Minor in Possession - Deferred

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Oklahoma


I probably should have looked into this a long time ago, but here I am now.

Last summer myself along with a few friends got detained and later arrested for minor in possession and breaking & entering. We were in an old abandoned building, which we did have "unofficial" permission to be in (pretty much a 'if you get caught, I didn't know about it' type of thing) from the manager of the property.

Well, the cops bust in this building, which by the way there was no way of knowing any of us were in there without randomly busting in, as there were no visible lights outside nor any way to see where people were, it was an enclosed room.

The police arrest 7 of us, 5 of us being over 18. The two minors have their parents called to come get them, while the 5 of us get booked into jail after finally getting formally arrested (well after an hour of being handcuffed, detained, and driven to the court house), charging us all with both MIP and B&E.

Here's the thing, me and one of my friends who was arrested hadn't touched a drop of alcohol. We were both 110% sober, just there as DD's for the ones who were drinking. The cops didn't bother giving anyone any sort of breathalyzer, so they had no way of knowing who really had or hadn't been drinking, yet we still got charged. The ADA later offers us a deferred prosecution deal, explaining that we really have 0 choice in the matter. It's sign here or we'll go to court and go to jail.

Does the fact that I had consumed 0 alcohol, and was there simply as a responsible driver, mean anything according to the law? Also, this wasn't a public place. I can understand the b&e (not a felony) charge, even though the manager told the cops not to press charges.

We ended up having to pay about $240 in probation fines, $50 to buy the department breathalyzers, $50 for a DUI class (oh the irony), and $120ish for 2 nights in the county jail (we were only there 13 hours), as well as having 30 hours of community service and a year of probation.

Is there, or was there, any better legal route than to just sign the deferred prosecution papers and pay all of that money?

Oh, I should probably add, the police actually went into that very building the night before they 'busted' us in it to take pictures and stuff, because they knew kids had been partying in it. I should mention they did so without any permission from the owner. Wouldn't that be breaking & entering in itself?

The b and e is more serious then mip,if they caught you red handed there not much to argue or ground to plead down. If the deferred plea deal leaves you with out a record,it's a good deal. Considering the charge those fees aren't that much. Since this happened last year,there wasn't much you can do,was a lawyer with you when the ada offered this plea?

Well, they said it was only a misdemeanor b&e... they explained it really weird. Right, I can understand and accept the b&e charge, but the MIP seems a little ridiculous, with the DUI class and all.

And no, there was no lawyer. I never got one. I was never advised to get one.


Also, figured I should add, we didn't really "break" anything and enter. It was an open building with a wide open garage door. Not really sure if that makes a difference, but it's not like we broke a window to get in or anything. I'd been in there multiple times with the guy who manages the property before as well.

Each state is different,just being in the building might of made it a b and e. If the manger didn't want to press any charges,then the da and police were just being strict. The fact you didn't break or steal anything is probably why it was misdemeanor. You lost 100 dollars but the charge is minor compared to the other one,that looks worse on a background check for example. Both of them seemed to be dismissed so that's good. They probably could of found some way to charge you with a felony and you may of had to deal with probation,it could be a lot worse man. I would look in to,seeing if the record can be sealed or expunged after a certain amt of time. The time to argue you case was when it happened,with a lawyer you probably would of get the same result.

Someone else could of left drugs or something,that could of added more headaches.