Legal Question in Criminal Law in Missouri

What should I do now? Please read the scenario below. This happened in Manchester, Missouri.

Aug 8, 2012 � I am 20 years old. Police knock on door. I answer from the inside with the door closed�who is it and what do you want? They answer, police we received noise complaints. (yes there was a party going on). They asked me to open the door so they can talk to me. I open it, go outside and close the door behind me. They say they would like to come in and talk to everyone, see what�s going on. I say there is no reason for them to come in, the party will stop. I open the door and they push in behind me and tell everyone to get into one room. They pat down all the people, search all purses, bags, cabinets, etc. They find several marijuana pipes but no marijuana. They break all the pipes and arrest me and my friend. Everyone else leaves. They take us in to the police station, fingerprint, photo booking and paper clothes, jail cell. They did not have a warrant, they did not read us our rights. They took us into an interrogation room and tell us that they have reason to suspect that drugs are hidden in the apartment and/or being sold out of the apartment. I say no, there isn�t anything there that I am aware of . They tell me to sign a document that gives them permission to search the apartment and if I don�t, they will get a search warrant. I sign, as I have no fear of anything being found. We both get back in the police car in our paper clothes and go back to the apartment. Sister is there, she is 18 years old. They search her purse and find a small amount of rock cocaine, they find another rock somewhere else and a very small amount of powder cocaine under the carpet. They also find a mason jar of unknown pills which they throw in the trash can. They confiscate my friends registered gun. They arrest sister and we all go back to police station. They still have not read us our rights or given us anything to read or sign. After some time, they release all three of us and tell us that we will get something in the mail at a later date. I am evicted with the reason being that the apartment was raided.

Sept 5, 2012 � still nothing in the mail, friend has not gotten his gun back


Asked on 9/05/12, 11:29 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael R. Nack Michael R. Nack, Attorney at Law

There is no way to tell you when exactlyt the charges wil be filed, but they will be filed. I advise people in your situation to hire the best criminal defense attorney they can afford as soon as possible, and definitely before you are arrested and taken into custody. In some cases you might receive a "summons" in the mail,but in many cases the Judge issues a warrant and then the person is arrested. It is much easier to deal with everything before that happens. Usually, if necessary, we can set up a "voluntary surrender" and get whatever bond is set reduced or eliminated so that the person only spends a mininimum amount of time (hours) being processed and then released. Also, under the facts that you give us, it may be possible to defend the charges outright based upon the violation of your Constitutional rights. Please consult with an attorney as soon as you can. I have handled many similar cases in the thirty-four years that I have been practicing law, and you may feel free to contact me.

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Answered on 9/06/12, 4:13 pm


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