Drug Sales

Orange County Drug Sales Attorney

Drug Sales Defense Attorney in Orange County

Are you being accused of possessing drugs with the intent to sell in Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Fullerton, Irvine, Newport Beach, Westminster or Costa Mesa and now you need to beat the charge, well let our Orange County criminal attorneys at the Law Offices of Michael L. Guisti help you through the process and work to get your charges reduced or dismissed.

As our Orange County drug crimes lawyers know all too well just possessing drugs, even if they're legal, can get you into a lot of trouble, but possessing drugs with the intent to sell is taken much more serious by the Orange County District Attorney. This is why you need to contact an Orange County drug sales attorney right away.

What is the Charge of Drug Sales?

As one Santa Ana drug crimes lawyer explains, they're several complex laws that prohibit sales of drugs, and most of which fall under the umbrella of California Health and Safety Code (HSC) 11351, which is the possession or purchasing certain controlled substances or other narcotic drugs with the intent to sell them.

Controlled substances are generally street drugs and some prescription drugs like codeine and Xanax.

Generally what tips police off to charge you with possession with intent to sell is when they search you and/or your premises and come across large quantities of the drug, scales, lots of cash, small baggies, along with undercover officers observing people coming over for only a few minutes at a time.

While police may charge you with one thing the Orange County District Attorney Office must show five things, that you possessed or purchased the drug, knew you purchased drugs, knew of the drug's nature, possessed enough of the drug to use or sell, and that you either purchased the drugs with the intent to resell or sell it.

Possession

Possession as defined by HSC 11350 and HSC 11351 is complex as it can refer to "actual" possession, "constructive" possession or "joint" possession.

"Actual" possession means just that, the drug was found on your person.

"Constructive" possession means police didn't find drugs on you, but were found in a place you have control over, like your house or car.

"Joint" possession means you and one or more people share "constructive" possession of the drugs, such as your wife keeps drugs in the bedroom under the bed and even though you don't "do" drugs nor sell them, knowing they're under the bed and being complacent about can result in a "joint" possession charge.

Possessing Enough of the Drug

Simply having some residue is not enough to satisfy a HSC 11351 charge. According to the People v. Leal there has to been enough of the drug to be consumed by a person when sold.

Proving You Were Selling the Drugs

According to an expert Newport Beach drug crimes attorney proving you had the intent to sell the drugs is actually quite difficult for the Orange County District Attorney and prosecution. The reason being, unless there is a confession, HSC 11351 cases rely solely on circumstantial evidence, and often that evidence is brought in by way of drug and policing experts who will try to tell the judge and jury why the drugs you were possessing were for sale.

The common tactic used by drug and policing "experts" is you had a large quantity of drug, more than the "average" drug user would take.

Also, if police didn't find any objects to inject drugs with, rather objects like measuring instruments and weighing scales they'll claim you were possessing drugs to sell them. Oddly, if police did find drug paraphernalia used to inject drugs it helps your case as your Orange County criminal lawyer says the drugs were for your own use, which you could face a lesser HSC 11364 charge.

As well if you were under the influence at the time of your arrest it could help your case that the drugs were for your use only, and you could face the lesser charge of HSC 11550.

Your Defense

As described above, saying you had possession of drugs is one thing, but proving possession of drugs for sales is quite difficult, and that means you have several defense options.

Lack of Knowledge

If you had no idea you were in possession of drugs you shouldn't be charged with any drug charges, however sometimes a friend or family member gets their friend or family member in trouble.

As one Huntington Beach drug crimes lawyer explains, they've been many times where somebody borrows and friend's or family member's car, and as bad luck would have it they're pulled over and police discover a large amount of drugs a scale, which leads the driver to being charged with possession of drugs for sale.

You could make a case you simply didn't know what you had in your possession were drugs, but be advised pleading ignorant to not knowing the chemical makeup of the drug or the name of the drug isn't a defense.

They're a lot of complex defenses available, including lack of possession and illegal search a seizure, which all depends on the circumstances of your cases, and that is why it's best to call an Orange County drug sales attorney right away to discuss your case.

The Punishment

Possession of drugs for sale is a felony, which is why in your defense it may be important to admit the drugs were only for your personal use, because with personal use you could face a misdemeanor and even participate in a drug diversion program that could erase your charges.

A conviction of this felony you face, either probation and up to a year in Orange County jail, or by two-to-four years in a California State Prison and up to a maximum $20,000 fine.

Additional Punishments

If the controlled substance was heroin, cocaine base or cocaine, you face an additional, three years in prison if the substance exceeds one kilogram; five years if it exceeds four kilograms; ten years if it exceeds ten kilograms; 15 years if the drug weighs more than 20 kilograms; twenty years if it weighs more than 40 kilograms; and/or twenty-five years if the substance exceeds 80 kilograms.

In addition to the above you also face fines of up to $8,000,000.

Get Help Now!

The punishment imposed this is not a charge you should even think about walking into the courtroom alone and explaining to the judge yourself as you face potential serious jail time and steep fines.

You need to call our Orange County drug crimes defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Michael L. Guisti right away at 888-478-8999, because not only will our legal experts go over and explain the complexities of this charge of drug sales, but by calling right away before the Orange County District Attorney formally files charges we can not only work with the DA to reduce charges and even maybe arrange for an alternative sentence, but investigate police action leading to your arrest, which could result in your case being dismissed.

Our experienced legal experts have over a decade of successfully defending clients against all drug charges in the courts of Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and San Diego Counties.

Call the Law Offices of Michael L. Guisti right away at 888-478-8999 so we can work to get you the best possible outcome and keep you out of jail.