Caught with Paraphanalia While Driving Someone Else's Car

[nick6878]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Ohio
Ok so i went to ohio from PA driving my friends dad's car my friend was with us but his dad wasn't. on the way back i got a flat tire. Well i put my spare on and was driving about 60 on the highway cuz of the spare tire. For that reason i was pulled over by state police. there was 3 of us in the car. when he got to the car he went to the passenger side window and talked to my friend first and said " i see why u were goin slow that spare tire" and my buddy says yea....and told him our story then says he wants to bring a drug dog to search the car! the only thing he asked me for was my drivers license and he asks my friend 2 get out of the car and asked my friend if i hid a gun under the seat and if i hated cops or something because i wasn't looking him in the eyes and looked suspicious. Well drug dog came barked at the back door so they searched the entire car and searched us. found nothin on us but found 2 straws down in the seat with white residue on them. All the three of us told the cops that we didn't know anything about them and that they weren't ours. they asked me what they were used 4 and they even told me it was paraphanalia and i said well they must be for drugs if it's paraphanalia and he argued with me saying he never told me it was paraphanalia. and i said well if its not why are you asking me? and he changed subject asking me where the coke was. but after all that me and my friend was charged with possession of paraphanalia but his sister wasn't and they were goin to take us to jail but since it was easter weekend they let us go and i got court tomorrow!. my question is how can we both get charged for something we didn't know was in someone elses car i was driving and they didn't find any other drugs. anyone know what i should do?

[Mr. Knowitall]

You can be charged with possessing the drug paraphernalia that was found in the car you were driving because (are you ready for it) you possessed it. In the car you were driving. You had actual control over the paraphernalia and they have a prima facie case of possession.

If you believe you can make the case that it wasn't yours and you didn't know it was there, team up with a criminal defense lawyer and go for it.

[nick6878]

ok i kinda figured that. since i was the driver i was responsible. but in that case why was my friend charged also? none of us admitted it was ours. they wanted to charge my buddy;s sister too but we begged him not to cuz she has kids and stuff. we both have no priors. now if lab shows the straws had the same drugs on them as his dad's prescription would that be proof? i think we are both gonna plead not guilty

[BOR]

Except for a few differences, Ohio's search and seizure clause is "Co-extensive" with the federal 4th.

The federal permits ALL occupants of a car to be charged with possession when no one admits possession, Maryland v. Pringle.

[nick6878]

ok we both plead not guilty and now have pre-trial on june 28th. my friend says if we get charged that he is gonna say they were his.but my court date is before his court date. how could that work? I think we need to talk to a lawyer.