An unforeseen emergency recently resulted in the arrest of a 27-year-old man after sheriff’s deputies found him with a loaded handgun and a substance that appeared to be cocaine in Maryland. Law enforcement personnel arrived on the scene to help a Connecticut resident when the front end of his truck became partially submerged underwater. As the truck was being removed from the ditch, officers noticed a weapon holster and later found a loaded handgun and the substance resembling cocaine. He was arrested on weapon and drug charges.
In an unrelated arrest, a 35-year-old man and 33 year-old woman from Virginia both pled guilty recently to possession of marijuana and received $250 fines and probation sentences of two years. After they were stopped for speeding, the officer could smell marijuana emitting from their vehicle. During a subsequent search, police found two baggies containing marijuana and took them into custody.
Drug arrests and convictions sometimes result in a variety of penalties, including fines, community service, substance abuse treatment, drug testing, probation and time in custody. Some of these consequences are regulated by mandatory sentencing laws, which can be excessively harsh in some cases.
A criminal defense attorney might be able to help someone accused of a crime avoid the most serious of sanctions. Attorneys try to look into a client’s need for drug counseling to determine if that caused the person to commit the crimes in the first place. In some cases, the prosecution and the judge may agree that a defendant should attend treatment instead of receiving more serious sanctions.
Source: WISTV, “Gun, Cocaine Arrest,” March 15, 2013