Am I BUSTED?

[purpz]

Okay about 4 months ago the Police came to my house because the nosey old neighbor heard me talking or something and called the police saying I was "Growing Marijuana in my Garage". The Police come I let them search, they find 60 plants about 1ft tall not in flower, and 30 unrooted clones. They left us with 12 (me and my girlfriend have medical cards, 6 each.) They called the power company out to make sure I was legit, The officer which is in charge of marijuana cases in my county told me it seems I was just misinformed and this was a personal grow, thanked me for my cooperation and told me he deals directly with the District Attorney and I shouldnt worry about it, The man from the power company thanked me for "Being Honest" and not stealing power.

I explained how I just moved into this neighborhood and didnt want to do Outdoor so I was going to do this grow and be done for the year. They told me how they busted houses with 3 storys completely full and this wasnt nothing. So they left and I figured that was that, He told me not to worry about it. I was never handcuffed and never went to jail.

Today I get a letter from the D.A. saying I have court and they are charging me with Health & Safety Code 11358 & HS 11359, Which are cultivation and possession with intent to sell.

I had NO processed marijuana, NO scales, NO Bags, NO PROOF.

This seems like just a bullshit case, Should I even bother getting a lawyer that I cant afford right now or just see if they throw it out like they should? Also can those 30 unrooted clones be counted as "plants"? Because that made it look like I had "90 plants".

 

[SmokeyGriff]

Time to get in touch with NORML. Good luck with everything.

 

[purpz]

Time to get in touch with NORML. Good luck with everything.

Thanks for the reply, can you explain please? You mean just email the organization and tell them my story, use the legal referrals, or... ?


Thanks

 

[Sir_Nugget]

what is the max punishment.. obviously the da is trying to convict you or someone is... looks like ur guna have to fight sumthing.. better get a lawyer.

 

[konstantgrdnr]

Get a lawyer if you are in a State with Medical Licenses and have friends that have them, then i would have that as a reason, you were just growing for all your friends who designated you as their grower.No selling involved. Norml has a website that has every states laws regarding cannabis and a list of Lawyers who specialize in such cases. avoid the phone book lawyers or people not familiar with that area of the Law.


Good Luck

 

[79towncar]

You basically just admitted everything and waved all your right... You don't have a shot in hell at trial.. Of coarse the cops are gonna act cool and say they won't charge you... But come on man what were you thinking?? That's like them telling you "O we won't charge you for that dead body down there, but are you sure it was self defence?" Your card don't mean shit really... Weed is still illegal.. So treat it like it is.. Yea you might be able to get off because you have a medical, but the cop is going to say he witnessed more then you need for personal use and since you admitted to that there goes the proof of intent to distribute and posession.. Never ever give consent to a search.. And always have an attorney on retainer.. Bllshit charges?? I always hear that phrase thrown around "O they are bullshit charges", that's like saying "O that's a bullshit gunshot wound." Them charges can still hurt you and cost you money.. Is that bullshit?? You said they have no proof?? Cuz police witnessed you growing 60 plants and you admitted it to them...

I'm not getting on your case but this fog everybody is in becuase they got these medical cards makes me nuts.. Does that medical card magically keep you out of jail? Is that looked at by majority of people including a potential jury as a legitamate prescription?? No! It's not.. You have to get an attorney.. See what he can do but my educated guess is you are going to end up eating a plea, sry cuz.. Let us all know how it goes..

If you can't afford an attorney you can't afford to grow.. The number one thing you should be conserned about is staying out of trouble, not smoking weed.. An attorney is essential in my mind to anybody who has any involvement with things that are illegal. Or even things that are on the fringes of legal, like prostitution in Nevadea, gambling, check cashing places, marijuana dispencearys things along those lines.. I really really hope you prove me wrong and make me eat my words... I don't want to see anybody in trouble for some weed..

 

[boxmunch9]

go to court plead not guilty, get a public defender. The public defender will work to plea it out and you'll most likely have to pay a fine plus probation, but who the fuck knows this DA might want to run wild on you. You shouldnt have let them in, basically rule #1 dude, If they dont show up with a warrant it means they are hoping you let them in, if you didnt they would have left and you could have cleaned your shit up, make them do the work to get a warrant. and dont say shit is rule #2. Whats interesting is they made no arrest at the time, which makes me wonder how well the police logged that evidence. 48 1ft plants in the form of a picture doesnt really make juries gasp. . hopefully lesson learned for you and anyone reading this

 

[purpz]

You basically just admitted everything and waved all your right... You don't have a shot in hell at trial.. Of coarse the cops are gonna act cool and say they won't charge you... But come on man what were you thinking?? That's like them telling you "O we won't charge you for that dead body down there, but are you sure it was self defence?" Your card don't mean shit really... Weed is still illegal.. So treat it like it is.. Yea you might be able to get off because you have a medical, but the cop is going to say he witnessed more then you need for personal use and since you admitted to that there goes the proof of intent to distribute and posession.. Never ever give consent to a search.. And always have an attorney on retainer.. Bllshit charges?? I always hear that phrase thrown around "O they are bullshit charges", that's like saying "O that's a bullshit gunshot wound." Them charges can still hurt you and cost you money.. Is that bullshit?? You said they have no proof?? Cuz police witnessed you growing 60 plants and you admitted it to them...

I'm not getting on your case but this fog everybody is in becuase they got these medical cards makes me nuts.. Does that medical card magically keep you out of jail? Is that looked at by majority of people including a potential jury as a legitamate prescription?? No! It's not.. You have to get an attorney.. See what he can do but my educated guess is you are going to end up eating a plea, sry cuz.. Let us all know how it goes..

If you can't afford an attorney you can't afford to grow.. The number one thing you should be conserned about is staying out of trouble, not smoking weed.. An attorney is essential in my mind to anybody who has any involvement with things that are illegal. Or even things that are on the fringes of legal, like prostitution in Nevadea, gambling, check cashing places, marijuana dispencearys things along those lines.. I really really hope you prove me wrong and make me eat my words... I don't want to see anybody in trouble for some weed..

Wow your comparing growing medicine to shooting someone? Where are you from??? I'm in northern california probably half the people on the jury grow weed or know someone that does. It is so common here you drive around in september and the whole town stinks, there are people out there as we speak killing and robbing people in my town, I read in the paper 2 different shooting incidents YESTERDAY, so YES I call this bullshit. Recently in the paper I read that they wont be prosecuting misdemeators because our jail is so packed. I know people that've been busted with way more than what they caught me with and got off free no problems. The numbers shouldnt mean shit I had 60 little plants, I could have had 6 outdoor trees and got 10x more weight. The only reason I'm not in jail right now is because I let them search, If I denied they would have got a warrant and I would be in JAIL right now. I dont think you realize that the cops werent trying to "act cool" there are tons of houses out here completely packed wall to wall with marijuana and people stealing power. I am a medical patient that doesnt want to spend 300$ a oz on medicine, Not a criminal.

1 house = intent to sell, 1 room = personal use.

 

[FreedomFGHTR]

Dude don't listen to those people. Get a real lawyer. Keep putting this case off until the State Supreme Court (if you are in California) rules on people v kelly and people v phompkhady. Also if they were going by the SB 420 limits they should have left you with 24 plants not 12, You have ammunition against them and can sue. If you go by government stats of plants yeilding a pound each and each pound being worth $5000 the cops could end up paying you $60K.

 

[purpz]

go to court plead not guilty, get a public defender. The public defender will work to plea it out and you'll most likely have to pay a fine plus probation, but who the fuck knows this DA might want to run wild on you. You shouldnt have let them in, basically rule #1 dude, If they dont show up with a warrant it means they are hoping you let them in, if you didnt they would have left and you could have cleaned your shit up, make them do the work to get a warrant. and dont say shit is rule #2. Whats interesting is they made no arrest at the time, which makes me wonder how well the police logged that evidence. 48 1ft plants in the form of a picture doesnt really make juries gasp. . hopefully lesson learned for you and anyone reading this

I left them sitting outside for an half hour atleast, they were in process of getting one before I even answered the door, Like I said this was 4 months of hearing nothing. If they had to get a warrant I would have been arrested right there and charged to the max, I doubt this will even make it to trial. I know how they play the games here they give me a felony and a misdeameanor so I'll take the misd on deal and get 3yr probation, If you take it to trial it'll get thrown out before I even get there. I'm not in some small town where they have nothing else to do, This town is infested with gangs with people actively shooting and robbing people. I think they have more things to worry about

 

[Fear]

Bottom line in California you grow over the limit you are looking at a FELONY cultivation charge. Hey what up boxmunch. If you are over 28.5g your limit it is a felony. Just like if you get caught with processed thc. It's a felony for concentrateed thc in any form too. Get a Real lawyer if you can afford it. You do the crime be ready to do the time homie! 6 months in the pokie aint so bad.
They left you with 12 so they have the rest as evidence to along with photos i'm sure. I have been in a detectives interagation room. 2 det. and a open tape recorder. As they tried to get info from me I blew em off said I got the shit from juan down in lil tijuana, large mex. pop were I live. After denying all of there allegations a month later I had a warrant for 30k for my arrest. Ended up gettting 6 months anyways. They lied and said I admitted everything that I dealt in kilos of another substance (long time ago) guns, etc.. I think it cost me $7000 to get 6 months instead of 5 years! Good Luck man.

Oh and I got robbed and someone else got caught with the safe and snitched me out when they got caught trying to get into it on the side of the road. Cost me alot of time and money cause of my stupidity.

My county is 6 flowering and 6 vegging too! Fuck them!

 

[purpz]

Dude don't listen to those people. Get a real lawyer. Keep putting this case off until the State Supreme Court (if you are in California) rules on people v kelly and people v phompkhady. Also if they were going by the SB 420 limits they should have left you with 24 plants not 12, You have ammunition against them and can sue. If you go by government stats of plants yeilding a pound each and each pound being worth $5000 the cops could end up paying you $60K.

Finally someone that knows what there talking about (unlike the guy up there that compared growing to shooting someone). Thanks for the advice bro. Only thing the plants were in 12/12 but like 2 days in, so they were in transition, Is that count as mature or immature? Also would unrooted clones count as "plants"? I have a lawyer I know could get me off, but I kinda wanna go see what there talkin about before I spend $5k on a lawyer, I think it has possibility of being thrown out (read ^ what I said about my towns jail being full/ not prosecuting misdemeanors) But if I get a lawyer I know hes gonna have to play his game to make it look like hes earning his money before it gets dropped. Do you think it'd be a bad idea to goto first court day and see what there gonna even try to do before I get a lawyer?

 

[GrüneErd]

you shouldn't have let them search or even talked to them IMO...
i wish you the best of luck, and a word of advice: do what you can to avoid a court-appointed attorney. i don't know why ANYONE would recommend that, it's the number 1 way to have a shitty outcome.

 

[FreedomFGHTR]

Thanks for the advice bro. Only thing the plants were in 12/12 but like 2 days in, so they were in transition, Is that count as mature or immature?

Can they prove they were in 12/12? They probably still weren't showing sex which iirc is the legal definition of mature for purposes of medical plant counts. A court qualified expert witness could be useful.

Also would unrooted clones count as "plants"?

Use the search function here on IC the subject has been covered in depth. In your case it will depend upon if you have a lawyer and expert witness or not.

I have a lawyer I know could get me off, but I kinda wanna go see what there talkin about before I spend $5k on a lawyer, I think it has possibility of being thrown out (read ^ what I said about my towns jail being full/ not prosecuting misdemeanors) But if I get a lawyer I know hes gonna have to play his game to make it look like hes earning his money before it gets dropped. Do you think it'd be a bad idea to goto first court day and see what there gonna even try to do before I get a lawyer?

It would be better to go into your first court date with your lawyer. Have your lawyer file a civil case against the county before your court date. Let the county know that you aren't to be fucked with.

 

[Fear]

I was never handcuffed or arrested either I volunteered to come in and talk didn't have a lawyer and got screwed! Drop a case these counties are broke and hard up for a easy bust. Be careful and cover your ass with the lawyer. It's not what a laywer does it's who they know!

 

[Fear]

I know a dude in humboldt they took his 100 outdoor medical grow cause of a rusty 22 that was dropped in the field. Told him we spent $160,0000 on this raid we are gonna take it. He is suing for 1,000,000 now.

 

[boxmunch9]

well it sounds like you already got it figured out then. Im wondering a few things thou, If they were in the process of getting a warrant, why didnt you let them? what did you do while they were waiting for half and hour? I would have been downstairs ripping out all my extra plants. I also wonder why you think if they had to get a warrant they would have charged you to the max? which they did anyways? The reality is they might not have been able to get a warrant(which is probably why they didnt have one when they showed up to your house) and you wouldnt have any 'bullshit" potental felony charges to deal with. They def have bigger things to worry about, but they made time to charge you and they didnt do it just for the fun of it.

 

[purpz]

well it sounds like you already got it figured out then. Im wondering a few things thou, If they were in the process of getting a warrant, why didnt you let them? what did you do while they were waiting for half and hour? I would have been downstairs ripping out all my extra plants. I also wonder why you think if they had to get a warrant they would have charged you to the max? which they did anyways? The reality is they might not have been able to get a warrant(which is probably why they didnt have one when they showed up to your house) and you wouldnt have any 'bullshit" potental felony charges to deal with. They def have bigger things to worry about, but they made time to charge you and they didnt do it just for the fun of it.

Well I was hoping they were here for something else, I really had no idea how they would have known. Thats why I didnt rip out the extras like I shoulda, its all too late now, I know someone that let them come in and had way more clones and tons of large plants in his backyard, they left him with 12 large trees, and all the clones (like 2 trays). Never came back, never got any charges.

So I was hoping for the best. I really didnt even realize I had that many and they were gonna count every unrooted clone as a plant. My fault. I learned my lesson and stay in the legal limit now. I know i'm not going to get a felony I just really dont want any kind of drug charge or to be back on probation, I'm not new to the law system or jail, but I'm getting too old for this shit and dont want anymore charges, Its hard enough trying to get through life with my past charges (nothing mj or drug related), I dont want that on my record also. I'm not trying to play this situation down and make it sound like "bullshit" because I know its not, I'm just really stressed out right now as you can imagine.

Thanks for all of your advice I appreciate it.

 

[boxmunch9]

Fear whats up dude, I kinda like IC maf

Purp, I feel you, lesson learned, start with a public defender, they are private lawyers that get placed on cases, they can be great lawyers you get for free. I think your right, prisions up here(northern cali) are to the max jammed. You will not get a felony , if the DA is playing hardball then you can drop the public defender and get a private, but alot of times the lawyer will know the DA and if you explain to him your case, he will explain it to the DA likely before your first court date have a plea ready for you, courts over in 15seconds. good luck dude

 

[SmokeyGriff]

Look at it this way, you can call a lot of law offices tell them your spiel and get some free advice about what direction you should go. Take it all with a grain of salt because they're trying to sell themselves as well but since they're used to dealing with a lot of cases such as yours they'll have a good feel for what is typical in your situation. Remember cops can be cool as hell, but you're no longer dealing with them, you're dealing with the DA's office and the agendas can be very different. While your cooperation with the police will be noted and could very well save your ass, it does you little good if a judge has a hard-on for growers. All good reasons to get a lawyer. The problem with public defenders in my experience is you talk to them for the first time right before your trial and then only for a few minutes. They just want to get rid of you, and want to put as little leg work as possible into the case, like checking out evidence.

I think another twist to all this is how extensive is your criminal background? If we're talking violent felonies or multiples you should take a very close look at multiple strike laws in your state. DA's and judges react very different depending on your history, so look into it. The bottom line is once you have a felony on your sheet it can do all sorts of harm. Why even roll the dice? Overcrowding in prisons has never stopped them from executing the law before so do not get in that mind frame where you leave it to chance and hope.