Marijuana.com

zazz

i know that cops can search through your cell phone when you are arrested and answer incoming calls, but are they allowed to make calls?

 

$moKeDanK

i dont think so

zazz

the reason i ask is this-- i got arrested two nights ago and charged with possession (3 grams).

here is what happened, kind of a ridiculous story.

I was supposed to meet a friend at a nearby gas station where he was going to pick me up. He was 20 minutes late so i called him, the phone picked up but no one was there. i thought that was weird so i started walking home. A few minutes later i received a call from him, and it didnt sound like him but i figured it was bad reception, i asked where he was he said on his way and he asked where i was, i said i was walking home from the gas station. I continued walking home when i police officer rolled up next to me and asked my name, i told him, and then he got out of the car told me to put my hands on the hood, and then he searched me. I asked what his probable cause was for searching me and got no answer. He found 3 grams in my pocket.

I found out that my friend had been pulled over for running a red light, then arrested for driving with a suspended license. I called him as he was being arrested, and for some obnoxious reason i have yet to understand i was saved in his phone as "(my name - followed by the word) weed guy". The officer saw this and answered the phone. He is also the one that called me back and asked where i was. When he asked my name on the street i saw no reason to lie and gave it to him, the name he was looking for from the phone call.

so im basically wondering if it was legal for him to call me on my friends phone and pretend to be my friend.

I have a preliminary inquiry hearing on June 17th (not really sure what this is). I am 19 and live on my own and cannot afford a lawyer, i applied for a public defender today. Does anyone have any suggestions, i have never been charged or been to court for anything before, and dont really know what to expect to happen. My charge is Possession of Marijuana, which is a misdemeanor in MD, with a maximum sentence of up to 1 year and $1000 dollar fine.

What should i realistically expect?

thanks!

shibshib

I would say no as well and would be shocked if they were allowed to.

edit: after i posted i saw your new post... yeah, if you label people "weed guy" and what not... that may allow for probable cause or something.

I have seen stories on some of those cop-renactment tv shows where after they catch a drug dealer, they use their pager or cell phone to get other people arrested... but it was always with the persons assistance (to get a better plea bargain or whatever)

Nick360

I think they are able to do that and if it turns out they ate able to do that get prepared to spend 1 year in jail i guess.

 

$moKeDanK

you wont spend anywhere near 1 year in jail as the poster above me stated. thats pretty fucked up of the cop. id fight it in court. the fact that your name had weed guy next to it doesnt help tho, sounds illegal what they did though.

Andrew87

I'm really not entirely sure about the phone thing, I have never heard of anything like that happening before (them calling you). See what your lawyer thinks.

However, I suspect that your friend divulged a bit more information to the police than you know of (they probably really laid into him when "xxxxxxx - weed guy" showed up on the phone), because it sounds odd to me that they would go so far as to investigate you based solely on a hunch.

Anyways, (if you plead guilty) I sincerely doubt your punishment will be worse than 6-12 months probation, with the possibility of community service and/or random drug testing.

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"I like the moment when I break a man's ego." -- Bobby Fischer

zazz

does anyone know how drug courts work in maryland?

also, i cant belive this guy saved me in his phone as that, most stupid thing ive ever ever encountered, he says he did it because when he first met me he had other people with my name in his phone so that was how he could recognize me and never changed it.

The officer that arrested me said i should expect probation and a fine as its my first offense, he was'nt really sure though so im trying to see if anyone else has been in this situation in MD.

Andrew87

The basic premise of "drug courts" is that they are a form of alternate sentencing in order to spare non violent, first time drug offenders the stigma of having a permanent criminal record. They tend to focus more on rehabilitation rather than punishment, so you should probably plan on being required to attend some sort of drug abuse class.

Yep - zero common sense.

As I wrote in my previous post, I'd say it's overwhelmingly likely that something along these lines is what will happen.

Buzzby

I don't think you need to worry about going to jail. In the United States, 800,000 are busted for marijuana offenses each year, 89% of them for simple possession. If they all went to jail, governments would have to drop all other projects and devote all of their time to building more jails.

You'll probably get a fine, probation, and random drug testing.

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