Bethesda Possession with Intent to Distribute Lawyer
Possession with intent to distribute is a serious crime in Bethesda. Someone charged with possession with intent faces the possibility of penalty conviction. With that conviction comes penalties that include incarceration for up to 20 years. Furthermore, the stigma of a felony charge can make it difficult for individuals who have been released from prison, to find employment and housing. By hiring a Bethesda possession with intent to distribute lawyer, you can fight these charges, and protect your rights. Contact a determined drug attorney who will work hard to defend you, and can try to achieve the best possible outcome.
Constructive Possession
Actual possession is when something is physically in a person’s control, on an individual’s body or person (ie in their pockets or in their hands). In contrast, constructive possession refers to when someone is in control of the property and knows it. Those are the elements of possession: knowledge and the ability to exercise dominion and control.
A person is in actual possession if something is in their hand. A person is in constructive possession of what is in the trunk of their car or in the closet in their bedroom. Even if a person is nowhere near it, that is constructive possession.
It matters because the police can execute a warrant, find narcotics in someone’s closet even if a person is not home, and then charge a person with possession with intent by virtue of a person being in constructive possession and in control of what is in their closet. Bethesda frequently charges people with possession with intent, versus possession. If there is any indication that it is more than just personal use, either by the amount or by the circumstances, they will charge that person with the felony of possession with intent.
How the Government Proves Intent
There is a lot of varying evidence that can be used. One, if it is a sufficient amount that is more than for personal use, they can have an officer or some other expert come to the stand and testify that, in their knowledge or their experience, the sheer amount of narcotics found indicates someone who is intending to be selling it, distributing it, or whatever it may be. It is not even required to be a sale, it could just be literally transferring, giving, sharing, or whatever it may be. If it is a lot, then it is arguably possession with intent over personal use, that is one.
Circumstances of Evidence
Even if it is not a lot of marijuana, the court can go by the surrounding circumstances, which is called the totality of the circumstances. Under the totality of the circumstances, if someone who is caught with scales, baggies, extra baggies, a lot of money, and a ledger with a notepad that has people’s names on it and the amount of money they owe, this could indicate intent to sell.
If they have a cellphone, when a warrant is executed, they search the cellphone, and they find language of drug transactions, a person cannot prove that those are actual drug transactions but, in the totality of the circumstances, it does look like someone who is involved in the drug trade and someone who is selling. Those are the factors that they can use to show the intent of the person because of the surrounding circumstances.
Penalties
Possession with intent indicates that a person is in possession of an amount of narcotics, either in sufficient quantities or in circumstances that indicate that they intended to distribute it. There is no specific amount or cost, it is just the circumstances or, in some cases, it is the amount. If somebody is caught with eight pounds of marijuana, it would be hard to argue for their Bethesda possession with intent to distribute lawyer, that it is all for personal use.
The penalty for marijuana itself is five years. For other narcotics, it can be as high as twenty years for a first offense. There are no diversion programs or alternative sentencing available for first-time possession with intent to distribute charges.
Importance of an Attorney
Besides the possibility of a 20-year prison sentence, being a convicted felon is a very incendiary thing to have on their record. It precludes a person from ever possessing or owning a handgun, and it disqualifies a person from, sometimes, voting or even traveling. Any employer, any prospective employer, school, or prospective housing development or community can see their record, and they can deny a person and refuse that person on the basis of their felony conviction, which is why it is important to retain the services of a Bethesda possession with intent to distribute lawyer.