Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse Drug charges due to people leaving bags in room.

[lexich]

My boyfriend was recently arrested Friday night. He is being charged with Marijuana possession, paraphernalia, and intent to sell in the state of Maryland. However, the story goes (and I know it to be true as I was there...) that him and I had gotten back from a concert that night, and as we did, his roommates had decided to throw a party. We walk back into his bedroom and there were tons of people, smoking marijuana. Right as we get them to leave, the cops arrived from a noise complaint. They smelt marijuana and claimed to have seen some on the table and entered the house. They asked where it was being smoked, which lead them to the back room (where everyone had also ran, since it was the furthest away). They then asked where it was, and my boyfriend showed the police the very small amount he had in his nightstand. THey then allowed everyone to leave after IDing them, and then searched the house. In my boyfriends room, people had ditched their backpacks with marijuana in it. There were a good 5 or 6 backpacks, which a few had scales, baggies and marijuana. Inside one bag there was a notebook containing numbers and prices and all sorts of selling information. Even though there was a name on the notebook, they claim it to be my boyfriends. Since all this was in his bedroom, he is being charged for everyone's marijuana and paraphernalia. I would just like to know if this is possible, as the police clearly knew there was a party (they entered with lots of people there/arrived for a noise complaint), but allowed everyone to leave before they searched the house. I can't imagine him being charged for something he did not know people had left in those backpacks, let alone his room. Please give me some kind of advice/help!

 

[army judge]

Tell him to admit to nothing.
Advise him not to speak to the police.
He has a right to remain silent.
I suggest he use it.
He should plead not guilty and hire a lawyer, or if he's unable to pay for one, ask the court to appoint one to represent him.
You need to clam up, too.
Both of you should speak only to his lawyer and no one else.

Finally, if he does this, this might just become a non-issue.

So, stop talking, follow my advice, and wait.

If he has talked, it ain't great, but that too, can be taken care of when the lawyer is engaged!!!

 

[mightymoose]

Sounds like the damage is done.
Yes, the police can certainly do this, but it is at court where the truth is to be determined (in theory anyway). The police actions here don't sound too out of the ordinary.
he can likely get the mess reduced to simple possession for what he showed was in his drawer- however if he lawyers up and things get handled well he could attempt to suppress anything that the police had found. There are likely major issues to be addressed with the police opening the backpacks... but who knows what was said at the time and whether or not consent was given.

 

[lexich]

He has already gotten in contact with a lawyer who has a good reputation, so hopefully that will be the case! Just wanting to know some heads up as to what he can expect. Thank you for your replies.

 

[bluemann33]

noone can tell what the outcome will be here. Take the others advice and let the lawyer he has retained work his/her magic. If he does not have a history of drug charges then the attorney should be able to minimize the damage. Maryland is not as strict on marijuana as some other states. It also depends on how much they found, but dont mention that hear or anywhere else. Good luck.

 

[lizhuberx3]

Good Advice

You have given a smart advice. Hope he follow your advice.