Bilecki Develops Innocent-Ingestion Defense with Toxicologist; Navy Drug Investigation Closes

Bilecki Develops Innocent-Ingestion Defense with Toxicologist; Navy Drug Investigation Closes

December 2023

Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal

Navy Petty Officer First Class – E-6

Allegations: UCMJ Article 112a Wrongful Use of a Controlled Substance

Facts

A Navy Petty Officer First Class assigned to a joint duty station in Portugal was under an active Air Force investigation for Article 112a wrongful use of a controlled substance. Maximum exposure if the matter moved to court-martial: years of confinement, federal felony exposure, and a punitive discharge.

Our client retained Bilecki at the investigation stage, before any charges were preferred.

Bilecki worked with a forensic toxicologist to develop the innocent-ingestion explanation. We examined the product involved, the testing and the circumstances in which our client consumed it. The issue was what the evidence could establish about knowing, wrongful use. Tim put the product history and the toxicology analysis before the lawyers evaluating the investigation while there was still time to resolve it without charges.

We pulled together the product trail and the chemistry and put it in front of the disposition authority before charges were preferred.

The matter closed pre-preferral. No charges. No Captain's Mast. No administrative separation.

Result: No charges. No Captain's Mast. Matter closed pre-preferral.

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FAQ

Q: Why did Bilecki work with a toxicologist?
The defense needed to examine what the test established and how it related to the product our client had consumed. Delta-8 and Delta-9 have distinct metabolites, and suitable confirmatory tests can distinguish them. The innocent-ingestion argument depended on the actual product and knowledge evidence, rather than an assumption that a hemp label proved legality or that the laboratory could not tell the metabolites apart.

Q: What happened after the defense presentation?
The investigation ended before charges were preferred. The Sailor received no Captain’s Mast or administrative separation.