Selling Drugs: What Could Happen?

While mere possession of most illegal drugs is now a mere
misdemeanor in California, possessing illegal drugs you intend to sell is still
a serious felony that can be punished with prison time. Whether a judge sends someone
to prison or gives them a short stay in the Orange County Jail often depends on
their record, the amount of drug they had, whether they were armed, whether
they resisted arrest, and their Orange County criminal defense attorney’s
ability to highlighting their virtues and find a weakness in the prosecution’s
case.

Possessing drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin,
hashish, and even marijuana is criminalized by Health & Safety Code
Sections 11351, 11351.5, 11378 and 11378.5. These sections allow for up to five
years of prison time for possession with intent to sell. Other “enhancing”
statutes mandate even more mandatory prison time where specific criteria are found,
such as the defendant having a prior conviction, a firearm being involved or
the defendant’s status as a gang member.

In order to convict a defendant of possession with intent to
sell, the prosecutor must prove these five elements beyond any reasonable
doubt:

1)     
That the defendant exercised control of, or the right
to control the drug;

2)     
That the defendant had knowledge of the drug’s
presence;

3)     
That the defendant knew the substance was an illegal
drug;

4)     
That there was a sufficient amount of the drug to sell;

5)     
That the defendant had the specific intent to sell the
drug.

These five elements provide fertile ground for a criminal defense attorney to raise reasonable doubt. A skilled criminal defense lawyer
is often able to expose a weakness in the prosecution’s case—the DA’s inability
to prove just one of the elements above. Just bringing the weakness to the DA’s
attention can draw a very favorable settlement offer.

The typical evidence used by the DA to prove “specific
intent to sell the drug” includes; large amount of drug consistent with sales,
prepackaged portions of the drug, scales, pay-owe sheets, large amounts of
cash, baggies or balloons, and text and voice messages from the defendant’s
phone. However, there are often Constitutional problems with the search and
seizure of evidence in drug cases. This is yet another area rich with opportunity
for a good drug defense lawyer to argue for suppression of evidence.

If you need to talk to an experienced criminal defense
attorney call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 for a free and
confidential consultation. You can also reach us on our contact page. Our main
offices is at 32072 Camino Capistrano, 2^nd floor, San Juan
Capistrano, CA 92675.