Legal question about a Coke bust..

[trumad]

My Brother has a friend who just found out he has a warrant for his arrest. Apparently the guy was behind a bar a couple of months back in his Truck when a team of undercover Narc's descended on him and some friends and pulled them from his truck.

After a search of the Truck, they found 1/2 gram of Coke...That's all..just that... After they concluded the search and took the guy's info they let him go..:shrug:

Well that was two months ago... Today, a detective went to the home of his Mother to arrest him for that incident....:wtf:

OK.. Let me say that the guy who's in this jam is a pretty honest guy and I have no reason to not believe him..SO.... If true, can the cops bust you after two months for an incident like this after they let you go in the first place?

BTW: The guy suspects that one of his buddies may have been an informant and set him up... But he's not sure....

So...anybody out there know if this type of stuff is normal?

[ixion]

1. I'm sure there's a statute of limitations for something like that...

I think it's something like 7 years. You brother's friend should get a good lawyer, in any case. :-(

sorry to hear about the troubles. It always makes me sad to hear about an honest person's life being destroyed by the 'The War on Drugs'. What a terrible waste.

[TXlib]

2. Sounds pretty fishy.

But I think your brother's friend is pretty much fucked.

If the police found coke in his truck, at the very least, he's likely to have the vehicle confiscated.

I doubt the "Honestly, it's not mine" defence works very well.

[nini]

3. is he sure he wasn't issue a ticket and order to appear?

that what it sounds like and he didn't make the court date.


but then, who knows

[TXlib]

4. I don't think they issue tickets for any amount of coke

they just arrest, don't they?

[nini]

7. I'm not sure..

I know my kid got a ticket for pot (which of cource he ignored :eyes: ).. I'm not sure about coke..

seems like a warrant would imply he failed to appear since he was not brought to jail at the time. the court may have to prove he was actually brought in at one point or was issued a ticket., etc..

Definitely get a lawyer to follow up.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

15. Cocaine is a felony

no tickets

[Feanorcurufinwe]

5. Yes.

They can come arrest you anytime they want. Actually they don't even need a reason, you can be arrested and held for up to 3 hours and they don't even have to tell you what you are being arrested for - you have no legal recourse - I speak from personal experience.

Then is the arraignment. The only time limit is the statute of limitations for the crime you are accused of.

[TXlib]

6. why does he think

one of his buddies was an informant who set him up? What's the motive?

[notadmblnd]

8. Sure they can....

The authorities let many people walk around free while the prosecutor decides if he want's to press charges or if there is an on going investigation. What they probably want is to make a deal with him for turning in his dealers or incriminating other people. Tell him to get a good lawyer, it's just possession, he might not even get any jail time. but I would think a year in the county jail at the most.

[sphbecker]

9. That is a state issue

It is really up to the laws of your state, but in most states (perhaps even all) a cop allowing someone to freely leave a crime scene does not exonerate the person of that crime.

Perhaps the system in your state is so backed up with real crimes that they don’t have time to process drug issues. So the cop knew it would be silly to try to hold your friend until the trial. Now, they have time, so they bring him in.

[kanrok]

10. 1/2 a gram of coke?

Where does he live? Don't the cops have anything better to do with their time? Sorry about the sarcasm, but I couldn't help myself. It certainly sounds like the guy's friend probably got pinched for some sort of drug offense, and now he is "working it off" by ratting out his "friends." I hope your friend said NOTHING to the cops who arrested him. If so, it will be very hard for the prosecutor to prove the guy owned the 1/2 gram, unless it was found in his pocket. Just because it was in his vehicle does not make him "in possession." They have to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that it was his. Are his fingerprints on the bindle? Many questions arise here. Why did they "search" the vehicle? Did they have consent? Did they have a search warrant? Where did they find the dope? Who was with your friend when he was busted? There are many 4th Amendment issues in this seemingly simple case. Waiting 2 months to get an arrest warrant is somewhat unusual, but it may be because they did not get back the lab report for that long. They can "test" the drugs on the street, but some prosecutors want a lab report to verify that the substance is coke. Bottom line, he needs a good criminal lawyer, and he needs to take that person's advice.

[Don_G]

11. Can You Clarify?

...behind a bar a couple of months back in his Truck...?

[trumad]

13. Thanks kanrok

Yah...he was behind a drinking establishment in his Truck when the sorta er... bust occurred.. And yes the guy thinks he was set up by a guy working off his bust.... The dude is getting a criminal lawyer and is going to try and beat it.. I'll let you know what happens at a later date..

Thanks everyone...

[Don_G]

16. If The Truck Was Unlocked And Unattended

And if the only forensic evidence were the fingerprints of the cop and/or the informer with the dude having no prior record....

A good lawyer should be able to get him off.

However, I would go one step further. Continue socializing in the establishment to let your friends know what's going on as much as possible.

You can't scam an honest man, but you sure as hell can drop him in between the patrons at the bar and the police if either one thinks he's lying and maybe pick up on additional information.

BTW: I may be shy but I'm not kanrok.

:evilgrin:

[jono]

12. Check findlaw.com

It sounds to me like the police were within their rights, but I'm no lawyer. You should check findlaw.com and see if they have any information available.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

14. Yes you can be arrested at a later date for a crime

He is smart to get an attorney and if he has not yet been arrested (your post does not indcate if he was there when they showed up), he is best to get that attorney now and turn himself in afterwards so as to not be additionally charged with evading arrest.

Given that they DIDN'T arrest him at the time, I would be strongly suspect of manufactured evidence or an issue of credibility with one of their narcs or informants.

Make sure he gets a good criminal law specialist (referrals from the state bar are your best bet)

on edit: cocaine is a felony so this is nothing to mess around with

[amazona]

17. in my state it's legal

Normal? Not really. In my area, they usually arrest you right away or let you go. However, if they are being extremely scrupulous, yes, they would get an arrest warrant and go through all the steps before arresting you. Some people use this time to relocate. Not saying I would ever know anyone who would ever, ever, ever do such a thing but the person I didn't know who didn't do this never heard anything of it again and now the warrant seems to have disappeared. On the other hand, in theory, once a warrant is issued, time stops, and the statute of limitations stops ticking.

Your friend needs a criminal defense attorney and a damn good one. One reason to go through the motions of getting a warrant and doing everything the correct way on paper is because they want to make more of this than a simple possession bust.