Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse Charged with Furnishing alcohol, MIP, MIC, possession of Marijuana & paraphernalia

[Zikro]

Specifically charged with:

Public Disturbance Noises; Liquor Law Violations Including Furnishing Alcholol to a Minor, Minor in Consumption of Alcohol, and Minor in Possession of Alcohol; Possession of Marijuana; Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Details...

I'm not a US citizen. I am 18 years olds. I was hosting a birthday party for my friend at my house and cops came. After a long circular talk outside (maybe about an hour) I finally flat out stated that I would not let them search my house. They then proceeded to arrest me and get a search warrant. With the warrant they evacuated my guests and searched my house while I was in placed in jail or a holding cell or something.

Most of the alcohol in the house was unopened/unused (they poured it all out). None of it was mine, the guests had brought all of it. The drug paraphernalia is not mine, I don't own any. They did find a tiny amount of marijuana in my backpack inside my closet upstairs in my room. It was enough for maybe a bowl. But I'm charged with possession of marijuana for that.

I'm waiting on a court date in the mail I think. What do I do now? Do I get a lawyer and if so where from?

My goal is to resolve this myself and not have my parents find out... if that is possible at all.

Mind you the officers did not let me reenter my house after I had stepped out to initially speak with them. They did not read me my rights until way later (right before they arrested me about an hour or so later) and they did not charge me with anything, they simply arrested me after I refused to answer a question.

When my guests left most were sober and the highest blown on the breathalyzer was 0.0404. The standard limit is 0.08. Also, the cops gave me props for having a very clean party. (that might help me in court somehow).

Help please!

 

[army judge]

Specifically charged with:

Public Disturbance Noises; Liquor Law Violations Including Furnishing Alcholol to a Minor, Minor in Consumption of Alcohol, and Minor in Possession of Alcohol; Possession of Marijuana; Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Details...

I'm not a US citizen. I am 18 years olds. I was hosting a birthday party for my friend at my house and cops came. After a long circular talk outside (maybe about an hour) I finally flat out stated that I would not let them search my house. They then proceeded to arrest me and get a search warrant. With the warrant they evacuated my guests and searched my house while I was in placed in jail or a holding cell or something.

Most of the alcohol in the house was unopened/unused (they poured it all out). None of it was mine, the guests had brought all of it. The drug paraphernalia is not mine, I don't own any. They did find a tiny amount of marijuana in my backpack inside my closet upstairs in my room. It was enough for maybe a bowl. But I'm charged with possession of marijuana for that.

I'm waiting on a court date in the mail I think. What do I do now? Do I get a lawyer and if so where from?

My goal is to resolve this myself and not have my parents find out... if that is possible at all.

Mind you the officers did not let me reenter my house after I had stepped out to initially speak with them. They did not read me my rights until way later (right before they arrested me about an hour or so later) and they did not charge me with anything, they simply arrested me after I refused to answer a question.

When my guests left most were sober and the highest blown on the breathalyzer was 0.0404. The standard limit is 0.08. Also, the cops gave me props for having a very clean party. (that might help me in court somehow).

Help please!

The police did nothing wrong from what you report.
But, I don't have all the facts.
You need a lawyer.
You can hire your own.
If you can't afford one, ask the court to appoint one for you.

Until you see a lawyer, just STOP talking about this.

Talking won't help. only a lawyer can (possibly).

None of that crap you think is important, is.

The final thing is, you could be sued by the parents of those minors.
That is why you need to shut up.
And, because you are in our country as a guest.
You could ultimately be deported.
That is why you need to tell your parents.
If you're deported, they're gonna find out anyway.

If this goes away, stop having liquor around.
You must be 21 in our country to have liquor.
Just don't have it around you.
Drugs and drug crap will also get you in deep trouble.
Just stop having that crap around.
You can be deported.

Get a lawyer!

 

[mightymoose]

...They then proceeded to arrest me and get a search warrant. With the warrant they evacuated my guests and searched my house while I was in placed in jail or a holding cell or something.

Cops 1
You 0

I will assume that at this point they either believed you to be under the influence or they could smell alcohol on you. Due to your age ANY amount of alcohol is a violation. The 0.08 standard is for evaluating drivers. Typically, for minors 0.01 is enough for a citation.

Most of the alcohol in the house was unopened/unused (they poured it all out). None of it was mine, the guests had brought all of it. The drug paraphernalia is not mine, I don't own any. They did find a tiny amount of marijuana in my backpack inside my closet upstairs in my room. It was enough for maybe a bowl. But I'm charged with possession of marijuana for that.

Cops 2
You -1

If your guests did not claim the alcohol and the drugs, then they are yours. It is your residence, and you are responsible for everything within. They had a warrant to search, so it sounds like they did everything nice and clean. I am willing to bed that they were offering an easier way out of this to begin with, but they were challenged and took you up on it.

My goal is to resolve this myself and not have my parents find out... if that is possible at all.

Your parents might find out, and it might be best if they do find out because they could then help you through this. You are 18 though, and as an adult nobody will be seeking out your parents to snitch on you. It is quite possible they will find out though... so you may as well let them hear it from you. You aren't going to be able to stand guard over that mailbox forever.

Mind you the officers did not let me reenter my house after I had stepped out to initially speak with them.

At this point, if they were restricting your movement, it may be possible that they needed to advise you of your right to remain silent, etc. If you speak with an attorney and make an issue of this then you might find some wiggle room. It could be that the information that they used to obtain the warrant to search was no good since they didn't advise you of your rights after holding you in custody. This would only be an issue if they were dependent upon information you gave AFTER this point. In short, if you were not free to go, and they continued questioning you, then depending upon the circumstances you might have an escape route.

Cops 2
You 0

They did not read me my rights until way later (right before they arrested me about an hour or so later) and they did not charge me with anything, they simply arrested me after I refused to answer a question.

There are some general rules about when you must be advised of your rights, and in short they are:
1. You are in custody (not free to leave)
2. They suspect you of having committed an offense and are questioning you about it.

As I was just saying- if you tried to go back in the house and they prevented you from doing so against your will, then I think you meet the custody requirement at that point. The conversation that followed is something an attorney will have to sort out.
I don't believe you were arrested for refusing to answer a question. You were arrested because you showed obvious signs of intoxication, and at your age ANY amount of consumption is a violation.

I believe that with some legal assistance you can make a lot of this go away. Depending upon the information the police relied on to obtain the warrant, a good attorney might get that warrant tossed, and in the end you will be left with just the one charge of minor in consumption.

That said... this are all relatively petty charges. You will have to weigh the financial costs of legal representation versus just sucking it up. The cops are winning... but you may have a fighting chance if you play it right.