Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse Legal advice for drug arrest?

[daytripper]

I was hoping for some kind of legal advice concerning a recent arrest. All of this occurred in the state of California although the actual arrest took place in National Forest Land by Forest Service officers. As a caveat, I should note that I am, of course, going to hire a lawyer, but I was hoping for some insight while I am shopping around.

The officers pulled my friend over for crossing the double yellow lines. Almost immediately, the officers asked the driver and then the passengers to step out of the car and then bombarded us with questions about marijuana, saying that they could smell it. We repeatedly denied possessing any drugs and denied them searching our vehicle or out possessions. After 45 minutes or more of this (all while standing outside in freezing weather), I allowed the officers to look in one of my bags (which contained nothing) and then another (which contained a pipe). After this, they searched the entire vehicle and found a large quantity of marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms.

I was arrested and charged with two felonies. I was hoping that someone might have some advice, information about the legal nuances of this kind of search. For example, could I have continued to deny a search? Did allowing them to have my pipe give them cause to search the rest of the vehicle or could they have searched it anyway?

Also, the officers took my cell phone "as evidence", although they had told me it would just be sent to jail with me. Is this allowed and can I get it back?

While taking photos of the seized drugs, the officers had laid out on the ground a souvenir knife (a long decorative dagger in a wooden case) that was in a backpack in the trunk of the car. I told them that it was nothing illegal (as far as I know it wasn't) and asked them not to take it. It is gone now, and I have no idea what their grounds were for seizing it.

Also, $100 was missing from an envelope in my backpack. The police made no mention of it, and I can only assume that they stole it... How can I find out if this was seized as evidence (drug money or something) or just stolen?

Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[mightymoose]

You should have continued to deny permission to search. Instead of answering questions for 45 minutes you should have repeatedly asked, "Am I free to go now?" If they have enough to search without your permission they won't wait 45 minutes for you to give in- they will just do it.
Once they found the pipe the floodgates were opened.

Where in the vehicle was the "large quantity" of drugs located?
What were the two felonies you were charged with?
Were you charged under the California Penal Code or a federal statute?

Any property taken from you should have been accounted for when you were booked into the jail, and anything not listed on the booking sheet show be accounted for in the police report. If something is missing and not accounted for then make sure your lawyer knows about it- but don't be making things up or you will make things worse.

The knife was likely put into evidence as a dangerous weapon and might account for one of your two felonies. The grounds for seizing it were due to it being a weapon found with a large quantity of drugs.... it may as well have been a gun.

From what you say here, my only concern is that they kept you out in the cold for 45 minutes and, according to you, repeatedly badgered you over permission to search, which you finally gave in to. While they will argue that you stood there for 45 minutes and spoke with them consensually, you might be able to argue that after 45 minutes of repeatedly telling them no, you did not feel as if you were free to leave and finally gave in to their demands. To me, the way I am interpreting it anyway, it is about the same as poking you repeatedly with a sharp stick until you finally give them what they want.

That said, having smelled marijuana in the vehicle they had all they needed in order to do a cursory search of the passenger area.... however they didn't do that, which makes me think maybe they didn't really smell it.

Argue that they wore you down over 45 minutes of unreasonable detention out in the cold as you repeatedly denied permission to search until you finally gave in. The key to everything is expressing that you did not feel that you were free to leave (they had made a traffic stop and apparently had not written a citation). If there is something found to be inappropriate about the questioning and badgering over permission to search, then everything that follows can get tossed.

The 4th Amendment protects you from unreasonable searches and seizures. Having found the pipe and smelled the marijuana, everything that followed is good. However, the conduct that got them to the discovery of the pipe, and the fact that they didn't search the vehicle after claiming to smell marijuana and removing you from it can void it all... you might have an angle on the search being unreasonable.... especially 45 minutes after the stop, and even more so if the drugs were in the trunk.

All that said... you WERE in possession of the drugs and what was likely an illegal knife, and you deserve any punishment you might get for it... but you might get lucky and find a loophole regarding their search. Definitely talk to an attorney.