Drug Possession and Trafficking Charges

[haileyp]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Kentucky

Me and a friend were smoking a blunt in a parking lot when a cop came up on us. We were in my friends car, me being in the passenger seat and him in the drivers. The cop pulled us out of the car and searched it. He found four grams of weed bagged up under the drivers seat. He then searched me and found that i had $295 in my wallet. Neither of us owned up to the weed under the seat so we both got charged with possession and trafficking.

My friend is 20 and the cop basically told me he was screwed and his car was taken.

I am however 17 but my birthday is in September (this happened in june). The cop told me if i didn’t pursue my money he would drop my trafficking charge and id only have possession as a minor.

We then were informed by my lawyer the court worker is who decides what i get charged for, and they might charge me as an adult.

What is the likely outcome for me?

[flyingron]

Never take legal advice from the cops, other than one who suggests you need a lawyer. Telling you that charges won't amount to things or to forgo any of your rights is certainly stuff you should ignore.

Listen to your lawyer. Actually, it's the prosecutors office (not the court) that most likely makes the decision. At 17, you very well might be charged as an adult. Understand you are definitely guilty of possession. Ownership is not required. At 4 grams, unless there's something else compelling, I would suspect the trafficking charges aren't going to stick.

[Mr. Knowitall]

At 4 grams, unless there's something else compelling, I would suspect the trafficking charges aren't going to stick.

I suspect that by "four grams of weed bagged up" he means separated into a number of bags in the manner of a drug dealer packaging drugs for sale, not a single bag with four ounces. I wonder what explanation was offered for the $295.

[flyingron]

Four GRAMS not four ounces. Four ounces is a lot of weed. Four grams is about what he likely had in the blunt.

Yes, mutliple bags would be in the category of "something else compelling" as would scales or anything else that would imply portioning and distribution to others.

[Mr. Knowitall]

I'm not sure how I crossed from grams to ounces.... Yeah, four grams in a single bag wouldn't be much.