So young man(22) I have known for a long time(11 years) went to a party out of town, got hammered, and passed out in the back seat of his DD's car. DD, DD's  girlfriend are in front seats, kid is in back seat. Driver gets pulled over doing 65 in a 55. Girlfriend comes out and says she has weed on her person, officer requests drivers permission to search car driver gives it, young guy wakes up, and climbs out of back seat. behind driver in back seat is a duffle bag with 5 lbs of weed, a scale, zip locks, and just shy of an ounce of cocaine. Girlfriend and driver say it is the kids, kid says he hasn't seen it before. driver and girlfriend get misdemeanor pot possession(less than an ounce and no intent to distribute, a 50 dollar misdemeanor ticket), 22 year old gets charged with felony possession with intent to distribute(weed), and felony possession (cocaine). He swears the bag isn't his, (really he is smart enough to get a non speeding or do it himself). Kid's mom has some limited law enforcement connections and the kid did some sort of plea deal where he will be guilty and on parole for 2 years but then it never happened.

In preparation to his plea guilty deal he explained that he made a bad decision with his choice of DD, he basically couldn't do much for 2 years, and couldn't keep his dad's gun collection(dad died way back). The end result is he sold me his guns for 1 dollar each, and gave me all of the ammo. I fully intend to sell them back to him if/when he is allowed to own them, what exactly is the "criminal" status of this kid? Apparently there were none of his fingerprints on the duffel bag, weed, coke, bags, or scale.

Is this sort of "be good for X days and it never happened" a while normal?
Would I be out of line contacting his parole officer and asking questions?

The guns are some nice(sweet BAR in .308, .44 super Blackhawk beat up carried in woods gun, .22 cricket he shot his first ptarmagin with, repro sharps trapdoor .45-70, air rifle, stripped lower AR reciver, and a marlin tube feed beat up).

The case disposition from courtview is below

Sentence: Fine: , Susp:
Costs: 100.00, Susp: , Incl: N
Jail Start: , days: , Jail End:
susp days: , susp time:
Points: , Lic susp: , Dr Ed: N
Susp start: , days: , Susp end:  
Clearance Date:
Mod: , narr: , Lic flag:
Dr sch: N, DUI sch: N, Rest: Forfeit all items seized. Report to probation office no later than the next business day following any release from custody. Not own, possess, purchase, transport, handle, or have in your custody, residence, or vehicle, any firearm, ammunition, explosives, or weapons. Not knowingly associate with a person who is on probation or parole or a person who has a record of a felony conviction. Not consume intoxicating liquor in excess. Not use, possess, handle, purchase, give or administer any controlled substance, including marijuana. Not associate with individuals who use or sell illegal controlled substances. Undergo a drug/alcohol assessment. Not use, possess, purchase, consume, or ingest any product, preparation, mixture, or substance, nor possess any device intended to conceal alcohol or controlled sustance use or to subvert a bodily fluid testing process. Standard conditions as set forth by statute.
Prob type: SIS Supervised Probation, start: 10/06/2014, days: 730, End:

keep all the guns he might want and be able to get it all oveturned

All the story about why he wasn't really guilty is meaningless once he accepts the plea bargain.

Do not return his guns until you get confirmation from his attorney that the felony charge is actually expunged.  If you want to be sure, when its time to return possession, have him pass a BGC at an FFL.

This.  In addition he needs to be prepared to be denied and have to go through the NICS appeal process, and he will likely will need to apply for a UPIN as well.  States are very quick to report to the FBI any data showing a person is prohibited, expungements not so much.
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/appeals/nics-appeals-process/appeals-home

Sounds like he screwed himself accepting the plea.



(right after screwing himself by having a stupid DD - which followed screwing himself with a poor choice of friends)

I have a buddy who is a FFL, ill sell to him for 1 dollar and then he transfers for 10 bucks(ill eat that to be sure im on the right side)

Where is the penalty and conviction information for the case? That is what matters.

Having seen how some first time offenders are given breaks, it is not unusual for them to complete probation, have the charge reduced, and there no longer being a felony conviction. This information should all be in the court record for the conviction/plea deal.

Well IF, and I do emphasize the IF, you "friend" is telling the truth, he got fucked.  A CONSTRUCTIVE POSSESSION charge is difficult to make/prove.  Sounds like he had bad counsel... no direct evidence linking him to the drugs (fingerprints, DNA, etc., ... not his car... others present during the incident... yep. sounds like he got fucked hard.

I agree... when the PA is offering you a plea deal he knows that he has a LONG ROW TO HOE proving you are guilty and he wants to entice you into admitting it... I think competent legal counsel could have helped you out of this situation a little bit better...

That "Court Record" is meaningless.  It doesn't show where he ever entered any plea in the case.  To get "diversion" he has to plead GUILTY in most courts; Judge and PO then sit on case for a set period of time.  He can't expunge anything because the ORDER and ENTRY don't show him pleading to anything; therefore, nothing to expunge....

I think your friend is lying.

If the drugs were not his and he had no knowledge of them, why would he plead it out?

Because the entire federal (and most others) "judicial" system is designed to making a plea an attractive (as in you would have to be rich or a retard to not take it) option, with the potential of a hugely disproportionate punishment if you go to trial and lose.  The "judicial" system would collapse if everyone went to trial.
Want to make things interesting? Make a law that any sentencing must be for the lowest offer that the prosecutor made in an attempt to get a plea.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/us/stronger-hand-for-judges-after-rulings-on-plea-deals.html

He sold them to you. I'd hold onto them until your buddy sees an attorney about expunging the record or getting his rights restored.

You may be right.  We need to see the actual JE, not a copy and paste to make sure.

Because he'll lose at trial.


Him: "They weren't mine."
Jury: "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiggggggggghhhhhhtttttttt"

i agree.
im betting the sao threw a deal up hoping he would take it.
i bet if your friend wanted to go to trial, the sao would have dropped charges.
based on whats posted sounds like a very weak case.

Looking at the last line, it looks like he has 2 years of probation (730 days). That's a felony conviction.

Not to mention most DAs don't aspire to be DAs forever. Their prosecution record is their booster to higher political positions. The DA will offer a plea bargain so the defendant feels good that he go off with a lesser charge and the DA gets a drug conviction win on his record instead of a loss or dropped charges in a drug case.

Nobody got time for your fan-see book lernin, boy. He dun red his-self a Judgement Entry copied off those dang burn informashun sooper hiway.

.........

In Florida we use a pre trial intervention.(PTI).  Your essentially on probation, community service, group therapy, and etc.to what ever you agreed to with the PA.  Essentially, if you complete this clean, your record gets expunged.  I know when looking at the court records in Florida the case shows open and PTI along with a plea to what ever charge and etc. in the list.  The details are in the court paper work the judge signed too.  I would call the clerk of court or the prosecuting attorney, let them know you have legal possession of the firearms for your friend, and get the details from the horses mouth.  Like others have said, the PA sells probation, PTI, and pleas to pad their stats, just don't go off on them for that or you will be stonewalled. Most PA offices also have attorneys that take public questions on call (bankers hours of course) and they too may be able to look of the case and explain the disposition.  If call in on the phone doesn't work, make an appointment with them.  Depending on how busy your local office is, phone calls become a last priority.  Showing up in person always gives a better impression and priority to the PA.

I'll give you $2 each.

DT...