Conspiracy charges

[ejc]

What is the name of your state? Alabama. My son was a passenger in a car in August of 2006. The car in which he was a passenger was pulled over and a can of draino and a pack of actifed were found in the trunk. The driver of the car had numerous previous charges for manufacturing methamphetamine. He told police at the scene that my son had no knowledge of what was in the trunk of his car. My son was charged with drug manufacturing, drug distribution and possession of drug paraphenalia as was the driver/owner of the vehicle. All of the charges were nolle prossed except the drug manufacturing charge which was bound over to the grand jury. This charge was no billed by the grand jury during the last session. We thought all of this was over and my son could continue on with his life until yesterday when I received a visit from 3 men who stated that they were members of the drug task force and my son has been indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to distribute and sell drugs. On the day that my son was arrested in August of 2006, 2 other men were pulled over in Saraland, Alabama and found to be in possession of (supposedly) 290 grams of methamphetamine. These 2 men have subsequently implicated the driver of the vehicle in which my son was a passenger as being involved in this and the driver of the vehicle in which my son was a passenger has subsequently implicated my son which has resulted in a conspiracy charge. My son states that he has no knowledge of this. I have done some research today on the internet regarding conspiracy charges and from what I have read this seems to be the way that conspiracy chages work: if you get arrested, you name as many names as you can get to save your own self, even if the people you name have no involvement in the illegal activity and basically there's almost no way to defend yourself unless you name names and accept a plea bargain. Am I correct in my analysis of this situation. Does my son have a chance of even getting a bond to get out of jail before he goes to court? Will the bond be so high that I won't be able to get him out> (He has not been picked up yet). How much are we looking at for attorney fees? How do I find the best attorney for federal conspiracy charges and will they be willing to work out a payment plan? What do you think his chances would be if he went before a jury? Most of the stuff I read on the internet seemed to suggest that if he doesn't make some kind of bargain with them, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!

 

[smutlydog]

What is the name of your state? Alabama. My son was a passenger in a car in August of 2006. The car in which he was a passenger was pulled over and a can of draino and a pack of actifed were found in the trunk. The driver of the car had numerous previous charges for manufacturing methamphetamine. He told police at the scene that my son had no knowledge of what was in the trunk of his car. My son was charged with drug manufacturing, drug distribution and possession of drug paraphenalia as was the driver/owner of the vehicle. All of the charges were nolle prossed except the drug manufacturing charge which was bound over to the grand jury. This charge was no billed by the grand jury during the last session. We thought all of this was over and my son could continue on with his life until yesterday when I received a visit from 3 men who stated that they were members of the drug task force and my son has been indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to distribute and sell drugs. On the day that my son was arrested in August of 2006, 2 other men were pulled over in Saraland, Alabama and found to be in possession of (supposedly) 290 grams of methamphetamine. These 2 men have subsequently implicated the driver of the vehicle in which my son was a passenger as being involved in this and the driver of the vehicle in which my son was a passenger has subsequently implicated my son which has resulted in a conspiracy charge. My son states that he has no knowledge of this. I have done some research today on the internet regarding conspiracy charges and from what I have read this seems to be the way that conspiracy chages work: if you get arrested, you name as many names as you can get to save your own self, even if the people you name have no involvement in the illegal activity and basically there's almost no way to defend yourself unless you name names and accept a plea bargain. Am I correct in my analysis of this situation. Does my son have a chance of even getting a bond to get out of jail before he goes to court? Will the bond be so high that I won't be able to get him out> (He has not been picked up yet). How much are we looking at for attorney fees? How do I find the best attorney for federal conspiracy charges and will they be willing to work out a payment plan? What do you think his chances would be if he went before a jury? Most of the stuff I read on the internet seemed to suggest that if he doesn't make some kind of bargain with them, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!

Conspiracy of what? I am assuming the conspiracy charge involves 290 grams. It's not likely that he will be able to fight these charges. The feds won't file a case unless it's a for sure deal.
It depends on the final amount they charge him with but he may be looking at 5-10 years. I think he is entitled to 52 days a year off for good behavior and 6 months off in a halfway house. If he enters the drug program in prison some more time can knocked off.

Also, if he gives the DEA assistance with other cases even more time will be knocked off. That's called a downward departure. If he has a criminal history there could also be an upward departure which will result in time added.

From what you said it sounds like your son's friend foolishly implicated the 2 men with the 290 grams without speaking to an attorney first. It looks like this strategy back fired

Go to this federal forum for more information

http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=186