Drugs are prevalent in Philadelphia. One can find a wide variety of drugs including, but not limited to, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, various prescription drugs and others. There are people who are recreational users as well as people who deal the drugs. People face criminal charges if they are caught, whoever they are. The charges can range from simple possession to intent to distribute charges for those involved in drug dealing. However, simply being charged does not mean a person is guilty. After being charged prosecutors still need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person is guilty.
A Philadelphia man and two others were recently charged with drug offenses after police say they found heroin in their hotel room. The police said that they were called to the hotel room initially because there was a dispute between a couple of people there. After responding, the police allegedly saw bags of heroin in the room. They then obtained a search warrant. According to police, after searching the room they seized over 3,000 bags of heroin, money and other objects associated with heroin.
If these men or anyone else are convicted of drug offenses in Pennsylvania, they face serious consequences. The person may even face mandatory jail sentences if they are convicted of possessing drugs with the intent to deliver. This is determined by many factors such as the type of drug, the amount of the drug the person has, the amount of cash found, if packaging is found and other factors.
There are defenses available to drug charges, though, and until convicted the accused is presumed innocent. Many defenses start with whether the police legally searched the person and seized the drugs. The validity of search warrants may be challenged as well. If the police did not conduct a legal search then the evidence of the drugs could be suppressed, making it very difficult to convict them. Attorneys understand these potential defenses and can be a useful resource if one is charged with a crime.
Source: The Tribune-Democrat, “Three held on drug charges” Patrick Buchnowski, March 11, 2014
