Friend arrested with pounds of marijuana...

[YBA]

What is the name of your state? Utah

Okay, i'm not from Utah, but this question is regarding a good friend of mine who was driving through Utah:

He has no criminal record, served in the military, is employed, and apart from his otherwise straight background, was arrested with a bunch of marijuana (pounds).

Now he said that he was not doing anything to be pulled over. He saw the cop running radar and he was driving kosher. The cop says he swerved. This friend doesn't drink and doesn't use drugs, but was apparently making a stupid decision in trying to make some money (i know his family had been in bad financial shape lately).

The cop talked to him said he was free to go and then asked to search as he was walking away. He said that he knows the cop has the right to search his immediate proximity but that he does not consent to a search of the rest of the vehicle or trunk.

The cop said that since the trunk is attached to the car that a search of any of the vehicle lets him search the trunk.

Anyway, the dude is a stand up guy; helped me move thousands of miles before, always been there for people. He made a dumb mistake of what he saw as a victimless crime to try to fix his financial situation.

My question is, considering his background and the circumstances of the arrest, what does it look like he might be facing. i have only had a chance to talk to him once so that's about all the details i have.

[CdwJava]

Your friend needs to speak to an attorney who can evaluate the status of the stop, the search and the charges against him.

No one can say what he is facing without knowing the charges he faces. He could face any combination of charges involving marijuana: possession, transportation, sales, etc.

- Carl

[xylene]

Originally Posted by YBA

What is the name of your state? Utah

Okay, i'm not from Utah, but this question is regarding a good friend of mine who was driving through Utah:

He has no criminal record, served in the military, is employed, and apart from his otherwise straight background, was arrested with a bunch of marijuana (pounds).

Now he said that he was not doing anything to be pulled over. He saw the cop running radar and he was driving kosher. The cop says he swerved. This friend doesn't drink and doesn't use drugs, but was apparently making a stupid decision in trying to make some money (i know his family had been in bad financial shape lately).

The cop talked to him said he was free to go and then asked to search as he was walking away. He said that he knows the cop has the right to search his immediate proximity but that he does not consent to a search of the rest of the vehicle or trunk.

The cop said that since the trunk is attached to the car that a search of any of the vehicle lets him search the trunk.

Anyway, the dude is a stand up guy; helped me move thousands of miles before, always been there for people. He made a dumb mistake of what he saw as a victimless crime to try to fix his financial situation.

My question is, considering his background and the circumstances of the arrest, what does it look like he might be facing. i have only had a chance to talk to him once so that's about all the details i have.

Have your friend post the situation.

Then he can actually answer what happened.

Because it seems like he consented to the search.

[YBA]

Not sure if he would post on here. i'm a bit more neurotic than him, and always try to "fix" things

i'm just trying to get an idea of what a person with that type of possession (i.e. not just a personal bag of weed or a joint), would normally face. Frankly i don't know the specific charges yet, but i know it must have been felonious, since the bail was $15,000 according to his family.

[moburkes]

YBA, you need a new set of "friends".

You have a warrant out for your arrest
Your wife also has a warrant for her arrest
Your friend who was driving through UT is about to go to jail for having POUNDS of marjiuana in the trunk.

Slow down. Get some new friends, associates, etc.

[YBA]

No i don't have a warrent out for my arrest, nor have i.

My wife "did" when we simply did not know. Once we found out, we weighed the options, consulted here and dealt with the problem. The charges were dropped, as they should have been and there is no more warrent.

As for my friend, no one is suggesting that he made a good decision. However, that is irrelevant to the question. i KNOW he made a stupid choice. My question is what he is facing in terms of being punished for it.

[moburkes]

[url]http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=214155[/url]

Did I mis-read when you posted this?

How is it possible for someone to call the police on me, make up lies and the police just took their word for it. Now I have a warrent issued in my name and I would never have even known it if I hadn't checked the internet to see if my ticket was paid to the clerk of courts.

I was simply making a statement.

[YBA]

Yes, someone wrote that, but if you check the thread you'll see that i only chimed in to refer them to the book "Snitch Culture" (to answer the question you quoted). i didn't write that and have never had a warrant out for my arrest for anything.

My wife had a warrant that we dealt with, resulting in almost everything being dropped and her pleaing, without a trial, to a small mis that involved no jail time. Believe me, i'm about as straight as they come; i don't exactly run with criminal elements. My friend unfortunately made a stupid mistake; but he also is not any sort of a career criminal. Just a desparate guy who apparently made a dumb choice.

[moburkes]

You are correct, and I made a mistake. I apologize.

[scott56]

A friend of mine was arrested going through Kansas with 5 pounds of marijuana. While being held in jail, one of the locals told him "You're from out of state. They just want your money." And it was true. It cost him about $15,000 and he got to go home and talk to the probation officer for 2 years.