Possessing A Controlled Substance While Armed – California Health & Safety Code 11370.1
This is one of the pet peeves for prosecutors and judges throughout Los Angeles county related to narcotics, and that is, individuals who are also possessing a gun at the same time. The whole point of trying to crack down on narcotics has to do with the fact that not only does it destroy people's lives because they get addicted to narcotics, but it also usually will involve some sort of violent behavior.
So, if somebody is armed with a gone and are usually using narcotics or they have the gun to protect the narcotics, from a prosecutor/law enforcement standpoint, this is a situation that is ripe for violent behavior and also will put the person in prison typically if the prosecutors believe they are dangerous enough and that they were possessing the gun in order to protect the drugs.
Another big thing that I have defended many times is individuals who are trying to rob drug dealers because they figure that the drug dealer will not call the police because they would have to explain that they were selling drugs when they were robbed of their drugs or money or both.
So, anytime you're talking about guns and drug possession that makes the situation much more serious. There's situations where just drugs are involved and there's situations where just guns are involved. But, when you put the two together in Los Angeles county, typically the prosecutors are trying to put the person in prison.
Criminal Lawyer Negotiation With Prosecutor
So, obviously you're going to want to get an attorney who has handled these type of cases before and had success and who knows how to differentiate your particular situation with that of somebody who prosecutors and judges perceive as more dangerous.
What I typically do is have you come into my office and we go over the whole scenario. I ask you to be honest and give me a straightforward account of what happened versus trying to place some sort of a spin on the situation so that I can really evaluate and figure out what the best moves there are to make so that we can end up with the best result in your particular case.
We also need to see how the police have written up the police report because a lot of times they make things sound worse than they are. They twist facts or they add certain facts that are really not applicable to your particular circumstance.
So, once I have all of your information related to the drugs/gun case, the next thing I'm looking for is what your criminal record is and I'm also looking to see what the police report has to say about the situation and a lot of times I will give the police report to the client so they can review it as well.
Then we can really get down to the nitty-gritty as to what exactly happened — what the real truth is and what we can do to get this thing resolved in the best possible way for you.
Once all of the facts are laid out, then we can really start to break things down and decide what the bet moves are that puts you in the best possible position related to your case. Sometimes we can get other charges that have a lesser impact to you than a possession of drugs with a gun — that we can get either reduced or dismissed eventually once you successfully complete probation.
