Are Police Allowed to Assume a Drug Deal is Going Down

[boi]

My question involves search and seizure law in the State of: PA


hello i was arrested for possession of marijuana and intent to deliver i was driving my friends car he was the passenger and we picked up his friend as we got his friend police approached us i had a holster and a 17 round mag on me but i left my gun and id at home by mistake well not the gun the officer got me out the car and said that they had to search the car i told them the gun was at home they did not believe me and got consent to search the car from my friend after threatening him . after they searched the car they found 3 ounces of weed under the drivers seat and a half ounce under the passengers seat. the officers then arrested my friend and I, and gave the other guy a ticket for having under 28 grams then they told us we were selling the weed what i want to know is if it is legal for them to make such assumptions with no proof we all should have been arrested am i right??i forgot to mention that the third guy which i dont know left his house entered the car then goes back into the house and comes back to the car the cops left that part out of there report though also they consent was to search the vehicle for my GUN not marijuana. we were arrested for marijuana not gun related so this case should be thrown out right? we were parked facing northbound on a south bound side of the road with the car off (engine and lights completely off) $172 was found in a open compartment of the dash (which is not even close to what 3 ounces is worth)

1. are officers allowed to assume that there is a drug deal happening?
2. can they arrest me for marijuana when that was not the initial reason for the search?
3. weren't all of us suppose to get arrested being that there was no proof of who it belonged to or a sale?
4. can they approach us for simply being in the car? in pa people park facing opposite directions all the time.

[AZDeputyClerk]

1. They can assume whatever they want. What matters is whether they have probable cause to stop and/or search.

2. Yes. The search was legal and once a legal search starts, any contraband found is fair game.

3. Probably not. Based on the locations of the various amounts of drugs, each person had control or possession of the items found where they had been seated. The guy in back was probably in the "personal use" threshold, so he walked with the citation and you went to jail.

4. Yes. Most likely it appeared that you were loitering or acting suspiciously. Had they even smekked the odor of marijuana, that would have been all the probable cause necessary to detain and search you. The fact that you only had $172.00 on you is largely irrelevant.

[DavidForthoffer]

Gaining "consent" by threatening a person is considered not consent at all. Based on the facts you gave, the search was illegal, and all contraband found during the search should be suppressed.

I suggest getting an attorney, perhaps a public defender.