Michael Marcus, 43, was planning a trip to Nashville this week, and realized he probably couldn’t bring his drugs on the plane without getting caught. So, he had his drugs shipped via the USPS to his hotel, so he could pick them up when he arrived.
On October 20th, Homeland Security contacted Metro Nashville Police with information about an intercepted package coming from Canada via the USPS, and addressed to the Bobby Hotel at 230 4th Ave North. The package contained 2.8 grams of cocaine, 35.3 grams of marijuana edibles, and 2.1 grams o ecstasy (MDMA) powder. The substances were tested to confirm they were real, re-packaged, and then overnighted via FedEx to Nashville for a controlled delivery.
Michael Marcus boarded his West Jet flight to BNA on October 24th, and entered the United States, landing in Nashville. He was scheduled to be in town for a few days, and had reservations at the Bobby Hotel, downtown.
The following day, October 24th, MNPD had an anticipatory search warrant executed on the package that Homeland Security had shipped to them via FedEx, containing the drugs. Detectives were placed in the hotel lobby, as well as the 5th floor, where Marcus was staying. The USPS did a controlled delivery of the package to the hotel, and Marcus was notified by the front desk that a package for him had arrived. He came to the lobby and took possession of the package, and took the elevator back to the 5th floor. Once he was back near his room, 519, he was taken into custody.
While inside the defendant’s room, he chose to speak with detectives, and initially denied several times that he knew the contents of the package. After several minutes of questioning, he did admit that he knew what was in the package, and stated he would have been sharing the drugs with friends while staying in Nashville for a few days.
He is charged with two counts of possession w/intent SCH I, and one count of possession w/intent SCH II. He posted a $75,000 bond via 1 Hour Bonding, and released to his Ontario, Canada address.
