]

Indeed: why would this guy and his attorneys fold on *any* felony charge?

There's more here than meets the eye, methinks.

[Mo]

First, i agree with Melissa in that there are some messed up laws here. But i also know that this state has been going downhill very fast. There are some very unqualified people in Tallahassee running this state.

But how does having 58 prescribed pills make you a drug trafficker? Don't you have to transport and deliver the drugs to someone else to be a trafficker? There are such charges called "possession" charges which is what he should have been charged with and would have carried a lesser sentence. But even if the police did their jobs, the pills were prescribed.

I guess common sense is getting kind of rare these days.

[Mrs. Tee]

I believe that is the worst law ever. my mother has chronic back pain and takes vicodin and every time she goes to have her perscription filled she leaves the drugstore with 90 pills. Does this mean if my mother is pulled over she's going to jail for having her meds with her??????????????Crazy law and some lawyer will have their client filing a lawsuit and win. That's when they will cahnge the law.