Ex-cop’s drug trial begins
BROOKSVILLE – Five months after his arrest on felony drug charges, arguments in former New Port Richey Police Officer John Nohejl’s trial started on Tuesday.
Nohejl, 35, was arrested Jan. 17 on charges of trafficking in hydrocodone, tampering with evidence, fleeing to elude law enforcement and possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
The State Attorney’s Office pursued three charges against Nohejl in trial: trafficking in hydrocodone, tampering with evidence and fleeing to elude law enforcement.
For the 17.49 grams of pills believed to have belonged to Nohejl, the Florida Statutes outline a 30-year sentence. The two lesser charges are third -degree felonies, punishable by up to five years or a $5,000 fine.
During opening arguments, Assistant State Attorney Sonny McCathran explained to the six jurors and one alternate to leave their “preconceived notions” of drug trafficking outside the courtroom.
“This is not the kingpin you’re thinking of,” said McCathran, defining drug trafficking as possessing a certain amount of drugs that weigh a certain amount.
McCathran told the jury that on Jan. 17, Nohejl was stopped by Detective Julio Tagliani and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Mike Lynch, in an unmarked vehicle. Instead of providing his license, registration and insurance information to the officers, Nohejl refused and drove a short distance away, where he was successfully stopped and taken into custody.
McCathran said that Tagliani noticed at the second stop that Nohejl’s passenger side window was rolled down. A baggie containing 27 hydrocodone pills weighing 17.9 grams was found in the grass a short distance away, and that those pills matched a single pill recovered in Nohejl’s Kia Sportage. McCathran also said Nohejl tried to break his cellphone.
In a more illustrative opening, defense attorney Michael Kenny said he was about 5 or 6 years old when he saw his first magic show, and was “amazed” at the final act, which produced a live elephant onstage.
“Don’t be fooled by what you don’t see,” Kenny said to the jurors. “A lot of things going on behind the scene make this illusion possible, and offered a different glimpse than what was reality.
“This case is all about what you can’t see,” Kenny said.
Kenny argued that Nohejl could not be found guilty of drug trafficking because no one saw Nohejl throw the bag of pills out of the window, and that law enforcement dashboard cameras did not capture the traffic stops. Kenny said Nohejl was suspicious of Tagliani and Lynch in the unmarked Buick Century, and didn’t initially know if they really were law enforcement officers.
Before the trial, Judge Anthony Tatti ruled jurors would not know Nohejl was employed as a law enforcement officer at the time of his arrest. Kenny’s questioning, however, of Tagliani and Lynch approaching Nohejl’s car with their weapons semi-drawn, jeopardized this information being withheld. Kenny’s questioning “opened the door” that his client was “not a normal person,” but law enforcement, Tatti said. Ultimately, the jury did not learn Nohejl had been a New Port Richey Police officer for the 13 years prior to his arrest.
State Prosecutors McCathran and Michael Conageski questioned Tagliani, Lynch and other law enforcement officers on scene, as well as evidence analysts and the man who lives at the residence where the pills were recovered.
David Kangeter, of Hartley Road, said he was not aware of the pills in his front yard, and walks his dogs a few times a day, and would have noticed the pills if they had been on his lawn before Nohejl fled law enforcement.
During cross examination, Kenny questioned the evidence gathering practices, asking why FDLE analysts only tested one pill out of the 27 packaged together.
James Gibson, senior crime analyst at FDLE, said company policy required just one pill of a “commingled” group be tested.
The defense called two witnesses before resting. One was a Hartley Road neighbor, the other, Deborah White, Nohejl’s mother.
White said she owns the silver Kia that Nohejl was driving at the time of his arrest. White told Kenny that her daughter, Christina Nohejl, had driven the car as well, and that she had a pill problem. McCathran cited jail documents that showed Christina Nohejl had been in jail since Jan. 13.
The defense rested around 3:30 p.m., and jurors will hear closing arguments and deliberate on Wednesday.
Hernando Today previously reported that Nohejl, who last worked as a master patrol officer, had been put on paid leave in April 2012 as the New Port Richey Police Department investigated allegations including sleeping on duty and other unacceptable conduct.
Nohejl was fired earlier this year.
After his Jan. 17 arrest, Nohejl was released on $105,000 bond, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. Nohejl was arrested on misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and DUI on April 11, and has been in the county jail awaiting trial since.
The two additional charges are working through misdemeanor court, with a pretrial set for June 6.
wbiddlecombe@hernandotoday .com
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