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sunshinepraise

New member
What is the name of your state? indiana > was on pre-trial deversion charges for ilegal consumption of alcoholic bev >mismeandor > just bought old car >driving home> honestly didnt know 2 open beer cans was in car> hadnt clean car out from previous owner > was speeding > was stopped and cop found cans > came out from under seat .> cop put cans in my trunk stupid > know shouldnt have been speeding but wasnt mine cans>thats when everything started been a nightmare > got lawyer put on pre trial dev> then later tested postive for THC cdc for pain > was put on no tolerance where list of about everything could throw off testing> and water down testing would be tested as postive> in feburary was told had too many water down testings> sending BACK to courts > now RE-DOCKET>Have continue with all classes in good standing COMPLETED ALL THEM and have report saying and paid for everything >just went thru a 2yr break up with girlfriend >was in emergency room with heart problems gave me strong medicine for my pain also > and have had 2 teeth pulled for severe pain had pain medicine >during all this>and lost my good job in march due to slow business and virus> Wondering what to expect at hearing by myself also with virus stuff going on> thanks for ur help appreciate!!
 


quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? indiana > was on pre-trial deversion charges for ilegal consumption of alcoholic bev >mismeandor > just bought old car >driving home> honestly didnt know 2 open beer cans was in car> hadnt clean car out from previous owner > was speeding > was stopped and cop found cans > came out from under seat .> cop put cans in my trunk stupid > know shouldnt have been speeding but wasnt mine cans>thats when everything started been a nightmare > got lawyer put on pre trial dev> then later tested postive for THC cdc for pain > was put on no tolerance where list of about everything could throw off testing> and water down testing would be tested as postive> in feburary was told had too many water down testings> sending BACK to courts > now RE-DOCKET>Have continue with all classes in good standing COMPLETED ALL THEM and have report saying and paid for everything >just went thru a 2yr break up with girlfriend >was in emergency room with heart problems gave me strong medicine for my pain also > and have had 2 teeth pulled for severe pain had pain medicine >during all this>and lost my good job in march due to slow business and virus> Wondering what to expect at hearing by myself also with virus stuff going on> thanks for ur help appreciate!!
A pre-trial diversion allows for you to avoid a criminal record if you satisfy all terms of the program to the satisfaction of the court. Once the program is completed, the criminal charge is discharged and dismissed.

One standard condition of pre-trial diversion is that the offender must obey all laws.

If the offender violates a law, the offender not only has to face the consequences of that offense but, if convicted, the offender’s original charge is reinstated. And there goes the dismissal and the clean criminal record.

You need a good criminal defense attorney.
 
What is the name of your state? indiana > was on pre-trial deversion charges for ilegal consumption of alcoholic bev >mismeandor > just bought old car >driving home> honestly didnt know 2 open beer cans was in car> hadnt clean car out from previous owner > was speeding > was stopped and cop found cans > came out from under seat .
So they must have been empty beer cans as they were under a seat. Not readily usable as evidence on their own, but good support for a DUI charge.
Were you asked to take field sobriety tests or charged with DUI?
 

Eekamouse

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? indiana > was on pre-trial deversion charges for ilegal consumption of alcoholic bev >mismeandor > just bought old car >driving home> honestly didnt know 2 open beer cans was in car> hadnt clean car out from previous owner > was speeding > was stopped and cop found cans > came out from under seat .> cop put cans in my trunk stupid > know shouldnt have been speeding but wasnt mine cans>thats when everything started been a nightmare > got lawyer put on pre trial dev> then later tested postive for THC cdc for pain > was put on no tolerance where list of about everything could throw off testing> and water down testing would be tested as postive> in feburary was told had too many water down testings> sending BACK to courts > now RE-DOCKET>Have continue with all classes in good standing COMPLETED ALL THEM and have report saying and paid for everything >just went thru a 2yr break up with girlfriend >was in emergency room with heart problems gave me strong medicine for my pain also > and have had 2 teeth pulled for severe pain had pain medicine >during all this>and lost my good job in march due to slow business and virus> Wondering what to expect at hearing by myself also with virus stuff going on> thanks for ur help appreciate!!
How is it that you didn't know there were beer cans rolling around in your car? That seems quite unbelievable.
 

quincy

Senior Member
So they must have been empty beer cans as they were under a seat. Not readily usable as evidence on their own, but good support for a DUI charge.
Were you asked to take field sobriety tests or charged with DUI?
A DUI charge could be possible, depending on facts but, if not driving under the influence of alcohol, sunshinepraise could still be ticketed under Indiana’s open container law:
Indiana Code 9-30-15-3: https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-9-motor-vehicles/in-code-sect-9-30-15-3.html

If there is no indication that sunshinepraise was drinking and driving, possession of open containers can result in a Class C infraction, which is not a moving violation but can come with a fine up to $500.

But driving with open containers appears to be the least of sunshinepraise’s problems, seeing as how s/he was stopped for speeding and tested positive for THC while on pre-trial diversion probation.

A lawyer is needed.
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
How is it that you didn't know there were beer cans rolling around in your car? That seems quite unbelievable.
I spent most of the winter looking for a can of deicer in my car. I found it in April under the driver's seat of my car. Along with 2 unopened pieces of nicotine gum and about $3 in change.
 

commentator

Senior Member
It is likely that you are suffering from really severe anxiety.For any number of reasons, which it sounds as though you have had a really really rough month or two here. If you are as you say going to be "at my hearing by myself" in other words, you don't have a lawyer now, it would be greatly to your advantage to have a lawyer. But then, if as you say, you lost your good job due to the circumstances in the world lately, financial strains may be a huge issue. And you mention you've had a break up with a girlfriend, heart issues, probably due to stress and some dental work which involved pain meds. It sounds as though these things showed up in your drug testing?

Flatly, the best possible thing you can do for yourself right now? Meetings. On-line meetings, virtual meetings, something to get control of what the court is going to be inclined to perceive as an alcohol and possibly poly-drug addictive pattern. And in these time, frankly, they're NOT wanting to throw the book at non violent offenders and simply lock them up right now, since that almost guarantees they are unproductive, no job, no homelife, no hope of doing better in the near future. And a possibility that you'd be put in a very dangerous situation regarding the current COVID-19 situation.

What they want very much to see is somebody who is doing better, is very very sorry and is never going to do this (whatever it was) again. no excuses for what has happened, no funky stories. The more you can look like that person when you do finally get to court, the better it is for you. It sounds as though you have done some things right, as in completing all your classes, paying all your fines, etc. I'm sure that was contingent on your good job which you were holding on to. but have now lost.

Do not let your life go completely to hell just because some other things have happened that have caused you some severe set backs. Find some rehab meetings on line if nothing else, in person if possible, but somewhere, get hold of yourself. Though you've had some slipsies, and too many failures and watered tests and such and they're revoking your pre-trial diversion, that just sort of means it will be considered when this other business comes up.

But instead of sitting around waiting and looking at the laws and thinking about how worst case scenarios they COULD, if they so choose, do this to you, sentence you to this or that or whatever, be thinking of how you can proactively get yourself into a shape where you can come out of this if you are given leniency. Be ready to talk about what you have done while unemployed to help yourself, work on your total recovery from possible alcohol/pill, whatever dependency. It is inherent to people who have substance abuse issues that they do have a tremendously high level of anxiety. It's natural. You need help dealing with this, regardless of what happens when you do go to court.

It would be a good thing when you are in court if you don't throw yourself into a much detailed story about how you happened to be stopped with those two open beer cans. It doesn't pass the sniff test very well, regardless of how innocent it may have been. Just be ready to talk about how you're very sorry that all of this has happened, and how you are moving forward to do a lot of things differently in the future. That always works better in court than "I was framed, I forgot to check the car to see if there were empty beer cans in it, no one understands the stress I'm under, I'm having a hard time, water from the tap jumped into my urine samples, etc. " Those sort of stories never work well.

Good luck to you, these really are hard times for everyone and you are having to deal with a lot of uncertainly on many fronts.
 
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FlyingRon

Senior Member
I spent most of the winter looking for a can of deicer in my car. I found it in April under the driver's seat of my car. Along with 2 unopened pieces of nicotine gum and about $3 in change.
Deice, nicotine gum, and cash are not illegal to have in the car.

Open containers of alcohol, illicit drugs, and (in many cases) firearms are. It behooves you to know what is in your possession.
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
Deice, nicotine gum, and cash are not illegal to have in the car.

Open containers of alcohol, illicit drugs, and (in many cases) firearms are. It behooves you to know what is in your possession.
I was replying to @Eekamouse post. And assuming the OP just purchased an old used car and was driving it home he may not have known what was under the seat. He should know but it is believable that he didn't.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I was replying to @Eekamouse post. And assuming the OP just purchased an old used car and was driving it home he may not have known what was under the seat. He should know but it is believable that he didn't.
I don’t think it is a story that sunshinepraise should rely on to get out of an open container ticket, though, unless there is real good evidence to back it up. ;)

That said, it doesn’t sound like the officer is going to cite sunshinepraise for carrying empty beer cans anyway.
 

quincy

Senior Member
I'm not brave enough to look under the seats of my old pickup ;)
We actually discussed the whole “what’s under our vehicle’s seats” elsewhere, to try to keep this thread on topic. ;)

For example, I cleaned out our van, which has not been in use since my state’s stay-at-home order, and found evidence that mice were now residing there. One of the joys of living on a farm and using a barn as a garage, I guess.
 

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