pulled over for suspected underage purchase of alcohol

What is the name of your state? New Jersey

Me and my friends, all of which are 19 and underage, drove to a liquor store in the town over from us. we parked in a spot, 2 went in and me and a friend sat in the car. The other two returned, put a 30 and a 24 in the back and we drove away. We get to the other side of the parking lot of the large stripmall and 2 undercover police officers box us in. When we ask what we got pulled over for he said he saw us buy beer. Don't you have to have a reason to get pulled over? There was no reason to believe that we were not 21 from his perspective. He did not have an officer inside the store to witness the actual purchase. The two who went into the liquor store were not carded, but all of us had Fake ID's on us. At first, the police said only the two who went into the store were going to be arrested. He pulled them out of the car and read them their rights, possibly not getting all the way through them because he stumbled over his words and stopped. Eventually we were all searched, i believe the beer would give him probable cause, but we were never asked to be searched. They found all of our fake ids. At that time me and my other friend were cuffed without being read any of our rights. Eventually we were all charged with underage possession of alcohol as well as possession of fraudulent delaware identification. all withoutand not read any of our rights. Is there any way out of this or are we all generally screwed. someone please help.

Ok

Look Jersey Boy..
Unless you get Da Judge or Cop Carl

I suggest you duck and cover..
This ain't legal advice mind you... just good advice.

You are toast.
Get into rehab and or AA.

fallvictimx said:

Eventually we were all searched,

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The two guys who the cops saw buy the beer were fair game for the police.

BUT, based on your facts, I am pretty damn sure the cops have no authority to search you unless they suspect you possess weapons...and underage people buying beer does not sound like an offense involving weapons.

I would challenge the search that discovered the fraudulent ID at a pre-trial hearing and plead guilty to possessing the beer.

If your attorney says the State is offering a deal, make sure they drop the fraudulent ID rap...after all, it was obtained as a result of an illegal search.

You dont want it on record that you were convicted of misleading people. I think you would rather be convicted of illegally possessing suds. I know I would.

Good Luck.

polev said:

BUT, based on your facts, I am pretty damn sure the cops have no authority to search you unless they suspect you possess weapons...and underage people buying beer does not sound like an offense involving weapons.

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Would you mind sharing the name of the dealer that sells you your crack? Based on this sentence, it's clearly much better than the stuff I'm currently getting. Thanks.

You Are Guilty said:

Would you mind sharing the name of the dealer that sells you your crack? Based on this sentence, it's clearly much better than the stuff I'm currently getting. Thanks.

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I took the time to offer a reasonable opinion to a person requesting assistance.

You took the time to make immature disparaging remarks about another poster as well as writing some references to illegal drug use that are not related to the topic.

What does that say about you?

polev said:

I took the time to offer a reasonable opinion to a person requesting assistance.

You took the time to make immature disparaging remarks about another poster as well as writing some references to illegal drug use that are not related to the topic.

What does that say about you?

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(QUOTE)BUT, based on your facts, I am pretty damn sure the cops have no authority to search you unless they suspect you possess weapons...and underage people buying beer does not sound like an offense involving weapons.(QUOTE)WRONG!It say's you were not only unreasonable, but wrong with your idvice.

polev said:

I took the time to offer a reasonable opinion to a person requesting assistance.

You took the time to make immature disparaging remarks about another poster as well as writing some references to illegal drug use that are not related to the topic.

What does that say about you?

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When your "reasonable opinion" is flat out wrong and may end up getting someone in quite a bit of trouble if they were to follow it, it needs to be pointed out by people who know better. I happened to see it first, so I did. Rather than waste my time explaining to an idiot why they're an idiot, I took a shortcut and pointed out the fallacy of your statement in a much more concise fashion.

So I guess that makes me The Exhaulted Grand High Poobah of Crack Jokes. All shall bow before me. Amen.

Fallvictimx:

Don't you have to have a reason to get pulled over?

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Yes, the police need a reason to stop you…and in the case you described the police pulled you over to investigate potential SLA violations. That is their reason.

There was no reason to believe that we were not 21 from his perspective.

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This is a silly statement because you have no idea what the officer’s prospective or experiences are.

He did not have an officer inside the store to witness the actual purchase. The two who went into the liquor store were not carded, but all of us had Fake ID's on us.

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Come on, be serious. Do you really think the officers had to witness the sale after they observed your friends in possession of a large quantity of beer?

At first, the police said only the two who went into the store were going to be arrested.

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Makes sense to me. After all, according to your story the police did not witness you or your friend who remained in the car committing any offenses..so why would they arrest you?

He pulled them out of the car and read them their rights, possibly not getting all the way through them because he stumbled over his words and stopped.

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Forget about using the Miranda warning dodge as a ploy to escape prosecution. This ploy only works if the cop who is testifying is extremely ignorant.

Eventually we were all searched,

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Whoa! Unless you committed an offense for which the police were going to arrest you, the police have no authority to do anything other than pat you down for weapons…and the pat down rule only applies if the police are investigating a crime involving weapons or violence…OR if they observe a ‘suspicious bulge’. According to your story there was no violence or weapons involved…so I can’t see why the police would conduct an intrusive search of a citizen.

i believe the beer would give him probable cause,

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The police had every right to detain and investigate your friends who purchased the beer. The police had no right to search you…unless there is more to the story that you are not revealing???

but we were never asked to be searched. They found all of our fake ids. At that time me and my other friend were cuffed without being read any of our rights. Eventually we were all charged with underage possession of alcohol as well as possession of fraudulent delaware identification. all withoutand not read any of our rights. Is there any way out of this or are we all generally screwed. someone please help.

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Again, forget the Miranda warning dodge. The police only have to read you your rights if they are going to question you about the offenses they arrested you for.

Right now you should be concerned with the officers conducting an illegal search of you and the friend who remained in the car while your other two friends went into a store and committed violations of law.

Before considering a plea or going to trial, I would make the officer come into court and testify at a probable cause and MAPP hearing. Based on the facts you provided, I foresee the court ruling the forged instrument was discovered during an illegal search. Therefore making it inadmissible in a court of law.

I’m curious what your attorney will have to say about your case. Please keep us updated…and good luck!

"Before considering a plea or going to trial, I would make the officer come into court and testify at a probable cause and MAPP hearing. Based on the facts you provided, I foresee the court ruling the forged instrument was discovered during an illegal search. Therefore making it inadmissible in a court of law."

Can you also predict tonight's California Lottery numbers?

Q: Don't you have to have a reason to get pulled over?

A: Yes; the reason here was the cops saw what were underage kids buying booze and they decided to check it out and you got busted.

They didn't get any evidence from interrogation so the Miranda warnings are not necessary.

IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR ANYONE UNDER 21 YEARS OF AGE TO

consume alcohol.
Purchase alcohol.
Have alcohol in their possession whether the container is open or not.
Transport or possess alcohol in a motor vehicle even if the container is not open.
Use fake or altered ID to purchase alcohol.

IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO

Provide someone who is under 21 years of age with a fake ID.
Purchase or supply alcohol to someone under 21 years of age.
As an owner or tenant, knowingly allow someone under 21 years of age to consume or possess alcohol or controlled substances at a social gathering.

FOR THE ABOVE OFFENSES, YOU COULD

Be charged with a criminal offense.
Serve jail time.
Be ordered to pay monetary fines.
Have your license suspended and / or restricted.
Be ordered to perform community service.

stephenk said:

Can you also predict tonight's California Lottery numbers?

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10 16 27 41 43 21

conflix said:

10 16 27 41 43 21

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Are you sure? For what week? Wed. or Sat.?

conflix said:

Whoa! Unless you committed an offense for which the police were going to arrest you, the police have no authority to do anything other than pat you down for weapons…and the pat down rule only applies if the police are investigating a crime involving weapons or violence…OR if they observe a ‘suspicious bulge’. According to your story there was no violence or weapons involved…so I can’t see why the police would conduct an intrusive search of a citizen.

The police had every right to detain and investigate your friends who purchased the beer. The police had no right to search you…unless there is more to the story that you are not revealing???

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Whoa nelly! The USSC has determined that the cause for a pat-down search for weapons is very minimal ... the time of night and the number of suspects would likely be sufficient to justify a pat-down for weapons. Additionally, if they were in custody, then a search is permissable as a search incident to arrest.

If I have enough to cite everyone for the underage possesion and/or puchase of alcohol, I have enough to slap the cuffs on and search them. The discovery of the IDs pursuant to that search would simply be gravy.

I've had false ID show up thus: Ask Johnny for ID and he flips open his wallet and skips right past the obvious ID on top handing me another one. I ask him about the ID he passed, and he becomes evasive. Ding-Ding-Ding! Yes, kids do that ... it happens ... happened a month ago to me ... again.

Only a court will be able to determine if the facts as articulated by the officers in this matter is sufficient to justify reasonable cause for a search of any kind. It may or may not have been justified ... but, the cause for a pat-down for weapons is VERY minimal. But such a pat-down should not be able to reasonably discover false ID under most circumstances.

- Carl