This case could go up in smoke.
The NYPD cop who busted ex-NBA player Sebastian Telfair for pot and weapons possession last year admitted in court Monday that he never saw a burning marijuana cigarette inside the retired athlete’s car — meaning there was no basis for the ensuing search that also uncovered a trove of weapons.
Telfair was arrested in 2017 alongside pal Jami Thomas after they were pulled over in Telfair’s vehicle in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, for driving without the lights on. The men were initially booked for the weed — until firearms and a bulletproof vest were found in the vehicle.
But under questioning Monday by defense lawyer Edward Hayes, arresting Officer Val Enzuela admitted that while Telfair’s car smelled of pot, he saw no blunt ablaze during the traffic stop.
Under NYPD policy, individuals are only supposed to be placed under arrest for a lit or visible joint.
“Besides the roach, was there any other reason to take these two men in custody?” Hayes asked.
“No,” Enzuela replied.
Hayes is now asking acting Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Hecht to toss the gun charges against his 33-year-old client, saying the car’s search was improper. Hecht has yet to rule on that motion.
Telfair was slapped with a 13-count indictment after officers say they uncovered three loaded pistols, a gas-operated submachine gun, ammunition, extended magazine, and a ballistic vest in the Ford F-150 pickup. He faces up to 15 years behind bars if convicted.
But “you could only arrest someone for a burning marijuana cigarette or a marijuana cigarette that’s in public view,” Hayes later explained to The Post. “Neither of that happened here.
“Really, this is stopping a black person when he’s driving an expensive car,” Hayes said.
Telfair, a Brooklyn native, started out at Lincoln High School and then made a direct jump to the NBA in 2004, when he was selected 13th overall by the Portland Trail Blazers. During his 12-year career in the NBA, he played for eight different teams before signing with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China.
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