Legal Question in Criminal Law in Oklahoma

Prior conviction & deferrment of a possession of marijuana with intent charge

In 1994 a friend of mine was charged and convicted of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He received a 3 year deferred sentence. Last week, while broke down on the highway, a trooper searched his vehicle after receiving an anonymous phone call from a passerby claiming they saw my friend discharge a firearm from the road. While my friend did have a pellet gun in the vehicle, he had to remove all of his belongings from his car to remove the jack & spare tire, & merely had the pellet gun lying on top of his other luggage. A small amount of marijuana was found in the ashtray, and he was charged with possession. The D.A. has now filed this as a felony charge, claiming that the 1994 conviction and this new charge constitute a second offense and are seeking a two year prison sentence & 10,000 fine. Isn't this double jeopardy? Can the 1994 charge still be used against him at this late date?


Asked on 8/24/00, 10:34 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bahman Eslamboly Eslamboly & Barlavi

Re: Prior conviction & deferrment of a possession of marijuana with intent charg

This repsonse is a reposting of a reply previously given by an OK attorney.

No, it isn't double jeopardy. A prior plea of guilty may be used to enhance a drug charge for any offense that was prosecuted under Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes (drug offenses) provided that the second offense that is alleged by the prosecutor occurred within 10 years of the first plea of guilty.

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Answered on 10/07/00, 10:15 pm


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