My question involves criminal law for the state of: California
Hi, I'm a 17 year old male from Los Angeles and I was recently arrested for felony possession of ecstasy.
The specific charge was 11377(a) H&S /F/ POSSESSION OF A CONTROL SUBSTANCE (ECSTASY)
I was driving with a friend around 11pm to a location in a town somewhat far from me where I was unfamiliar with the town's curfew law being 11pm for minors. I also took the supplement melatonin before I was driving, other than this no substances were in my system at the time. I was pulled over for making an illegal U-turn and was questioned by the police. The police thought I was under the influence of marijuana and I was told to step out of my vehicle. I was instructed to put my hands on his hood and the officer asked if he would find any weapons or drugs in my possession, to which I replied no. He searched my pockets and found a baggie containing 6 capsules. He asked what was in these capsules, and I said I believed that they contained MDMA, and they belonged to my passenger. My passenger denied the allegation and from what I heard, and told the officers that I was planning to deliver the capsules to his friend who wanted to buy some. They proceeded to look through his phone, to which they found records of him telling people that "I was the person to go to for MDMA." The officer asked to look through my phone, which I denied him the right to search. He then proceeded to put me in the back of his car, and search my car, which he found nothing in it besides an extremely small amount of marijuana (not a useable amount) belonging to my passenger in an airtight container who has a Prop 215 recommendation. I was then handcuffed and charged with felony possession of ecstasy. My Miranda Rights were never read to me at any point in time. I was booked, given a court date, and released to my parents. My parents were told that I was searched on the basis that I looked like I was under the influence of a substance and that my car smelled of marijuana, which is a false accusation. I have good grades in school, take AP classes, never had a criminal charge before, and I plan on attending college in the fall.
What should I do?
Are the charges eligible to be dismissed due to the fact that he didn't read me my rights?
Do I have to report this to colleges after I applied?
Does this charge make me ineligible for federal financial aid?
Thanks in advance for your time.
California Juvenile Felony Possession of Ecstasy
Printable View
-
01-13-2013, 03:29 PMwolfrifle16California Juvenile Felony Possession of Ecstasy
-
01-13-2013, 03:41 PMcbgRe: California Juvenile Felony Possession of Ecstasy
Thank you for sharing your story. When you have a legal question, be sure to let us know.
-
01-13-2013, 03:43 PMwolfrifle16Re: California Juvenile Felony Possession of Ecstasy
Edited post with question.
-
01-13-2013, 04:15 PMMr. KnowitallRe: California Juvenile Felony Possession of Ecstasy
You're working a bit too hard to try to pull the wool over our eyes.
Did you also try "These aren't my pants"?Quote:
Quoting wolfrifle16
Which is to say, it probably wasn't wise to say that the drugs found in your pocket belonged to your passenger, because it gave him an incentive to spill the dirt on you.Quote:
Quoting wolfrifle16
You were arrested... did they wait to search the phone until they had a warrant?Quote:
Quoting wolfrifle16
You keep two different types of illicit drugs in your car and on your person, as a favor to your passenger? Your passenger has no better place to stash his drugs than in your car and pocket? Are you (or should I say, were you) dating this person?Quote:
Quoting wolfrifle16
Miranda relates to custodial interrogation, and the potential suppression of self-incriminating statements taken without the required warning. Were you interrogated while in police custody? Did you make any self-incriminating statements?Quote:
Quoting wolfrifle16
It would be easier to argue that the officers could not detect the smell of marijuana in your car if they hadn't found marijuana in your car. I'm not sure if you smoke tobacco - if not, you should have a sense of how easy it is to tell if somebody is a smoker, if somebody has smoked in their car within the past few days (or weeks), if somebody has been hanging around with smokers. Marijuana doesn't linger as long, but it's the same general deal.Quote:
Quoting wolfrifle16
Hire a good lawyer.Quote:
Quoting wolfrifle16
No.Quote:
Quoting wolfrifle16
You will have to research their application rules and requirements.Quote:
Quoting wolfrifle16
You mean, if you are convicted of being a drug dealer? You would be looking at a a two year period of ineligibility for FAFSA, starting with the date of conviction.Quote:
Quoting wolfrifle16
If I were working on your case I would start with the traffic stop - if I can knock that out, everything else should collapse. So I would be looking at why the police pulled you over, what (if anything) they called in to dispatch, what is in their report, if they had video and recorded the stop what is on the video.... Anything to cast doubt over the suggestion that they pulled you over because you appeared to be intoxicated. (Or is it because you appeared to be 17, and the intoxication thing came afterward.)
If they have now searched your phone and confirmed that you're a drug dealer, or obtained records from the phone company to the same effect, that's going to be tough. The possession thing... if you have drugs in your pocket, you possess them. It doesn't matter if somebody else owns them.
It sounds like you're heading to juvenile court... which is good in the sense that it could help you avoid a conviction and adult criminal record. But given the facts, the lawyer is a really good idea. -
01-13-2013, 10:20 PMwolfrifle16Re: California Juvenile Felony Possession of EcstasyNo, my phone is an iPhone and I had a passcode on it. They asked me for the passcode and I refused to give it to them.Quote:
Quoting Mr. Knowitall
The passenger was recently kicked out of his house and needed somewhere to stash his utensils for medical marijuana. I had no paraphernalia in the car, just an extremely small amount of marijuana in a smell proof container (less than .1g).Quote:
Quoting Mr. Knowitall
The statement that I believed the substance in the capsule was MDMA was possibly the closest I came to making an incriminating statement, as well as the fact that I made a reference to "having 5 grams" in another location while in the police car (the officers weren't in the car, and this was to my passenger who was also in the car at the time, whispered in undertones. Could this have been caught by recording equipment in the car?).Quote:
Quoting Mr. Knowitall
Could I be convicted of being a drug dealer if the charge is just for possession?Quote:
Quoting Mr. Knowitall
At the station, the resident narcotics officer even thought I was intoxicated due to my dilated pupils and high heart rate. I have a prescription for Dexedrine, which causes these symptoms (but adrenaline causes these symptoms as well?). I even offered to take a drug test for the police at the station, but they didn't want to because according to them if I failed for anything whatsoever, I would have been charged with DUID and lost my license until age 21. What's up with this?Quote:
Quoting Mr. Knowitall
Thanks again for your time.
- - - Updated - - -
Sorry in advance for the double post, but I have another question that requires urgent attention.
I recently noticed on my booking slip that I have an arraignment date for tomorrow at 830am. However, I was told only about the date on my citation that I was supposed to appear in court on, which is March 13. What should I do, HELP!