Legal Question in Criminal Law in Louisiana

A friend and I were driving around one night. I was driving his vehicle because he did not have a license at the time. We ( and I'm not proud of this ) were smoking a joint on some back roads and ended up getting pulled over. The cops searched the vehicle, arrested us, took us to jail, then we both ended up getting bailed out.

When the cop took us to the police station, they pulled out what they found in the truck and asked us whose stuff was whose. I knew for a fact that a small bag of about 11 grams of pot was mine so I quickly admitted that was mine. The cops pulled out a bag with two Loratabs in it and my friend confessed that those were his, up until now I had no idea those were in the vehicle. The police pulled out a bag of about 19 grams of pot and my friend claimed that bag. It turns out there were rolling papers in the truck ( they were my friends ) and also a big scale. Not a scale like you would think a drug dealer might have, just a big cooking scale; either way he claimed the scale since it was his as well as the rolling papers.

It turns out the police charged me with everything. Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a schedule 3 narcotic with intention to distribute, paraphernalia; the whole 9 yards. My friend also got the charges, as he should have. I just do not understand why I was charged with the pills the paraphernalia and the scales as well.

My question is, now that I have given you the back ground information. What should I do? I haven't been to my arraignment yet and I haven't talked to my public attorney yet either. I had no idea the scales, the pills, or his bag of marijuana was in the vehicle. I knew his rolling papers were in the vehicle but I didn't think I would get charged with them. Am I going to go to jail because my friend had pills on him and I didn't know it? Can I get the extra charges dropped? If I sign up for the rehab center in my town would it look better to the judge and maybe shave some time off? Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Asked on 9/06/10, 10:44 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Martha Amanda Mandi Lucas Mandie Seale Lucas

When you are in the presence of narcotics, you are presumed to know they were there (especially when some of it was yours). You should meet with your Public Defender and if you feel you have a drug problem, you should seek help. Any sentence is dependent on the nature of the charges, the criminal history of the defendant, the remorse shown, etc. Your friend could certainly testify that you were unaware of the contraband he claimed, but it would still depend on all the factors.

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Answered on 9/12/10, 3:29 am


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