HILLSDALE — A convicted drug dealer with a long history of various narcotics offenses dating back to 2002 continues his appellate efforts to seek a new trial.
J. Nicholas Bostic, an appellate attorney representing Scott Allen Mullins, 54, assisted in filing a motion for a new trial and was back in court arguing his motion Monday, July 31.
The basis for Bostic’s argument: The police obtained too broad of a search warrant for Mullins’ phone which was seized during a February 2021 traffic stop where police discovered over 40 grams of crystal methamphetamine in Mullins’ trunk.
A day after the traffic stop which led to his arrest, investigators filed a search warrant for his phone which led to the discovery of Facebook messages on his phone.
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That led investigators to obtaining a search warrant for three Facebook profiles used by Mullins which then led to a search warrant for Mullins’ Sand Lake Road compound executed by the Region of Irish Hills Narcotics Office in February 2022 where officers discovered a variety of narcotics and paraphernalia.
But Bostic argued the police might not have had valid reasons listed in the search warrant requested for Mullins’ phone, which snowballed into the ultimate search warrant for his residence and compound.
Hillsdale County Circuit Judge Sara S. Lisznyai did not issue a ruling on the motion after hearing a brief rebuttal by the Hillsdale County Prosecutor’s Office and instead will issue a written order on the matters at an unknown time in the near future.
Mullins was convicted in the summer of 2022 of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine in a case stemming from a traffic stop on Feb. 9, 2021, when officers discovered a large quantity of methamphetamine in his trunk.
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While on bond in those matters and awaiting trial, Mullins house on South Sand Lake Road was raided by the Region of Irish Hills Narcotics Office in February 2022 which led to the discovery of additional methamphetamine, analogues, marijuana wax and other drug paraphernalia.
After his conviction in the summer of 2022 on the 2021 charges and pending a second, separate trial for additional charges stemming from the raid, Mullins pleaded guilty to a second offense of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine.
Mullins is currently incarcerated at the Saginaw Correctional Facility where he is listed with an earliest possible release date on March 3, 2032.
— Contact Reporter Corey Murray at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Convicted drug dealer vying for new trial
