California
My son lives in an apartment with 2 roommates, a guy who has his own room, and he and his girlfriend have a room. Sometimes her 16 year old brother stays there too.
The other day, when my son was in class at college, the police from 2 forces busted in with a battering ram and raided their apartment. They had a warrant for his roommate that said they were looking for marijuana and weapons. There were no weapons. They found some growing equipment and about 3 oz. of pot, and then found a tool box in my son’s room with several drugs, including about 24 oz. of MDMA powder (which I think can make about 240 capsules), a scale, and small amounts of other drugs, plus $500 in cash. They arrested the roommate and the girlfriend and then they went to the college and arrested my son. They took them to the police station and questioned and fingerprinted them. They admitted the stuff was theirs, but deny that they were selling anything, as the cops accused them of. The cops told them they were going to county jail and threatened them, but then very oddly, let them go and did not charge them. One attorney the roommate’s family spoke to said this is very strange…. that the cops must have made a procedural error because they would not have let them go otherwise. We are wondering whether the cops let them go due to a procedural error, or if they let them go so they can build a case and charge them later. Several questions I’d like to ask: 1. Can they use the tool box evidence (MDMA and other drugs) even though the warrant was for the roommate? Keep in mind my son admitted it was his. 2. If they let them go, what do you think this means? 3. Since we and he cannot afford an expensive criminal attorney, is this something the public defender can handle, as far as representing my son well? 4. With this quantity of MDMA, can the cops prove this was intent to sell, and in California, does anyone know what the mandatory minimum sentence is for this quantity? It would be his first drug offense other than a drug possession charge that got dismissed a couple of years ago. He does have a misdemeanor petty theft on his record and is on summary probation for that. Also, if a mandatory minimum sentence is imposed, how much of that time is actually served? Thank you for your input. From VERY CONCERNED PARENTS
My son lives in an apartment with 2 roommates, a guy who has his own room, and he and his girlfriend have a room. Sometimes her 16 year old brother stays there too.
The other day, when my son was in class at college, the police from 2 forces busted in with a battering ram and raided their apartment. They had a warrant for his roommate that said they were looking for marijuana and weapons. There were no weapons. They found some growing equipment and about 3 oz. of pot, and then found a tool box in my son’s room with several drugs, including about 24 oz. of MDMA powder (which I think can make about 240 capsules), a scale, and small amounts of other drugs, plus $500 in cash. They arrested the roommate and the girlfriend and then they went to the college and arrested my son. They took them to the police station and questioned and fingerprinted them. They admitted the stuff was theirs, but deny that they were selling anything, as the cops accused them of. The cops told them they were going to county jail and threatened them, but then very oddly, let them go and did not charge them. One attorney the roommate’s family spoke to said this is very strange…. that the cops must have made a procedural error because they would not have let them go otherwise. We are wondering whether the cops let them go due to a procedural error, or if they let them go so they can build a case and charge them later. Several questions I’d like to ask: 1. Can they use the tool box evidence (MDMA and other drugs) even though the warrant was for the roommate? Keep in mind my son admitted it was his. 2. If they let them go, what do you think this means? 3. Since we and he cannot afford an expensive criminal attorney, is this something the public defender can handle, as far as representing my son well? 4. With this quantity of MDMA, can the cops prove this was intent to sell, and in California, does anyone know what the mandatory minimum sentence is for this quantity? It would be his first drug offense other than a drug possession charge that got dismissed a couple of years ago. He does have a misdemeanor petty theft on his record and is on summary probation for that. Also, if a mandatory minimum sentence is imposed, how much of that time is actually served? Thank you for your input. From VERY CONCERNED PARENTS
