Brian Lott, left, and Mahrod Barley-Stukes
Two Atlantic City men are accused of selling drugs out of city motel room last week.
Brian Lott, 20, and Mahrod Barley-Stukes, 19, face charges after police stopped them after they exited a room at the Martinique Motel on Pacific Avenue.
Detectives were watching the motel when they saw several people go into Room 103 with paper currency in their hands, and they leave with what appeared to be drugs, according to the report.
Carlos Hernandez, 38, also of Atlantic City, was stopped after he exited the room and was found with two white folds with suspected heroin, according to the affidavit of probable cause obtained by BreakingAC.
He was charged on a summons.
That led to investigators talking to hotel management, who said the room was registered to Barley-Stokes who was with another man, identified as Lott.
The investigators then stopped the pair as they exited Room 103, according to the affidavits.
Barley-Stukes complied, but Lott ran, which led to an officer suffering lacerations to his hand and head, the affidavit states.
As a result, Lott was charged additionally with obstruction and aggravated assault, although his attorney pointed out during a detention hearing Tuesday that Lott did not attack the officer.
In separate hearings Tuesday, both men’s defense attorneys raised questions about probable cause that led to the men being stopped.
“It defies common sense that people are just having their hands full of money going into a room,” said John Bjorklund, Barley-Stukes’ public defender. “They go into a room, and they come out and they have hands full of drugs. … I don’t believe there’s recorded observations of any of that.”
Both men had prior gun convictions and pending drug charges at the time of their arrests.
Barley-Stukes has served about six months of his one-year probation for his gun case. Lott was sentenced to three years for his 2023 gun case, but wound up getting a lessened sentence of 18 months.
He allegedly had 17 small plastic vials of suspected crack cocaine, according to the charges.
Judge Pam D’Arcy said she did not know what was going on with Barley-Stukes, but “I’ll give him one other chance.”
She warned him to take advantage of this time, when defense attorney Robert Boney said his client planned to attend training for heating and cooling.
“You’re 19, and otherwise you’re going to end up losing the best years of your life in prison,” the judge said.
But Lott’s decision to allegedly run from police coupled with violating his release on four pending drug charges led her to detain him, despite an impassioned plea during which Lott noted that D’Arcy already had given him a chance at release.
“You gave me a chance,” he told the judge. “I don’t know how I’m back. I was doing the right thing. How did I get caught up in this situation? I do not know. I just want to get off these drugs. I just need help. ... I need help I’m not violent I’m not a menace to society."
Lott also said he recently learned he was going to be a father.
“I just want to do what’s best for my kid,” he said. “Please, can I just have one more chance, your honor?”
He was found with 79 small plastic vials of suspected crack cocaine, according to the charges.
D’Arcy instead ordered him detained and also revoked his release in the pending case. She said this way he will get jail credit for both cases.
It is the second recent drug case that claimed a room at the Martinique was being used as a drug-production facility.
Seven men are charged in a case that included large quantities of drugs being produced out of Room 107.
