Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse Trouble understanding charges

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Veckthorn

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(Names changed to protect integrity of due process)

"Melody" was recently charged with Conspiracy to Deliver Heroin (WV Code 61-10-31(1)) and Delivery of Heroin (60A-4-401(a)). The charges stem from the following incident (names changed):

Melody's sister ("Amanda") and her friend ("Kayla") stopped by Melodie's house after having consumed heroin. Amanda told her about it, and she asked if they could get any more so she could have some. Kayla said she knows a girl that can get it, but she charges 1 bag (dose of heroin) for getting it. She said that's fine, and gave Kayla her money. Melody, Amanda and Kayla then got in Amanda's car (with Melody in the driver's seat), and they drove to the girl's house. There was no room in the car, so the girl told Kayla that she would call the drug dealer and arrange a meeting for her if Kayla would bring her back a bag. Kayla agreed, after explaining that the heroin would be purchased with money of which they had all three pitched in, and the girl called. The three went to pick up the heroin, then went back to the girl's house. Kayla handed the girl the bag of heroin, then the three returned to my Melody's house, where they consumed the rest.

Under the terms of the code, the charge of Delivery of Heroin is the unlawful sale, distribution, delivery, etc., of the drug. How does Melody fit into this category? Because she was driving the car that was used in the commission of the delivery?

I want to say I understand that she's being charged with Conspiracy to Deliver Heroin because the code simply states that it is "unlawful for two or more people to conspire in any act against the State", which she was present during the commission of a felony, but the code is so vague that obviously it leaves a lot for the imagination. Would that be why this charge was filed?

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
I believe the delivery in this case is when the girls obtained the heroin from the dealer and then delivered the one bag to the other girl. Melody had full knowledge of what was going on and was a co-conspirator... as were Amanda, Kayla, and the girl that received the one bag.

I am curious though, given this scenario... how did they get caught and come to be charged with this?
 
(Names changed to protect integrity of due process)

"Melody" was recently charged with Conspiracy to Deliver Heroin (WV Code 61-10-31(1)) and Delivery of Heroin (60A-4-401(a)). The charges stem from the following incident (names changed):

Melody's sister ("Amanda") and her friend ("Kayla") stopped by Melodie's house after having consumed heroin. Amanda told her about it, and she asked if they could get any more so she could have some. Kayla said she knows a girl that can get it, but she charges 1 bag (dose of heroin) for getting it. She said that's fine, and gave Kayla her money. Melody, Amanda and Kayla then got in Amanda's car (with Melody in the driver's seat), and they drove to the girl's house. There was no room in the car, so the girl told Kayla that she would call the drug dealer and arrange a meeting for her if Kayla would bring her back a bag. Kayla agreed, after explaining that the heroin would be purchased with money of which they had all three pitched in, and the girl called. The three went to pick up the heroin, then went back to the girl's house. Kayla handed the girl the bag of heroin, then the three returned to my Melody's house, where they consumed the rest.

Under the terms of the code, the charge of Delivery of Heroin is the unlawful sale, distribution, delivery, etc., of the drug. How does Melody fit into this category? Because she was driving the car that was used in the commission of the delivery?

I want to say I understand that she's being charged with Conspiracy to Deliver Heroin because the code simply states that it is "unlawful for two or more people to conspire in any act against the State", which she was present during the commission of a felony, but the code is so vague that obviously it leaves a lot for the imagination. Would that be why this charge was filed?

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

I am surprised that you don't get it.
You wrote a thorough analysis.
Here is the twist:
Melody, Amanda and Kayla then got in Amanda's car (with Melody in the driver's seat), and they drove to the girl's house. There was no room in the car, so the girl told Kayla that she would call the drug dealer and arrange a meeting for her if Kayla would bring her back a bag. Kayla agreed, after explaining that the heroin would be purchased with money of which they had all three pitched in, and the girl called.

Melody connected them to the girl that is a snitch.
Amanda & Kayla were okay after their first purchase.
It wasn't until Melody became involved that things went awry.
The three rode together, then suddenly all three could not fit in the car.
The three little dummies were okay until they delivered the bindle to the unnamed snitch.

By the way, the conspiracy charge will probably stick.
I could defeat the delivery charge in this case.
 
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No... there is a 4th girl.
Melody, Amanda and Kayla all rode together in the car to pick up the 4th girl who had the connection. There was no room for the 4th girl, so she arranged for the other 3 to meet the dealer and return to give her the one bag.
All four girls conspired on the purchase. The three in the car delivered to the 4th who waited behind. Both charges are pretty solid, but will certainly be reduced through pleas.

I still wonder how they got caught though... those details could effect the outcome. At what point were they arrested?
 
This is an actual event, not a hypothetical scenario. The 4th (unnamed) girl (who called the drug dealer) was working as a confidential informant for the State. Once Kayla handed her the bag of dope, she handed it over to the State for testing. I'm wondering why Melody was charged with Delivery instead of Kayla. Melody did chip in money to buy the dope, but she consumed what she paid for. If anything, I would think she should have been charged with (and mind you, I don't know WV Code articles in and out) Conspiracy and Possession.
 
I also wanted to ask... if Melody decided she wanted to "roll" on a few drug dealers in her area and a few surrounding cities in exchange for reduced charges/sentencing, what steps should she take? Does she have to wait until her arraignment to speak with her court appointed attorney, or is there a way of contacting them before the arraignment to get things in order quicker? As of right now, she's only filled out the financial affidavit. In my personal experience, I've had to wait until 5 minutes before my case was called to speak with my attorney, who simply offered me a deal and asked me to sign the plea.
 
There may be some kind of narcotics task force in your area. you could call your police and ask them. Then you could tell the narcotics officer what you want to do, and if they're excited about it, they'll probably agree to talk with the prosecutor about reducing your sentence. . .
 
Just remember that you can't deal with the police about reducing your sentence, that has to be done by the prosecutor. . .
 
All three girls should have the same charges since they acted together- but Melody probably got it because she was the driver. The charges can still change in court.

At what point was she arrested? At what point did the police become involved? If this is all based on the informant's say so then the entire case should crumble. If they consumed the entire amount of heroin then were contacted afterward, then they should have been arrested for being under the influence.

The informant could have gotten the drugs from Santa for all we know... were the police involved in this the entire time? If so, the girls should have been arrested as soon as the purchase was made, or at least when the delivery was made. The fact that they left and used the drugs kind of puts them in the clear for the other charges.

There is a lot of information missing that explains how this all went down.

If you don't have a lawyer already you should certainly get one. The public defender won't do much to help in this case.

No, Melody should not "roll" on anyone. She should keep her yapper shut. She should also stop using drugs so that she and her friends don't get tied up in this sort of mess.
 
The incident occured in late August, 2009. Melody and Amanda were arrested in January, 2010. Here's the actual 'summary' that's listed on Melody's Criminal Complaint (obviously names are fictitious, dates and places are concealed):

"On August xx, 2009 a confidential informant made an arrangement to purchase Heroin from a source. The informant was fitted with a body worn transmitter, recorder, and overhear device. The informant was given pre-recorded task force funds and brought to an area of xxx, xxx County, West Virginia. The informant met with the source of supply and was told that Kayla Kringle was getting the Heroin for them. Agents of the task force observed Kayla Kringle arrive in a vehicle along with Amanda Wright, Melody Wright, and others. The informant attempted to get in the car with Kringle, but was refused because the car was full. Kringle and everyone in the car exclaimed that they had all put their money in to purchase the Heroin together. The females left in the car, leaving the informant behind. Soon after, the females returned and the Heroin was given to the informant. It was field tested as positive and sent to the WV State Police Crime Lab."

Now, if this sounds slightly different from the scenario described in the original post, it's because this is the story the informant gave to the police. I happen to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the original post is how it actually happened. I'm not one of the three girls, but I'm a party to the story. I left myself out because my presence is insignificant to the matter, as my only role in the situation was helping them consume the heroin.

Anyways, they weren't arrested until January because this area does an annual "clean sweep"; that is to say, they file secret indictments all year long, and wait until January to initiate the arrests, usually all within a two to three day time period. My assumption is that the police were looking to get an indictment on the source himself, but since the informant was left behind, they went ahead and charged the conspirators.

And on a side note, quitting heroin isn't easy. It's not hard to quit because it's so addictive. It's addictive because it's so hard to quit. The withdrawal from opiates is by far the most painful and uncomfortable thing you could ever imagine. You can't look down on drug users because they can't quit, unless they simply don't want to quit, or are causing harm to others in the commission of their drug use. "Melody" and I have been trying to quit using opiates for the better part of three years, which is 75% of the time we've been using them. It's just not easy.
 
At the expense of being sarcastic: Heroin BAAAAAD, Distributing Heroin VERY BAAAAD.

Don't do it.

:)
 
I, for one, consider alcohol a much more dangerous drug. Not only to one's self, but to anyone and everyone around a drunken individual. Just my opinion. Everyone thinks that heroin is this sadistic drug that makes a person go into this crazed frenzy robbing liquor stores, stabbing little kids, stealing everything out of their loved ones' homes so they can sell it to "get a fix". Let me be the first to say that people like that give drug addicts a bad name, and would probably be doing things of that nature even if they weren't addicted to drugs. As a heroin user myself, I can honestly say that a heroin "high" isn't what everyone thinks. A heroin high doesn't alter a person's perception, or make them act any differently, like practically all other drugs do. You won't see a heroin user inject themselves, then run outside yelling that god is telling them to kill people. The effects of heroin are solely of a euphoric, anesthetic nature, and do nothing more than make an individual experiencing it's effects want to lay down, relax, and enjoy the feeling for the whole 30 seconds to 5 minutes that it's having it's effect. You would be surprised how widely accepted heroin would be in an alternate reality where the government controlled and distributed the product (take a look at the tobacco and alcohol industries regulated under federal agencies and their policies). Anyways... You may just believe I'm the 1 in 1,000,000 heroin user that isn't stereotypical, or at least claims he's not, but once you've lived this lifestyle, you know quite distinctly how and why heroin users become stereotypical of the junkies you see on tv. I could go on for pages and pages about how hypocritical it is for non-heroin-users to point their fingers, but I'll leave it at that. After all, we all need someone to blame for the problems faced by society and pressured on our children so we can turn a blind eye to our own imperfections.

And besides, I thought this was a forum for legal advice, not lifestyle advice. Can we try to stay on topic instead of degrading what we don't understand?
 
I, for one, consider alcohol a much more dangerous drug. Not only to one's self, but to anyone and everyone around a drunken individual. Just my opinion. Everyone thinks that heroin is this sadistic drug that makes a person go into this crazed frenzy robbing liquor stores, stabbing little kids, stealing everything out of their loved ones' homes so they can sell it to "get a fix". Let me be the first to say that people like that give drug addicts a bad name, and would probably be doing things of that nature even if they weren't addicted to drugs. As a heroin user myself, I can honestly say that a heroin "high" isn't what everyone thinks. A heroin high doesn't alter a person's perception, or make them act any differently, like practically all other drugs do. You won't see a heroin user inject themselves, then run outside yelling that god is telling them to kill people. The effects of heroin are solely of a euphoric, anesthetic nature, and do nothing more than make an individual experiencing it's effects want to lay down, relax, and enjoy the feeling for the whole 30 seconds to 5 minutes that it's having it's effect. You would be surprised how widely accepted heroin would be in an alternate reality where the government controlled and distributed the product (take a look at the tobacco and alcohol industries regulated under federal agencies and their policies). Anyways... You may just believe I'm the 1 in 1,000,000 heroin user that isn't stereotypical, or at least claims he's not, but once you've lived this lifestyle, you know quite distinctly how and why heroin users become stereotypical of the junkies you see on tv. I could go on for pages and pages about how hypocritical it is for non-heroin-users to point their fingers, but I'll leave it at that. After all, we all need someone to blame for the problems faced by society and pressured on our children so we can turn a blind eye to our own imperfections.

And besides, I thought this was a forum for legal advice, not lifestyle advice. Can we try to stay on topic instead of degrading what we don't understand?

From a completely objective point of you, your credibility just went down faster than the Titanic and with markedly less grace.

Seriously.

(And before you even go there - yes, some of us know the deal. So to speak)
 
I'm not sure my credibility is a factor here. I'm not a party to the above-referenced matter, which is the topic of this thread. So, unless you have something about the thread to injerject, Proserpina, the demand for your unwanted presence on this page went down even faster. I was simply asking that any comments unrelated to the resolution of the original issue be kept to one's self. People come to this website to post problems and receive advice about said problems, not to be degraded or have their ways of life evaluated.
 
My friend, you are full of it. To get free advice, opinions come with it. One of my dear friends holds a Doctorate in Applied Mathematics specializing in the theory of chaos from an ivy league school. His wife also is a PHd. They started using heroine and both were in prison within one year for robbing a drug store to support their habit.

Save your opinion about how alcohol is better than the scourge of heroine for someone who doesn't know any better.

You want legal advice? Heroine is VERY illegal for extremely good reasons whether you agree with those reasons or not is not relevant. Stay away from heroine entirely or suffer the consequences. There is your legal advice.
 
Heroin users are very good at overdosing too.... and never waking up.
A couple months ago I had to do a death report on a guy that OD'd... I had to go notify his father in the middle of the night... found out that the father had already lost his two other sons the same way and now all his children are gone.
Sad stuff... heroin users bring a lot of pain on their families. Unfortunately that pain doesn't really hit until it's too late to intervene.
 
people like that give drug addicts a bad name,

Drug addicts a bad name. . . as opposed to what, the lofty high on echelon they deserve?

Not to be mean, but I got a good laugh out of that quote. Thanks.
 
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