Conspiracy to introduce cell phones and contrband into correctional facility

[Cleeownz]

Hello, i am a 19 year old male who is being charged with conspiracy to introduce contraband to a state facility 2 counts. Before this incident i was a college student working on getting my basics done so i could join the military. One night around 3 weeks back, i rode with my friend to tag along with him to make sure he didn't get in a sticky situation. This is a friend who i have been friends with for 5 years so he was a good friend of mine who i had helped for a with money in the past. I was going to get twenty dollars for traveling this lengthy ride. During the ride i was smoking marijuana and drinking beer, not really in a right frame of mind and not knowing what was going on. Well we get going on this ride and we end up stopping at a walmart an hour and a half from where we left, my friend gets out of the car and goes across the parking lot of walmart and retrieves a bag ( i had no knowledge of what was in the bag) as he was walking back with the bag the car was swarmed with police and i was arrested for the charge stated earlier. My military career was put to a complete stop and i was also kicked out of college for being in jail for 2 weeks. I honestly had no knowledge of the crime and i have no money for an experienced attorney so im scared there going to be able to convict me of this charge even though i had no involvement simply because i cant fork out some cash. Do you have any suggestions or advice for me? i have witnesses who are willing to restate my innocence, thank you.

 

[Proserpina]

Hello, i am a 19 year old male who is being charged with conspiracy to introduce contraband to a state facility 2 counts. Before this incident i was a college student working on getting my basics done so i could join the military. One night around 3 weeks back, i rode with my friend to tag along with him to make sure he didn't get in a sticky situation. This is a friend who i have been friends with for 5 years so he was a good friend of mine who i had helped for a with money in the past. I was going to get twenty dollars for traveling this lengthy ride. During the ride i was smoking marijuana and drinking beer, not really in a right frame of mind and not knowing what was going on. Well we get going on this ride and we end up stopping at a walmart an hour and a half from where we left, my friend gets out of the car and goes across the parking lot of walmart and retrieves a bag ( i had no knowledge of what was in the bag) as he was walking back with the bag the car was swarmed with police and i was arrested for the charge stated earlier. My military career was put to a complete stop and i was also kicked out of college for being in jail for 2 weeks. I honestly had no knowledge of the crime and i have no money for an experienced attorney so im scared there going to be able to convict me of this charge even though i had no involvement simply because i cant fork out some cash. Do you have any suggestions or advice for me? i have witnesses who are willing to restate my innocence, thank you.

If your version of events sounds questionable on an Internet forum, there's not much chance of the court believing it either.

If you qualify for a public defender, that would seem to be the obvious choice. But honestly? You can likely say goodbye to your military career.

 

[sandyclaus]

Hello, i am a 19 year old male who is being charged with conspiracy to introduce contraband to a state facility 2 counts. Before this incident i was a college student working on getting my basics done so i could join the military. One night around 3 weeks back, i rode with my friend to tag along with him to make sure he didn't get in a sticky situation. This is a friend who i have been friends with for 5 years so he was a good friend of mine who i had helped for a with money in the past. I was going to get twenty dollars for traveling this lengthy ride. During the ride i was smoking marijuana and drinking beer, not really in a right frame of mind and not knowing what was going on. Well we get going on this ride and we end up stopping at a walmart an hour and a half from where we left, my friend gets out of the car and goes across the parking lot of walmart and retrieves a bag ( i had no knowledge of what was in the bag) as he was walking back with the bag the car was swarmed with police and i was arrested for the charge stated earlier. My military career was put to a complete stop and i was also kicked out of college for being in jail for 2 weeks. I honestly had no knowledge of the crime and i have no money for an experienced attorney so im scared there going to be able to convict me of this charge even though i had no involvement simply because i cant fork out some cash. Do you have any suggestions or advice for me? i have witnesses who are willing to restate my innocence, thank you.

If your version of events sounds questionable on an Internet forum, there's not much chance of the court believing it either.

If you qualify for a public defender, that would seem to be the obvious choice. But honestly? You can likely say goodbye to your military career.

Ditto.

At the very least, you admitted to drug use and drinking while driving, not to mention being a minor in possession.

At the most, as you said, you tagged along in order to make sure that your friend didn't get himself into a "sticky situation". If the two of you were just going for a long ride, other than what I already mentioned previously, there shouldn't have been anything going that could even remotely be considered a sticky situation. The fact that you already seemed to know that your friend needed protection implies that you had more knowledge about what he was REALLY doing there than what you've let on.

Oh, and US LAW ONLY (since you failed to provide your state, I'm not even sure which statute to look up for you).

 

[Cleeownz]

Ditto.

At the very least, you admitted to drug use and drinking while driving, not to mention being a minor in possession.

At the most, as you said, you tagged along in order to make sure that your friend didn't get himself into a "sticky situation". If the two of you were just going for a long ride, other than what I already mentioned previously, there shouldn't have been anything going that could even remotely be considered a sticky situation. The fact that you already seemed to know that your friend needed protection implies that you had more knowledge about what he was REALLY doing there than what you've let on.

Oh, and US LAW ONLY (since you failed to provide your state, I'm not even sure which statute to look up for you).

Although i can admit that i knew that he was probably doing something illegal ( such as a drug deal? since we all smoke and drink) I had no knowledge of the crime i was charged with, i didnt even know what conspiracy to introduce contraband meant. What are some things i should bring up in court? Should i plea not guilty because of ignorance?

Criminal intent is also necessary to create a conspiracy. This means that the parties must intend both to agree on and to engage in the unlawful act. Ignorance of the law is not usually a defense to a crime, but an unwitting conspirator may defend against conspiracy charges on grounds of ignorance. Ignorance will not be a defense if the person continues to participate in the common plan after learning of its illegality

I did continue to participate in the common plan, which was to ride with my friend and i had no knowledge of it being illegal. thank you for any tips or advice im stressing lol.

 

[justalayman]

So, since you have it all figured out I guess you won't need to worry about the lawyer then. Great for you.

Ya think the fact this really good friend was going to pay you $20 merely to have you ride along might go to the proof of knowledge and intent?

I mean, after all, doesn't everybody pay their friends to ride with them?

 

[Cleeownz]

So, since you have it all figured out I guess you won't need to worry about the lawyer then. Great for you.

I actually need help bad man. Any advice will be greatly appreciated more than you'll ever know.

Also you are right about the part of the 20 dollars, but is that enough proof that i had knowledge of the crime going on? im just trying to be as honest as possible so that i can get the best advice possible.But if the driver of the car were to testify in court stating that i didnt have any factual information about what was going down could this be whiped out? i would really like to continue with my military career.

 

[quincy]

I actually need help bad man. Any advice will be greatly appreciated more than you'll ever know.

Also you are right about the part of the 20 dollars, but is that enough proof that i had knowledge of the crime going on? im just trying to be as honest as possible so that i can get the best advice possible.But if the driver of the car were to testify in court stating that i didnt have any factual information about what was going down could this be whiped out? i would really like to continue with my military career.

What is the name of your state?

 

[justalayman]

Right now you need two things:

Duct tape
A lawyer


Start with the duct tape. Take a piece and put it over your mouth and do not remove it until you get the second item. What you posted here already could be enough to really screw you over.

 

[Cleeownz]

What is the name of your state?

Mississippi

 

[quincy]

Mississippi

Thanks for providing the name of your state.

Cleeownz, you should plead "not guilty" at your arraignment and then seek out a criminal defense attorney in your area. If you have any chance of having the charges against you reduced or dismissed, it will be with an attorney's help.

I am afraid that not even an attorney will be able to help you salvage your plans for a military career, however, and your college days may be over for awhile.

There are some attorneys who will work with you on a payment plan arrangement, but I suggest you look to family or friends for money enough to support legal representation. These are serious charges - and your drug and alcohol use complicates an already-complicated situation.

And justalayman's "duct tape" suggestion is smart. Say nothing to anyone other than the attorney you hire.

 

[Cleeownz]

Thanks for providing the name of your state.

Cleeownz, you should plead "not guilty" at your arraignment and then seek out a criminal defense attorney in your area. If you have any chance of having the charges against you reduced or dismissed, it will be with an attorney's help.

I am afraid that not even an attorney will be able to help you salvage your plans for a military career, however, and your college days may be over for awhile.

There are some attorneys who will work with you on a payment plan arrangement, but I suggest you look to family or friends for money enough to support legal representation. These are serious charges - and your drug and alcohol use complicates an already-complicated situation.

And justalayman's "duct tape" suggestion is smart. Say nothing to anyone other than the attorney you hire.

Its honestly sad that i had no knowledge of this crime yet all these bad things are gonna end up happening.. I wont be able to afford an attorney so im just going to stick with the public defender. Will the drug and alcohol use really complicate it more? i would think it would help me in my situation because i wasn't in a right state of mind. What is the extent of seriousness to these charges? could i go to prison for years? could they actually convict an honestly innocent person?

 

[quincy]

Its honestly sad that i had no knowledge of this crime yet all these bad things are gonna end up happening.. I wont be able to afford an attorney so im just going to stick with the public defender. Will the drug and alcohol use really complicate it more? i would think it would help me in my situation because i wasn't in a right state of mind. What is the extent of seriousness to these charges? could i go to prison for years? could they actually convict an honestly innocent person?

The fact that you were illegally using drugs and alcohol will not be a very good defense.

Innocent people are sitting in prisons, yes. I am not sure, from what you have related here, however, that you are all that innocent.

That is why you need an attorney. The attorney can work with you and advise you to stop telling the story you are currently telling, because it does not help you at all and, in fact, harms your case.

 

[Cleeownz]

Thank you for your advice quincy

 

[CdwJava]

You seem okay to have been a pawn, tool, or partner in some other criminal activity - just not the crime that was actually afoot.

You may well be offered a deal to a lesser charge in exchange for your testimony against your partner. That'll be something to discuss with your attorney.

 

[eerelations]

OK so now you've added the final bit of info required to ID you.