What to do if my son was arrested and charged with felony intent to deliver, minor possession of alcoholic beverage under 21 and possession of paraphernalia?
Question Details: The car was searched thoroughly. My son's dad, who is a cop (but was off duty, was called by the arresting officer to come get my son's car (usually they impound or sieze). My son's father also was given the gun found, which is the same gun that his father sold him but shouldn't have because it was his old police handgun. This gun was never mentioned in any reports and his father does not want an attorney's advice, due to all of the gun stuff. His father also said that he found a scale in the console of the car that was not found by the officers at the time of the search. Could this case just be dismissed?
Well any case can be dismissed if there is no evidence to support the charges or if a good criminal defense lawyer can demonstrate to the prosecution that the case is weak or there are problems with the case. It is difficult to tell from your description whether the police have a good ase against your son or not. The most important facts in such a circumstance are why your son was stopped by police, what happened when he was stopped, what he told them and how they conducted their search. If they did everything right then your son's case is unlikely to be dismissed (unless his father has some influence with those who make such a decision).
I don't quite understand why his father does not want an attorney's advice or what that has to do with the handgun. The advice and counsel of an experienced criminal defense lawyer is the absolute best chance your son has to get his case dismissed or reduced. These are VERY serious charges that can easily result in your son going to jail/prison and are not to be taken lightly.
Many attorneys like myself offer free consultations and would be happy to listen to all the details of what happened. After doing so, we can usually give you a good idea of what his chances are and exactly what we think we can do to help, if anything.
David West
Attorney at Law
