Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Can one be prosecuted for drug sales without solid evidence?

Your friend can indeed be convicted based upon this evidence. He needs a lawyer ASAP.

That your friend had only modest quantities of the drugs and had prescriptions for them doesn't mean he was going to use them himself. People with small quantities sometimes sell them. The conversations and messages you describe are evidence that your friend planned to do so. Jurors may believe he had the drugs for his own use anyway, but they are not required to believe this and may be persuaded by the evidence that he intended to sell them.

Re: Can one be prosecuted for drug sales without solid evidence?

What do you mean, "solid evidence"? I think what you mean is, "admissible evidence." They have all his phone calls and text messages, not just the ones to or from the snitch he invited in as a house guest. They know all the people he calls, and all the people who call him, and all the people they call, and what time of day the call was made, on a little tree diagram that instantly displays the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all your friends and associates. Probably they even have recordings of all his phone calls and records of all his text messages. The cops only have to sweat a few more friends of Your Friend, and they will surely find someone else to snitch him off.

Obviously Your Friend is going down unless he gets a good lawyer.

Re: Can one be prosecuted for drug sales without solid evidence?

Of course someone "can" be prosecuted. The issues are factual sufficiency at trial...jurors render the ultimate conclusions on this. Your friends prescriptions and medical MJ "permit" help but need to be developed and ready for presentation in Court. Your friend needs Counsel.

Re: Can one be prosecuted for drug sales without solid evidence?

Yes, even if his possession of the pills and marijuana were otherwise legal your friend could be prosecuted for possession with intent to sell if there is evidence of such intent or sales. Text messages and cell phones sometimes can be among the most damaging evidence although the cops often distort the truth and the case could be defensible. Case needs to be reviewed by a good lawyer. I would start with the search warrant. A bunch of legal issues might be involved, for example, if the warrant was based upon uncorroborated information obtained from an informant.

Feel free to contact me for a free consultation if you are looking to retain a lawyer in Southern California.

Jacek W. Lentz, Esq.

310.273.1361

www.lentzlawfirm.com