Drug Crimes

Meth-Filled Teddy Bear Confiscated During North Carolina Traffic Stop :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: August 6, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Can the police search my car without a warrant?”

A recent traffic stop in Lincolnton, North Carolina turned up an interesting surprise for the arresting officer: a child’s teddy bear filled with methamphetamine. Rather than serve as a cuddly toy, police say the bear was a vehicle used to smuggle illicit drugs.

Teddy Bear Charlotte North Carolina DUI DWI Criminal Defense Lawyer Attorney.jpg Police say they pulled over Rigoberto Gomez-Contino early Tuesday morning as part of a routine traffic stop along Highway 321 in Lincolnton. After pulling over Contino, they asked for permission to search the vehicle where they discovered a suspiciously out of place blue teddy bear in the backseat. A quick inspection of the bear uncovered three ounces of methamphetamine hiding inside the stuffed animal. Police then arrested Contino and booked him on drug charges.

In North Carolina, Methamphetamine is classified as a Schedule II Controlled Substance under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-90(3)(c). Under North Carolina law Contino now faces an array of possible drug charges, including trafficking in methamphetamine. In North Carolina, someone is guilty of trafficking if that person knowingly sells, manufactures, delivers, transports or possesses methamphetamine. If the person possesses between 28 and 200 grams of meth (Contino had three ounces, so 85 grams) they will face Class F felony charges. A Class F felony carries a minimum sentence of 70 months in prison and a maximum stay of 93 months as well as a minimum $50,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney’s Office In Western North Carolina Charge 17 In Meth Conspiracy :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: July 9, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?”

The office of the U.S. Attorney announced that it had issued indictments for 17 men and women living in and around Charlotte, NC this past week regarding their involvement in a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking operation. The charges were unsealed earlier this week and the individuals were arrested on Tuesday.

Coffee Filter Charlotte North Carolina Criminal Defense DUI DWI Attorney Lawyer.jpg Police say the recent indictments were the result of a large-scale, multi-year joint federal and state investigation that targeted those responsible for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine in Western North Carolina. The 17 people charged in the criminal enterprise were accused of conspiring to distribute, possess, distribute and manufacture more than 500 grams of methamphetamine as well as possession of pseudoephedrine.

Those charged range in age from 21 to 53. Police say that those indicted also possessed a variety of substances to help further their production of meth, including huge supplies of coffee filters, lithium batters and two-liter plastic bottles. When police finally moved on their information to arrest the participants, they ended up shutting down 15 different methamphetamine labs spread across the region.

Authorities say the meth conspiracy charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years behind bars and a maximum of life in prison. The charge also includes a potential $10 million fine. Possession of pseudoephedrine comes with a prison term of up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine. Possession of materials to make meth also includes a term of up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine. That means those arrested in the recent bust are facing potentially decades behind bars.

North Carolina Prescription Drug Fraud Leads To Arrests :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: June 25, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “A past conviction is keeping me from finding work what can I do?”

Authorities say two individuals have been arrested for using phony prescriptions to get painkillers from pharmacies across North and South Carolina. The two individuals, Steven Rhodes and Heather DeYoung, were each sentenced to nearly six years behind bars.

Prescription Pills Charlotte Criminal Defense DUI DWI Lawyer Attorney North Carolina.jpg Federal prosecutors say the leader of the fake prescription ring, Joshua Balkind, is already in prison serving a 20-year term. The other two participants were sentenced to 70 months in prison this Wednesday. Officials say the scheme worked by having Balkind make fake prescriptions using software on his home computer. He would then give the fake oxycodone prescriptions to drug addicts like Rhodes and DeYoung and essentially split the take, giving the addicts several pills and taking the rest to sell on the streets at a steep markup.

The drug ring was first discovered back in 2011 when a pharmacist in Union County realized that the doctor Balkind had chosen for his fake prescriptions had actually been dead for several years. Authorities then began following the group and eventually gathered enough information to make several arrests.

It’s important to understand that even though prescription drugs come from a pharmacy, they are still controlled substances that can lead to serious legal trouble for anyone found to have illegally obtained them. If such possession was obtained through the use of fraud, forgery or deceit, then prosecutors will be very aggressive in pushing for jail time as punishment.

ACLU Says Racial Bias Exists In North Carolina Marijuana Possession Arrests :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: June 11, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What am I obligated to do if I’ve been pulled for Drinking and Driving?”

According to a recent ACLU report, the State of North Carolina spent over $55 million enforcing marijuana possession laws in 2010. The civil rights group pointed out that not only did this represent a large share of police resources wasted on relatively minor crimes, but that the impact of the marijuana enforcement was often discriminatory.

By analyzing arrest reports, the ACLU discovered that African Americans in North Carolina were arrested for marijuana possession at 3.4 times the rate of whites, this despite comparable marijuana usage rates. The report, known as Marijuana in Black and White: Billions of Dollars Wasted on Racially Biased Arrests, was released earlier this month and examined marijuana arrests rates by race. Marijuana Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Defense Attorney Lawyer.jpg

The survey found that law enforcement officers in North Carolina made nearly 21,000 arrests in 2010, ranking North Carolina 10th in the nation for pot arrests. The numbers also meant that marijuana possession arrests made up over half (53.6 percent) of all drug arrests in the state. A full 50 percent of those arrested for marijuana possession in North Carolina were African American, despite African Americans making up only 22 percent of the state’s population.

The ACLU says the results are clear: the state’s war on drugs has disproportionately harmed people of color. The organization says police agencies across the state selectively enforce marijuana possession laws against certain black and minority communities which ends up costing the state tens of millions of dollars incarcerating people with few positive results.

North Carolina Meth Making Mom and Son Behind Bars

Published on: September 18, 2012 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

A North Carolina mother and son were recently arrested for possessing chemicals and equipment used to manufacture methamphetamine, according to a report by WBTV.

Lisa Woodie Sanders, 47, and her son Thomas Jason Triplett, 28, were arrested by the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office this past week according to police spokesmen. Officers were alerted thanks to anonymous tips that the two were involved in cooking meth. Post #2 criminal image 9-16.jpg The officers then searched both the mother and son’s property and found the necessary chemicals for making the drug hidden in a cooler.

The two individuals have been interviewed by police and more arrests could follow in the coming days. The son was placed in the Caldwell County Detention Center on a $7,500 bond while the mom was placed in jail under a $2,500 bond.

This case illustrates a couple of points that are worth noting. The first is that serious criminal charges can be brought against an individual if he or she is accused of having committed a drug crime. The second is that any resulting drug crime conviction can lead to severe penalties that can follow an individual for years to come.

As other street drugs become harder to get, homemade small meth labs are springing up across North Carolina and across the country. As a result, police are anticipating increased meth raids in the future. If Sanders and Triplett have no yet retained an experienced criminal defense attorney, both need to do so immediately. The charges against the two are very serious and the penalties they will now be facing are severe. Their defense should not be left in the hands of inexperienced attorneys, but instead the capable hands of skilled criminal defense professionals.

UNC Professor Held in Argentina On Drug Charges Close to Release

Published on: July 7, 2012 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to the News & Observer the UNC-Chapel Hill physicist that is currently being held in Argentina after being found with two kilos of cocaine is saying a personality disorder led him to being so easily lured into smuggling the drugs.

The professor, Paul Frampton, the Louis D. Rubin, Jr. Distinguished Professor of physics and astronomy, flew to South America in the first place only after having been tricked over the Internet into believing that he would be meeting a young model. Instead, when he arrived in Bolivia he was told to carry a suitcase to Argentina and ultimately on to the U.S. The drugs were stored in a kind of false bottom to the suitcase that was otherwise empty. Post #2 criminal image 7.5.12.jpg Frampton was arrested before he was to leave Argentina, while still in the main airport in Buenos Aires. He now faces up to 16 years in prison.

Frampton admits that a normal person would not have so readily agreed to such a scheme. “I’m an outlier in the naivety quotient as well as IQ,” he said. “I buy that. “There were, of course, warning signs that most people would have viewed with great suspicion, and this diagnosis as a defense explains the foolishness,” he said. “But I certainly had no idea there were illegal drugs and certainly had no idea of smuggling drugs to make money.”

Frampton’s defense lawyers said that they hired a forensic psychologist to meet with him while in prison and who was able to diagnose Frampton with a schizoid personality disorder that causes him to be unusually gullible. Friends and family say the news comes as absolutely no shock. His ex-wife, Anne-Marie Frampton, says, “He is totally devoted to physics and to his students, but in the rest of his life he has always been like a child.”

Other friends of the professor said that he has a history of similar unfortunate incidents, including the pursuit of young foreign women on the Internet. A friend and Nobel laureate said that Frampton once persuaded a Chinese woman in her 20s to marry him, but when he flew to China she took one look at him and changed her mind.

Frampton and the school are also now fighting over his pay after UNC decided to stop paying his salary saying that he was unable to do his job from an Argentine prison. He filed suit saying that he was able to perform his work from prison, having written two research papers and properly advised his graduate students via telephone. Just last week an Orange County judge turned down his request for an injunction.

Catawba County “Knock and Talk” Leads to Discovery Marijuana, Moonshine, Money and Guns

Published on: August 29, 2011 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

In a Catawba County home, deputies found a liquor still, 100 jars of “white lightning” moonshine, 40 firearms, 195 grams of marijuana, prescription drugs, and more than $13,000 in cash. The resident, Mr. Timothy Scott Fox, has been charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance, possession and sale of non-tax paid alcohol, possession and sale of alcohol without a permit, and manufacturing liquor without a permit. Mr. Fox is now out on $15,000 bond.

Interestingly, this bust and subsequent arrest arose out of what is called a “knock and talk.” When police suspect that criminal activity is present at a location, but they do not have enough evidence to obtain a search warrant, many times they will knock on the door of a location to interact with the persons at the residence and hopefully obtain enough evidence to meet the probable cause requirement for a search warrant.

In this case, police stated that they knocked on Fox’s door, and as they talked with him, they became suspicious of what was inside the home. No facts are given as to what their basis for the search warrant actually was in this case, however, many different things can serve as the basis of a warrant. For example, the smell of marijuana can give rise to probable cause. Another possible scenario is if police look into the interior of a home and they see ingredients that either are contraband, or are typically associated with contraband. Actually seeing the liquor still in this case would obviously be enough for probable cause.