DRUG CASES - SCHOOL ZONES - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.
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When you move from high school to a university like Penn State it is a time of experimentation. Unfortunately, some of this experimentation involves the use of controlled substances or illegal drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. Even if not personally used, you may be in an environment where it is present.
If you are caught simply possessing a small amount of a drug the crime charged is usually an ungraded misdemeanor for which you will often receive probation. Of course, it is important to not be so quick to simply plead guilty and accept probation as you will want to contact a State College criminal defense lawyer to make sure that your criminal record is protected.
One of the very troubling aspects of the criminal sanctions for drugs is the delivery aspect. When you deliver drugs to another person, or possess drugs with intent to deliver to another person, the crime becomes a felony. Depending upon where the alleged crime occurred, you could be facing a two-year mandatory minimum state prison sentence. If the alleged crime takes place within a school zone there are mandatory minimums.
In State College it is difficult to avoid a school zone as it not only includes Penn State University property but any school, day care or other similar facility.
A delivery is not necessarily selling drugs for profit. Often times friends think they are helping friends by securing some bit of marijuana for them. When the marijuana is handed from one friend to another it is a delivery which could result in a felony criminal charge. It does not matter that the person handing the marijuana to their friend is not making any money on the transaction.
Similarly, you may have a roommate who is selling drugs or buying them for his or her friends. When the time comes for the delivery of the drugs, your roommate asks you to hand them to the buyer as they need to go somewhere. Then when you hand the drugs to the third person, often an undercover police officer or police informant, a delivery takes place. It does not matter that you are simply handing over the drugs as you did not arrange the sale nor are keeping the money nor making any profit on the sale.
Simply handing drugs to another person is a delivery which may result in a felony arrest. At Lisko & Associates we explore every possible defense in order to keep our client from facing a felony record with prison terms and permanent criminal records.
Contact an experienced drug charges attorney in State College at 814-237-6673 or toll free at 1-800-640-1064.
