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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    1

    Cool Intent to Distribute Drugs, Seizure of Cash, Class D Felony

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Massachusetts.

    Before i get started on explaining what exactly happened i just want to clarify a couple of points.

    1. I'm using this as an desperate attempt for answers, i'm not expecting somebody to come and answer all of my questions for me like an attorney would/could its more of an opinion based question for somebody who has been through something similar experience wise.
    2. I'm not in any way shape or form incriminating myself more than i already have.
    3. I'm writing this for other peoples opinions and perspectives on what they think i could be possibly facing in terms of legal accusations/jail time etc..

    Okay so concluding.. I'm 19 years old, currently unemployed as of last month, worked at UPS prior to the christmas season as a seasonal helper. On tuesday January 22nd Me and a good friend of mine were traveling in his vehicle (blue Honda accord) traveling south bound on a new intersection in our hometown (Pittsfield,MA) when we had noticed that we had a state trooper following closely behind us. Now, before i go any further i want to state that this same officer had pulled me over on my way to work a couple weeks prior and illegally searched my vehicle for illegal window tint and found an empty jar with residue from marijuana in it and found a pre rolled joint in my center console. I was charged with a 100 dollar civil fee and a 250 dollar fee for the illegal window tint. Back to the story, the officer follows us and waits for us to slip in some way shape or form, and that to him is that we crossed "2 feet" into the breakdown lane on a right on red intersection. Before he pulled us over after we had already "broken the law" in terms of traffic violations he decided to antagonize and follow us for another 2 blocks before he flickered his lights on and followed through with the traffic stop. Now me and buddy had smoked a joint before we had entered the vehicle and we had some illegal things in our possession that i will admit. So he pulls us over and approaches my side first before he brings up anything about us breaking the law in terms of driving (because of our former altercation and his personal vendetta against me im assuming) and starts questioning me first. He realizes im the one from the week or two beforehand who had given him attitude and it seems he wanted to prove some type of point. Next he walks over to my buddies side and says "i smell the marijuana give it up before i get the dogs here" now concluding under the marijuana laws in mass it states that you can't search under the smell of burnt marijuana anymore but there was no way to distinguish if he could smell the odor of us from smoking or the marijuana that was actually in the vehicle. At that point, we had nothing to lose so my friend gave up the jar with approximately 10 grams of marijuana in it (clearly under an ounce). Next he approaches my side and asks if he can search my backpack, i told him no and his response was wrong answer and cuffed me and i didn't have a say on what happened from there. He searched my backpack after i admitted i had some marijuana in there and he found 4 ounces and a scale/grinder. He took me and my friend back to the station and on the ride he asked if we had any money on us i stated no, which was a lie on my part i had 1512 dollars cash stuffed in my shoe that me and my girlfriend have been saving for a month or two together because she just found out she is pregnant and we were saving for an abortion or supplies if we decided to keep it. He convinscated the money and gave me a seized money report and took my Iphone5 under a warrant to search for drug trafficking activity. Now im gonna be pretty cut and dry considering lying won't get me anywhere at this point. Me and my buddy basically admitted that we had the intent to distribute (i know it's an amateur mistake) but we got screwed over psychologically pretty badly . what i PERSONALLY am hoping for is the case will be dropped under the illegal search and seizure laws or an illegal pullover if i can prove this officer has a personal problem with me. and as far as the money goes i most definitely would like to take action in getting it back.. Anyone who has dealt with something similar please feel free to leave some tips and give me a slap of reality on what's really going to happen here. Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    1,991

    Default Re: Intent to Distribute Drugs, Seizure of Cash, Class D Felony

    i don't believe at all that it was abortion money in your shoe, neither will the jury.

    also Never break more than one law at a time.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
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    98,846

    Default Re: Intent to Distribute Drugs, Seizure of Cash, Class D Felony

    Quote Quoting Strafing
    View Post
    I'm 19 years old, currently unemployed as of last month, worked at UPS prior to the christmas season as a seasonal helper.
    Quote Quoting Strafing
    He searched my backpack after i admitted i had some marijuana in there and he found 4 ounces and a scale/grinder.... He took me and my friend back to the station and on the ride he asked if we had any money on us i stated no, which was a lie on my part i had 1512 dollars cash stuffed in my shoe that me and my girlfriend have been saving for a month or two together because she just found out she is pregnant and we were saving for an abortion or supplies if we decided to keep it.
    I'm not going to suggest that you didn't save the money from your "work" as a drug dealer, but it didn't come out of your unemployment check.
    Quote Quoting Strafing
    Me and my buddy basically admitted that we had the intent to distribute (i know it's an amateur mistake) but we got screwed over psychologically pretty badly.
    You mean, not exercising your right to remain silent? I personally would have suggested that, over confessing to being a drug dealer.
    Quote Quoting Strafing
    [T]his same officer had pulled me over on my way to work a couple weeks prior and illegally searched my vehicle for illegal window tint and found an empty jar with residue from marijuana in it and found a pre rolled joint in my center console.... Now me and buddy had smoked a joint before we had entered the vehicle and we had some illegal things in our possession that i will admit.... He realizes im the one from the week or two beforehand who had given him attitude....
    Is it all the marijuana smoking that makes you this... would you be unduly insulted by the word "stupid"?

    You appear to be conceding that the traffic stop was valid. You were in a different car with a different driver, you have no evidence of any sort of "vendetta", and you have told us "Before he pulled us over after we had already 'broken the law' in terms of traffic violations", which seems to be an admission of the traffic violations used as a basis to pull over the vehicle. There's no law that says an officer has to like you in order to either pull over a vehicle in which you're a passenger or to arrest you for committing a crime.

    You appear to be conceding that your friend admitted to possessing drugs in the car, and voluntarily turned his drugs over to the officer. You refer to "we" ("we had nothing to lose") so perhaps your friend, or you and your friend, implicated you in the possession of those drugs. Between reeking of marijuana and having the drugs in the car, though, the simple possession case seems to be a pretty easy one for the police.

    You were arrested, so the search of your backpack may have been made incident to arrest, but you have also told us that you confessed to having marijuana in your backpack before it was searched... that makes it a lot more difficult to challenge the search. It would be legal if incident to lawful arrest; it would be legal if predicated upon the probable cause of your admitting to having drugs in the backpack. You've not given us any great reason to believe that you have a viable objection to the traffic stop or events leading up to the search, such that the search might be rendered unlawful by what happened earlier. You will want your lawyer to carefully review the police report from the incident.

    Get a good lawyer.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    9,096

    Default Re: Intent to Distribute Drugs, Seizure of Cash, Class D Felony

    I was also unaware that the smell of marijuana was no longer probable cause for a search. Can you please post the legal backup to this statement?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: Intent to Distribute Drugs, Seizure of Cash, Class D Felony

    In Massachusetts there is a SJC ruling (Commonwealth v. Cruz) that says that the burnt mj smell BY ITSELF is not probable cause for a warrantless search.

    However that ruling doesn't apply here. The officer didn't use the smell as the probable cause for the search. He stated he smelled the MJ and told the driver to give it up. That's just standard police questioning. They don't even need a probable cause to ask you if you are breaking the law. It's almost a standard question in traffic stops. As soon as the they indicated that they did have MJ, the arrest and further search was entirely justified under Mass case law.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    1,419

    Default Re: Intent to Distribute Drugs, Seizure of Cash, Class D Felony

    He asked you if he can search your bag,most of asked for a reason then the question might be if the stop was justified.It can look pretty murky if the cases can't get dismissed then a plea bargain might be your best bet. The fact he found weed before,the scales and baggies plus the cash makes you look like a drug dealer. Never carry drugs and money at the same time,4 oz isn't a pound but it's more then enough for personal use and I would think this guy is selling. It hard to say b.c everywhere is different but your probably are looking at some jail time or felony probation. Your friend admitting to the weed and the fact his prior encounter with you could be enough to fry you.

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