Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse what makes someone a resident of a home

T

Tina78

New Member
Jurisdiction
Indiana
I was visiting a friend and had stayed a couple of nights at their house. I was waiting to move into my new apartment in 3 days. While staying with my friend the police came to the door looking for a friend of his who was staying with him a month or so ago. I answered the door they asked if she was here or if I had seen her or knew who she was I told them yes i knew who she was and that she wasnt there. They then asked if they could come in and look for her I told them no that this was not my house and I could not give them permission to come in with out a search warrant. They then asked if I had her phone number I told them no but I might be able to get a message to her through a friend on FB messenger they then told me they were looking for her and wanting to question her regarding some tires and rims that were missing and to give them a call. The friend's house I was staying at had a court date the previous day that he missed by accident. The police come again the next day with a warrant for his arrest. They arrest and cuff him he just got out of the shower so i went back in to get his socks and shoes and put on him. After all of this and about 10 minutes later the officer tells us about probable cause for a search warrant and that he saw a joint on the table in the living room so he walks in the house and picks it up and bags it for evidence to go get a search warrant from the judge. When this happens my friend then told the police that if they find anything in there it is his and no one elses. So they take him to jail and leave me behind with 2 officers to watch me and will not let me back in the home to get anything or go to the bathroom. wherre they went to get the warrant is 20 minutes from the home one way. so while we're waiting on the officers to get back my friends father pulls up who is the owner of the property they explain to him whats going on and will not let him in either. So when they get back finally with the search warrant they find methamphetamine in the house and marijuana. They asked me if I knew if it was in there. I told them no i did not. Then they preceeded to tell me there was no way I couldnt have known because it was every where. Well maybe Im stupid but I sure did not see it anywhere or even knew my friend was doing this. Long story short I was also arrested for posession of marijuana and Methamphetamine. I am 44 years old and have never been in trouble for more than anything than a seat belt ticket. They said because i stayed there a couple of nights that i was a resident of the home. I have no mail going there and it is not the address on my ID. My question is what makes a resident of a home by the laws definition im assuming someone staying some where more than a couple of nights.
 
You need to speak to your attorney, and only your attorney, about this matter. If you cannot afford one, then one will be appointed for you. Stop posting on the internet and stop talking to anyone else about this.
 
Right to Remain Silent
In the United States, the right to remain silent is designed to protect a person who is undergoing police questioning or trial. This right may help a person avoid making self-incriminating statements. It may also include the condition that unfavorable comments or inferences cannot be made by the tribunal because the defendant refused to answer questions before or during a court trial.

The Miranda Warning is used to inform a suspect of his or her right to remain silent after being placed under arrest. This warning came into being after the United States Supreme Court case of Miranda v. Arizona. The court stated that a confession would be inadmissible under the Fifth Amendment self-incrimination clause unless the suspect was made aware of his or her rights and had thus waived them.

In stark comparison to the decision made in Miranda v. Arizona, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Raffel v. U.S. that once the suspect begins cooperating with law enforcement and answers questions or consents to a search, he or she gives up the right to remain silent and must continue to cooperate throughout his or her arrest, trial, and judgment.

This means that if you cooperate with the police in any form or fashion before being placed under arrest, you give up your Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights. Under the Raffel ruling, you cannot later reclaim your rights, even after arrest and being informed of your Miranda rights. This makes the Miranda Warning rather powerless, as the police do not have to advise the suspect of his or her rights until after a self-incriminating comment is made and/or he or she is arrested. If the suspect has already cooperated prior to arrest, he or she has already given up most of the rights that the Miranda Warning would advise him or her of.

There are some instances where remaining silent may look unfavorably upon a suspect. For example, if a person is silent before being placed under arrest, it may be inferred that he or she is guilty because there are no declarations of innocence. One way to combat this is to tell the police officer that your attorney advised you to stay silent should you ever be accused of committing a crime. Attributing your silence to your attorney's advice looks less suspicious.
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Right to Remain Silent
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Tina78 said:
My question is what makes a resident of a home by the laws definition im assuming someone staying some where more than a couple of nights.
Click to expand...

Don't break ANY of THEIR laws.

Do that, one need never fear much.

If you are accused of breaking their law(s), invoke your RIGHT to remain silent.

Shut yer yapper, reveal only your name, DOB, address, if you have any serious health issues (mental and physical), call your lawyer or ask for a public defender.

Until you retain counsel, say NOTHING more to anyone about any allegations showered upon you!!!

Right to Remain Silent
In the United States, the right to remain silent is designed to protect a person who is undergoing police questioning or trial. This right may help a person avoid making self-incriminating statements. It may also include the condition that unfavorable comments or inferences cannot be made by the tribunal because the defendant refused to answer questions before or during a court trial.

The Miranda Warning is used to inform a suspect of his or her right to remain silent after being placed under arrest. This warning came into being after the United States Supreme Court case of Miranda v. Arizona. The court stated that a confession would be inadmissible under the Fifth Amendment self-incrimination clause unless the suspect was made aware of his or her rights and had thus waived them.

In stark comparison to the decision made in Miranda v. Arizona, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Raffel v. U.S. that once the suspect begins cooperating with law enforcement and answers questions or consents to a search, he or she gives up the right to remain silent and must continue to cooperate throughout his or her arrest, trial, and judgment.

This means that if you cooperate with the police in any form or fashion before being placed under arrest, you give up your Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights. Under the Raffel ruling, you cannot later reclaim your rights, even after arrest and being informed of your Miranda rights. This makes the Miranda Warning rather powerless, as the police do not have to advise the suspect of his or her rights until after a self-incriminating comment is made and/or he or she is arrested. If the suspect has already cooperated prior to arrest, he or she has already given up most of the rights that the Miranda Warning would advise him or her of.

There are some instances where remaining silent may look unfavorably upon a suspect. For example, if a person is silent before being placed under arrest, it may be inferred that he or she is guilty because there are no declarations of innocence. One way to combat this is to tell the police officer that your attorney advised you to stay silent should you ever be accused of committing a crime. Attributing your silence to your attorney's advice looks less suspicious.

Right to Remain Silent
 
Tina78 said:
I was visiting a friend and had stayed a couple of nights at their house. I was waiting to move into my new apartment in 3 days. While staying with my friend the police came to the door looking for a friend of his who was staying with him a month or so ago. I answered the door they asked if she was here or if I had seen her or knew who she was I told them yes i knew who she was and that she wasnt there. They then asked if they could come in and look for her I told them no that this was not my house and I could not give them permission to come in with out a search warrant. They then asked if I had her phone number I told them no but I might be able to get a message to her through a friend on FB messenger they then told me they were looking for her and wanting to question her regarding some tires and rims that were missing and to give them a call. The friend's house I was staying at had a court date the previous day that he missed by accident. The police come again the next day with a warrant for his arrest. They arrest and cuff him he just got out of the shower so i went back in to get his socks and shoes and put on him. After all of this and about 10 minutes later the officer tells us about probable cause for a search warrant and that he saw a joint on the table in the living room so he walks in the house and picks it up and bags it for evidence to go get a search warrant from the judge. When this happens my friend then told the police that if they find anything in there it is his and no one elses. So they take him to jail and leave me behind with 2 officers to watch me and will not let me back in the home to get anything or go to the bathroom. wherre they went to get the warrant is 20 minutes from the home one way. so while we're waiting on the officers to get back my friends father pulls up who is the owner of the property they explain to him whats going on and will not let him in either. So when they get back finally with the search warrant they find methamphetamine in the house and marijuana. They asked me if I knew if it was in there. I told them no i did not. Then they preceeded to tell me there was no way I couldnt have known because it was every where. Well maybe Im stupid but I sure did not see it anywhere or even knew my friend was doing this. Long story short I was also arrested for posession of marijuana and Methamphetamine. I am 44 years old and have never been in trouble for more than anything than a seat belt ticket. They said because i stayed there a couple of nights that i was a resident of the home. I have no mail going there and it is not the address on my ID. My question is what makes a resident of a home by the laws definition im assuming someone staying some where more than a couple of nights.
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Kinda hard to play the "I'm a 44 year old upstanding citizan" card when you hang out with a bunch of tweeking criminals.

As Zig advised...Stop posting on the internet and talk ONLY to your attorney. Random strangers on the net can not help you and the Prosecutor's office may be checking out your social media.
 
Tina78 said:
My question is what makes a resident of a home by the laws definition im assuming someone staying some where more than a couple of nights.
Click to expand...

I think for the charges you face you'll find that whether you were a resident of the place or a guest isn't going to make much difference. If the state can make the case to a jury that you knew the drugs were there and had access to them then you'd be in constructive possession of the drugs. You knew your friend used drugs, and it's pretty common for drug users to have drugs in their home. Unless they are keeping their stash locked up to you can't get it, you put yourself at risk of something like this when you stay with someone you know uses or deals in illegal drugs. The fact that they found a joint in plain view in a common area of the home suggests your friend wasn't all that careful about where in the home he kept his drugs. And that could be a problem for you. You might be able to beat the charges here, but you'll likely need a good attorney to do it.
 
justblue said:
Kinda hard to play the "I'm a 44 year old upstanding citizan" card when you hang out with a bunch of tweeking criminals.

As Zig advised...Stop posting on the internet and talk ONLY to your attorney. Random strangers on the net can not help you and the Prosecutor's office may be checking out your social media.
Click to expand...
I would like to add that i knew the person smoked pot once in a while not that they were a tweaker as you say. Those are 2 entirely different things. Marijuana is legal in quite a few states now days.
 
Tina78 said:
I would like to add that i knew the person smoked pot once in a while not that they were a tweaker as you say. Those are 2 entirely different things. Marijuana is legal in quite a few states now days.
Click to expand...

Yeah quite a few state it's legal - not every state though. How did you not know they're a meth user? That's pretty easy to figure out.

I'd say cut off all contact with these "friends."
 

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