NORWICH – A man arrested for one of New York’s top drug felonies, facing life in prison if convicted, appeared in Norwich City Court last week for a hearing at which prosecutors had to show reasonable cause to justify the high-level charge.

Christopher S. Purdy, 40, 28 Fair St. Apt. 201, Norwich, was charged with first degree criminal possession of a controlled substance Nov. 20, a class A-1 felony, after police allegedly discovered more than $25,000 worth of cocaine hidden in the framework of a car he was driving.

At a felony hearing, the prosecution must show that police had reasonable cause to charge a person with a felony level crime and that there was at least some evidence or testimony to support the accusation. The judge then can decide to either pass the case to the Chenango County grand jury or dismiss the felony charge in question.

Norwich City Court Judge James Downey began the hearing by telling Purdy’s attorney, Peter McBride of Norwich, that due to the severity of the charge, New York State law forbids the municipality court from setting bail. He said bail would have to be set by the Chenango County Court or a higher judicial authority.

Peter McBride also notified the court that he was not Purdy’s assigned attorney in the case and would only be representing him for that hearing. McBride said Public Defender Alan Gordon had been assigned to represent Purdy, but was unable to attend the proceedings.

District Attorney Joseph McBride called Norwich Police Officer and K-9 handler Brandon Clarke to the stand. The officer testified that he had received special field training on the search and identification of narcotics with the aid of his drug detection K–9, Weeks.

Clarke and Weeks recently joined the Norwich PD’s patrols after completing a six-week training course at the Progressive K-9 Academy in Walnutport, Pa. The pair were officially certified in late October for drug enforcement by the National Police Canine Association.

Although the unit has participated in low-level possession arrests since that time, this investigation marks the first felony-level arrest where the dog played a direct role in uncovering drugs.

Under cross-examination by Peter McBride, Clarke revealed that he and another patrol vehicle with two other officers inside were looking for the car Purdy was driving.