What's up?

[crazzeecathy]

What is the name of your state?California
I have 2 questions,if that's not ok then I'll post another topic.
My first one is can a person be charged with drug charges on another persons say so?
This is what happened:A friend of mine's boyfriends apartment got raided & when they found the drug's he said they were hers.She wasn't on the rental agreement,she wasn't even there at the time of the raid.When she found out about the incident she talked to the people that she was told to get in touch with & they said that he'd admitted the drugs were his,so not to worry about it.
A long time has passed(about a year or more since the raid)they've since gone their own ways.A month ago she was at her new boyfriends house.Knock knock-it's the police,they said they were on a probation search.When asked for who they were looking for,they wouldn't answer,in fact they told the occupants of the house that they should probably take a ride for about an hour.Feeling there is nothing to hide & quite abit violated on their rights the owner demands to now what's going on.In answer the occupants,The owner of the house,his girlfriend(my girlfriend),his daughter,& a family friend who was visiting at the time are all handcuffed & put in the back seats of the cops vehicles as the other officers outside run checks on them.The other officers are in the house tearing the house apart.
My friend was arrested on a warrant for the possesion charges that I mentioned above.
Now the thing is not any of them are on probation that were in the house,the owner,his daughter,or the visiter do not have any record whatsoever.
My friend has been in jail since & keeps being told that she will be released as soon as they verify that the drugs in her ex boyfriends house weren't hers. Now is this a legal search & arrest? Can the police tear up a house supposedly just "looking" for someone on probation?They left the house in shambles.And how can they search a house where no one is on probation when they say it's a probation search.
How can they issue a warrant on someone's say so?

Thanks for any feed back.

 

[Some Random Guy]

Your friend really needs a lawyer.

They have a warrant against them that they never knew about and the police are searching their home with no known justification. And she is sitting in jail.

A lawyer should be able to figure out what is going on.

 

[CdwJava]

My first one is can a person be charged with drug charges on another persons say so?

CAN they be charged? I suppose. Can the case be proven beyond a reasonable doubt? Probably not.

It would be almost impossible to establish probable cause for possession based SOLELY on the statement of a third party. But it might be sufficient to obtain a warrant for further investigation for a sales case.

It really depends on the details.

This is what happened:A friend of mine's boyfriends apartment got raided & when they found the drug's he said they were hers.

So, to be clear, you are not a witness or a party to this event? You know ONLY that which you are being told by the friends?

In answer the occupants,The owner of the house,his girlfriend(my girlfriend),his daughter,& a family friend who was visiting at the time are all handcuffed & put in the back seats of the cops vehicles as the other officers outside run checks on them.The other officers are in the house tearing the house apart.

Someone's not telling you the whole tale. if they were there on a probation search, they either had the wrong house entirely (possible, but not likely), or someone is fudging on the truth.

My friend was arrested on a warrant for the possesion charges that I mentioned above.

Oops!

Now the thing is not any of them are on probation that were in the house,the owner,his daughter,or the visiter do not have any record whatsoever.

And you know they have no record and nobody there or who had been listed as living there was on probation because ... they told you so?

Even if true, this still doesn't help your friend who had the warrant.

Now is this a legal search & arrest?

Yes. Well, a lawful arrest, anyway.

An unlawful entry into the home without cause is a case for the residents to take up with their attorneys should they want to. Your friend with the warrant has to answer for the charges some day, and they sure as heck aren't going to release her as long as the hold remains.

If there was evidence of additional crimes found during the search, and it is later shown to be without cause, then that evidence might be suppressed.

Can the police tear up a house supposedly just "looking" for someone on probation?

It depends.

Since you don't have any of the details from the police side of things, nobody can say. In general, we can enter the home of a probationer having search conditions with little justification. If that was his listed residence, then the officers likely had cause to search. If the information was in error, then it is up to the residents' to seek restitution or compensation from the police. your friend really has no standing.

Your friend needs an attorney to handle the charges she is sitting in jail for.


- Carl