Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse Charges are wrong!

[Tara D Gregg]

On September 5, 2015 I had a single vehicle accident! When police arrived I learned I had a warrant for a FTA from a speeding ticket that was supposed to be taken care of!! Well I was detained and the officers searched my vehicle ! Now I was in possession of the drug Xanax that they found. However that isn't all they found! There was a makeup bag that contained meth, scales, pipes, baggies. Now my vehicle was just fixed after it had been sitting at a local grocery store for 3 weeks. During that time my vehicle was broken into. Now this accident occurred a day after my car had been returned to me and this bag had to be placed there during the break in. I don't know what to do about this. If I am convicted of this it effects my custody agreement. I have never been in trouble with the law and I am worried that because it was my car that I can and will be convicted!
There is also the matter of the charges they have them wrong! I was charged with simple possession meth 2g<10g 5-64-419 possession of drug paraphernalia meth 5-64-443 possession schedule IV 28g< (alphrazolam) driving on suspended and careless driving. Now all my court papers other than the original report from the officer state possession of a controlled substance schedule VI > 4 oz < 10 lbs !!! Please help! I have a public defender and I won't get to see her for another 2 weeks and pretrial is December 14, 2015; I want to have as much information and facts and whatever I can so that I can and will be able to contribute to my defense! I also would like to know what punishments these charges carry for a first time offender and can they be expung

 

[army judge]

On September 5, 2015 I had a single vehicle accident! When police arrived I learned I had a warrant for a FTA from a speeding ticket that was supposed to be taken care of!! Well I was detained and the officers searched my vehicle ! Now I was in possession of the drug Xanax that they found. However that isn't all they found! There was a makeup bag that contained meth, scales, pipes, baggies. Now my vehicle was just fixed after it had been sitting at a local grocery store for 3 weeks. During that time my vehicle was broken into. Now this accident occurred a day after my car had been returned to me and this bag had to be placed there during the break in. I don't know what to do about this. If I am convicted of this it effects my custody agreement. I have never been in trouble with the law and I am worried that because it was my car that I can and will be convicted!
There is also the matter of the charges they have them wrong! I was charged with simple possession meth 2g<10g 5-64-419 possession of drug paraphernalia meth 5-64-443 possession schedule IV 28g< (alphrazolam) driving on suspended and careless driving. Now all my court papers other than the original report from the officer state possession of a controlled substance schedule VI > 4 oz < 10 lbs !!! Please help! I have a public defender and I won't get to see her for another 2 weeks and pretrial is December 14, 2015; I want to have as much information and facts and whatever I can so that I can and will be able to contribute to my defense! I also would like to know what punishments these charges carry for a first time offender and can they be expung

The best thing you can do to help yourself is to remain silent.

Alluding to a drug addict or dug seller BREAKING into your car and PLANTING illicit drugs is of no value.

No jury, prosecutor, or judge will believe a drug dealer, or drug addict breaks into a car to plant drugs on another person.

No jury, judge, or prosecutor will believe a vindictive former spouse is stupid or mean enough to burglarize a car, plant drugs, and wait for you to get into an accident HOPING you'll get into an automobile accident and have an outstanding warrant which would allow the police to search you and your car and find the planted illegal drugs.

The time to worry about custody of your children has elapsed.

It has become what it is, and all you can do is plead NOT guilty, stay out of trouble, seek drug rehabilitation, therapy, remain silent, work with your lawyer, stop abusing all drugs, and leave all illegal drugs alone.

Patience is required, because this will take months, if not years to resolve.

What you don't want to do is make up stories that in your confused state of mind you believe others will also believe.

You're not the first person that tried to do this, so don't feel bad about it.

I get it, I do.

I have a niece that has suffered from drug addiction for twenty years. She suffered from sexual molestation as a young child. She's 40 years old, and facing her first felony drug charge.

Its breaking her mother's and my sister's heart. Her two sister's will no longer interact with her. She faces the possibility of losing her three children. She has two others, who are in college. Her three youngest are living with my sister, who has temporary custody.

Finally she has entered a 90 day, in-patient treatment program. My sister and her husband are MDs. They own several drug rehab clinics across the US. My sister, and my behest have given her a scholarship for the program. It normally costs upwards of $30,000.

I know a few people in her state, who intervened and the judge granted her lawyer's motion requesting she be allowed to participate in an in patient drug treatment and rehab program. She is facing four felonies, and they had ten more in the wings.

If she completes the program, the prosecution will drop the ten new felonies, and she be convicted on one felony, SUSPENDED for two years probation. If she remains drug free for two years, successfully completes probation, community service, pays her fines, stays employed, the case will be dismissed.

there is hope. But, there is also a lot of hard work.

She may still be facing a prison term, but everything she does now can help a judge decide if she has earned leniency, compassion, and mercy.

She's burned all the bridges in our family. This is her last gasp.

Don't allow this to be yours. Get busy fixing yourself. That is the best thing you can do now.

Meet with your lawyer and ask for help. Don't meet with your lawyer and offer up an implausible story. I wish you well.

Last thing. How do I know? I know because I've been a criminal defense lawyer for more years than my 40 years old niece has been alive! I don't have to abuse drugs, molest children, or break laws to know what devastates lives.

I also practice law, and live in Texas. I'm a retired Texas district court judge. I am also a current visiting district court judge. I know how harsh Texas justice can be to drug abusers.
Get busy doing what you must do to fix your life. You will be required to submit to drug testing, blood, urine, and hair follicle.

 

[Tara D Gregg]

Ok, let's be clear I'm no drug dealer or addict! The Xanax that was mine and it was not in the same place as the make up bag! I had plenty of time to get rid of the make up bag if I would have known it was there!! I didn't care about the Xanax because I have a prescription just not the bottle with me so that will be dropped!! I've never ever been in trouble for anything I didn't get the speeding ticket that the FTA was for until i was 30 and the only reason I didn't appear in court was because I was in a facility for a nervous break down after my daddy passed away which I have documentation for that as well!! I figured that would be the response I would get because it was in my car so I have been going to NA meetings on my own since I was released from my first stay in jail! Now as far as the charges being wrong what do I do about that?? What are the punishments that they could give to me since I'm a first time offender!! Also would this be able to be exsponged from my record!!! Arkansas law not Texas!!

 

[army judge]

Ok, let's be clear I'm no drug dealer or addict! The Xanax that was mine and it was not in the same place as the make up bag! I had plenty of time to get rid of the make up bag if I would have known it was there!! I didn't care about the Xanax because I have a prescription just not the bottle with me so that will be dropped!! I've never ever been in trouble for anything I didn't get the speeding ticket that the FTA was for until i was 30 and the only reason I didn't appear in court was because I was in a facility for a nervous break down after my daddy passed away which I have documentation for that as well!! I figured that would be the response I would get because it was in my car so I have been going to NA meetings on my own since I was released from my first stay in jail! Now as far as the charges being wrong what do I do about that?? What are the punishments that they could give to me since I'm a first time offender!! Also would this be able to be exsponged from my record!!! Arkansas law not Texas!!

Texas, Arkansas, most of the other 48 states, the approach would be as I set forth.

You need NOT make your argument to me, save the drama for the courtroom.

I offered you suggestions, heed them, ignore them, matters not to me.

I don't need, nor did I solicit further information from you.

At this point, I suggest you await the visit with your lawyer.

The NA meetings are a small step in the right direction.

Expungement can happen, but that's probably months, or years away.

Don't expect an expungement, should you receive one at some date in the future to ELIMINATE the arrest or the conviction.

Your immediate concern are the charges lodged against you at the moment.

A clean criminal history will often help a criminal defendant avoid imprisonment for a first offense.

I suggest you discuss this in the detail you require with YOUR lawyer, and ONLY your lawyer.