Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
A man and a woman in a car with West Virginia plates are facing drug trafficking charges after police found more than 1,200 pills between them. Police approached the parked car and, when they asked the two to step outside, both were acting nervous, according to a report on First Coast News. Police then saw tape on the inside of a condom, which is often how people package drugs to put them inside their body cavity to transport, the television station reported. When police searched the woman, who said she was four or five months pregnant, they found two bags of pills in her underwear. She said she didn’t have any more pills, but when she got to the jail, more narcotics came out of her shoe and onto the floor. The woman then ate a handful of pills off the floor and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Those actions will get her additional charges for bringing drugs into a jail and tampering with evidence. Police reports listed the woman, 28, from central Florida and the man from West Virginia. The origin of the pills was not available, but Florida has become notorious for its “pill mills.”
People come from out of state to load up on pills from the Florida clinics, including some in Clay and Duval counties, and either use them personally or make a significant profit selling the pills elsewhere. Florida penalties for trafficking prescription drugs are stiff and they often tie the hands of judges. If a person has more than 28 grams of narcotics – a fraction of these 1,200 pills – the mandatory minimum sentence is 25 years in prison. The sentence is set by law and cannot be lowered by a judge. The issue in this case will be the stop. Why did police flag this couple? Are there posted signs that prohibit loitering? Trucks stops exist for people to stop, rest and get back on the road.
Drug crimes, particularly pills, have the attention of Florida lawmakers and those caught with enough pills to sell can be looking at serious prison time – whether the drugs are prescribed or not. But that doesn’t give police a license to go on fishing expeditions hoping to find pills just because a car has out-of-state license plates.
Our pill trafficking attorney has seen the spike in prescription drug cases and knows the ins and outs of the law. You typically have one shot to get the charges dismissed or face 25 years in prison and you need a St. Johns County criminal defense law firm that can fight for you.
If you or a loved one needs a Drug Crimes Defense Attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm, PA at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our St. Johns County criminal lawyer is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.