Lawyer says Cops Cheated in Drug Search Against Nunda Man

LIVINGSTON COUNTY – A local attorney is going toe-to-toe with law enforcement over what he believes was an illegal search of his client which resulted in the recovery of cocaine and felony drug charges.

After a long conference at the judge’s bench, attorney David Wade said that his client, John Saeva, 40, was wrongfully searched, and that the drugs that were recovered in his bedroom cannot be used against him. As it stands, Saeva is charged with Criminal Possession of a Narcotic Drug in the Third Degree, a B felony, and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree.

“We are seeking the suppression of alleged cocaine based upon an illegal search,” said Wade. “Parole has the power to search a house, but they were accompanied by a drug task force team, entered the chambers of [Saeva’s] bedroom, and found this, the fruits of which cannot be used against him.”

Saeva is a level 2 sex offender who was convicted on Oct. 10, 2013 of felony Attempted Rape in the Second Degree. If convicted of this charge, he would be adjudicated a second felony offender, and according to the Rockefeller Drug Sentencing Chart would face 2 to 12 years in prison.