Default Busted! Arrested and charged! Need advice/help! Hello don't think I've introduced myself. Names Nick. Last Sunday I got busted in my parked vehicle with marijuana and paraphernalia and contrib. to the delinquent of a minor. No DUI or anything like that those were all the charges. I recieved a $765 dollar fine for the marijuana and the cops wrote up on the report that i had 3.5 grams on me when truely all i had was a gram maybe even less. THEY kept this AS EVIDENCE. they also said I denied a search when I was trying to be cool and really didn't. (I handed the weed over when they pulled me out of the car) I figured they would take my lil amount of weed and let me off easy. I guess I was wrong as they took me over to the squad car and placed me under arrest and didn't tell me shit about what I was being arrested for and then proceeded to search my car. In my car they found my RooR and my zong and charged me with a $1100 paraphernalia charge. They then impounded my car within the next 5 minutes and I was off to jail for 12 hours. Now this is where I need your help. What charges do you think I could possibly face. This is my first offense and I'm a college student and work daily. I'm not some big time drug dealer. I need to know if I should get a lawyer and fight this and what I can say to get these charges dropped. the cops also wrote a bunch of other bullshit on the police report and I could possibly weigh the marijuana cuz I know for a fact it didn't weigh 3.5 grams. I received a $2,211 bail. Would it be worth it to get a lawyer and fight this to keep it off my record or cheaper to pay the fines and face the penalities. Any help or any experienced people who could give me some info would really help out. My counselor told me to plead not guilty and talk to a lawyer, which I'm going to do tomorrow. If you have any website,etc. please direct me. I need all the help I can get THANK YOU, Nick P.S. these charges were placed in Nevada. penalty is only a misdemeanor
Get a lawyer if you have the will to fight. Don't be intimidated by the Police, they're thugs, the strong arm of the law. Get a lawyer and fight this the legimate way. And for fucks sake have them present the evidence that's 9.9/10 chances of it being gone, = no case. Your paraphernalia won't go away. But you can fight the possession charge. The first thing you wanna do is get a lawyer and talk about everything with him/ her.
You should fight this- 1-Many times the police will pile on as many charges/fines as they can and see which ones stick. 2-This could effect you in the future-loans, jobs, etc. 3-Once you have a lawyer-he/she will have a talk with the DA and most of it should easily go away.
Lawyers suck but you have no choice. Get a lawyer and listen to what they say. You can also shop around. Find one that will talk straight to you and not dick around. Best advice I can give you.
I would say when they ask if you want a public defender, take it. Hold him/her responsible and lead them in your goals. Dismissal of most fines, or the whole case at that rate. Did they see anything out in the open to have probable cause? I wouldnt hire a lawyer, it will cost more than the fines, not worth a misdemeanor charge. but definitely just say you dont work on the public defender form, and fight it that way.
They didn't need probable cause, because he consented to the search... Oh wait, he just handed it over... There is their probable cause.
They don't need probable cause anymore. They can ask you to step out of the car to search you (for their protection). Usually when drives get out of the car they will leave the door open or the cop will stop it from closing-TRY TO CLOSE IT ON YOUR OWN. With the door open they can search it.
Man Nevada... I would 100% lawyer up. You should think about moving to Mass now that up to one Oz is decriminalized.
You could go with a public defender-who would probably get everything plead down-but you would end up pleading guilty to something and paying something. Probably paying less than a lawyer.
They can frisk-but if your car door is left open, if they see anything while it is open, or if they keep it from opening they can search. An open door allows entry. And if they find anything the Supreme Court is going to allow that search. Currently the court has allowed evidence found in an illegal search if the officer rightly believed that there was a legal search. It leaves a lot up to interpretation and imagination.
I'm going to talk to a lawyer on monday. i handed the weed over when they pulled me out so yes they did have the right to search my car, which was why i consented in hopes they wouldn't. I'm also sure the cop on the passenger side saw my RooR sitting in the backseat. My friend also didn't have naything on him. I can probably beat the marijuana charge and the contrib. to the deliquent of a minor but the paraphernalia will stay, cuz my pieces werent clean and they sezied em legally. hopefully when I re-weigh my sack they could decide the cops lied about everything and I oculd get off easy, but I'll see what happens
It isn't very likely that they will decide the cops lied about everything and acquit you of all charges. In their eyes, you are a criminal and a drug user, and they are much more likely to support the cops over you. The fact of the matter is that the cops have the upper hand, and they do as they please. If you want to fight it, its going to be an uphill battle.
Now I am not 100% familiar with the Nevada law but in the other 49 states when you admit to a crime thats more than a civil infraction (ie you handing over your weed) the cops have a right to search you and your ride if you were in one. You should never admit to a crime.... I suggest you watch "Busted a citizens guide to surviving police encounters" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA
they knew we were doing something suspicious and if they find the weed on you when they search you their gonna be hella pissed. Don't think you want a pissed off cop that you just lied to, they can make your life really shitty. I'll be settleing this with my lawyer and then I'll probably get a public attorney so I don't have to pay all the costs and see what I can get reduced and dropped
You don't have to lie to them. "you have the right to remain silent." That means you don't have to talk to cops. Also if you don't consent to a search, or incriminate yourself, (which you did) and they search without consent, there is a good chance that anything they find would not be allowed as evidence in court, assuming that they couldn't justify probable cause. Also, there is a huge difference between being respectful, not lying, and not being a dick, and just handing your shit over right away, effectively fucking yourself. I have found that if you're caught in the act, it isn't much use trying to be a smartass, which can get you in much more trouble. To reiterate my point, you don't have to start quaking in your boots at the sight of an officer, and immediately hand over your paraphernalia, (especially if you have over a thousand dollars worth of glass in the backseat!) you just should play it cool, be respectful, and not fuck yourself over.
either way I was screwed, I shoulda hid my weed and then locked my car up because it's under my moms name. but I was high at the time and I've never been in that situation. but I'll keep you guys posted on what's going down