Legal Question in Criminal Law in North Carolina

Re: Under suspicion

I see you dealing with a two separate threats here.

You are dealing with the police- the state- on one hand

and your employer- a private party- on the other.

You have all your constitutional protections to

help you deal with the state and relatively few to

protect you against another private party.

You could get a drug screen but that might simply

show you had not used the substances tested; it

could not show whether you stole and/or possessed

the meds. Police might even wonder why you went

to the trouble to screen prior to questioning.

You have a right against questioning by police

unless you have a lawyer present but your employer

will then wonder why you need a lawyer.

Concentrate on denying the larceny of controlled

substance. Make sure you can show that you did not

have access or at least sole access to the meds.

You use the terms probation and deferred prosecution.

If you under a "deferred prosecution " you have

not been convicted of anything. You have entered

an admission and have a period of time as a

continuance to perform certain things like community service

work, drug screens, classes, etc. At the end of the

time, if you are in compliance, the charge is

voluntarily dismissed, "VDed". That is important

when your employer asks why you said you had not been

convicted or why you lied on an employment app.

The deferred prosecution is not a conviction per se.

If you are probation, then you have been convicted

and granted by the grace of the court no jail time.

My guess is that the police will only act against you

if you have sole control of the part of the premises

where the patient had the C/S, the patient was

in reasonable control of mental faculties (i.e.

not delusional or had not made similar accusations

about other missing property or imagined he/she

had items which he/she never had) and no other

person could have taken the goods. If they cannot

make that case, they probably will not issue a

warrant for anybody. Your problem will them be

dealing

with the employer because by now they

will know about your past. At that point, emphasize

no conviction and volunteer drug screens.

Make sure no portion of your def pros forbade your

working around C/S. Show them good attendance.

Show them other patients who had same dope and

never complained. Good luck. I know you feel sort

of trapped between rock and hard place.

Show them calm and courage.