• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Advice for defense, is it possible?

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

B

brookelea

Guest
my husband was walking through a field leaving a friends property in the direction of some nearby homes due to some suspicious people at his friends property which he did not feel comfortable being around. Police were in the area investigating a robbery, so they told him when they stopped to question him. They searched him and found nothing, he had no items from the nearby home and has no record on file. They cuffed him and read him his rights, placed him on the ground. They asked him where he was coming from, he pointed to his friends property. They stated "oh you are doing drugs then", possibly because this was a known drug house. They then placed him in the patrol car. While he was sitting cuffed and read his rights a 2nd time, the officers at the scene found someone else near this home and arrested them in connection to the robbery. However they did not release my husband at this time, they continued to question him about the other property and a couple officers went to his friends house and found many people there. There was a fire in the yard and they found items from the robbery supposedly and then arrested a few people there due to outstanding warrants. They discovered my husbands vehicle, there was a woman sitting in it at the time, then asked my husband, still in the patrol car a few hundred yards away if they could search his vehicle, he said no. They continued to badger him to let them search it, using all possible scare tactics to do so, he at no time gave them permission to search his vehicle. When they were not getting what they wanted they just took his keys and searched it anyways. They then found in the trunk of his car, which if anyone has access to his vehicle is accessible from the glove box as well, what has been determined to be a leftover lab for methamphetamines as well as boxes of psuedophedrine. The bags the items were in had padlocks on them which they cut off. They arrested him prior to finding any evidence necessary to do so. He is now charged with unlawfully manufacturing a controlled substance and possession of psuedoephedrine with intent to manufacture in pierce county, washington state. His public defender is refusing to investigate anything and is basically just a paper pusher for the prosecutor. Can you give any advice on this situation. We have talked to a few attorneys in our area, however we have no money to retain one and our public defender is worthless. He is not a defender, but a facilitator for the prosecutor. please help!
 


calatty

Senior Member
It looks like the only hope he would have is to attempt to suppress the evidence found in the car on the grounds that the police conducted an illegal search. However, it sounds like what happened was your husband refused to consent to a search of his car, but the police are lying and saying he did consent to a search. If that is the case, then there is really no point to filing a suppression motion, because in a credibility contest between a cop and an accused, the cop always wins. If the search can't be challenged, the best thing an attorney can achieve is to get the best possible deal for your husband on a guilty plea. It am not sure an investigation could uncover anything that would help your husband.
 
B

brookelea

Guest
A question then...

If the bags in question containing the items found were padlocked and were cut off to view contents, and if my husband in fact had given consent to search, why would he not have just given them the keys to unlock these? And what are the guidelines under the 4th amendment regarding reasonable expecation of privacy on locked items in a trunk of a car where the person in custody was not aprehended in the vehicle or during a traffic stop?
 
Last edited:

calatty

Senior Member
The rule is that when a person is arrested in or around their car, the police can search the car. Your husband was nowhere near the car, so the only way they could search the car legally was to get a warrant or your husband's consent. Since they did not have a warrant, they have to claim he consented. That they cut off the padlocks is evidence his attorney can point to as proof that they did not obtain his consent.
 
H

Humble Warrior

Guest
Are you kidding us here? Your hubby just so happened to be walking in a field with some strange people in the area,and a yard on fire with property from a recent robbery,and a strange woman in his car,while married to you,with a meth lab in the trunk?
Either you are the most gullable person on the planet,or your hubby is the most un-luckiest.
Let me save him his one free call......."Uhmmmm, I wont be home for dinner dear....."
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top