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Judge rules suspect must stay in jail
By Bill Dedman, Globe Correspondent, 9/19/2003
The New York man caught by Massachusetts State Police with two pounds of cocaine in his car will have to stay in jail, at least while prosecutors decide whether to appeal a judge's exclusion of the evidence.
Last week, a state judge in Worcester, John S. McCann, threw out the evidence against Andres Lora, 53, because McCann said the two troopers who arrested him had routinely searched the cars of far more of the minorities they ticketed. But yesterday McCann denied a defense request to release Lora during an appeal. Lora has been in the Worcester County House of Corrections since his Dec. 20, 2001, arrest for cocaine trafficking in Auburn. McCann excluded both the discovery of the cocaine and Lora's admission to officers that he planned to sell it in Worcester. Although the only evidence against Lora is now excluded, McCann said the exclusion is a significant legal issue to be decided by higher courts. He also noted the large amount of drugs. And he said that Lora, a Dominican immigrant living in New York City, has limited ties to the community and could be a risk to flee. For those reasons, McCann continued the bail at $50,000 cash. Lora's lawyer had said earlier this week that bail was set at $100,000. District Attorney John J. Conte said that he has not decided whether to appeal.
Bill Dedman can be reached at dedman@globe.com
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