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majick

My boyfriend was arrested on Tuesday night for cultivation. He had around 50 plants - only one plant was budding, most were seedlings and there were some small plants - maybe around 6 inches tall at most. There were also pipes and bongs. He didn't have any actual weed - just the plants. He had to go to court the next day and he was held without bail. His bail hearing is on June 7th. He had a clean record. What I'm wondering is how much time could he get? And how do they charge you with plants - do they weigh the plants themselves or what? The majority of the people I've talked to said he most likely won't serve any time and he'll probably just have to pay fines/bail, be on probation and have to do community service. That is what I'm really hoping for - I'm 7 and a half months pregnant and this baby needs her father.

I was charged with possession just for being in the room when they came in. Can I fight this? I didn't have anything on me - I was just there. My record is clean, too. Could they take my baby if it's found in my system or in the baby's? (Don't judge me or lecture me, please - I really don't need it right now)

Please, I really need some answers.

 

dedbr

weren't you living there?

Didn't you know about the plants?

Were there any bills in your name for that adress?

Is it his child?

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law420

You need to list the charges and the weight of the plants to get an answer to your question. Are these state or federal charges. Probably you need your lawyer to interview the police officers and speak with the prosecuter. I would not recommend listening to someones advice who is not an attorney or a police officer. It certainly sounds like your boyfriend will be facing a felony. Federal drug laws are pretty stiff. Even one plant can be a felony.
I find it unlikely that he will get just community service for growing 50 marijuana plants. I should hope that you have hired an attorney already; or at the very least, contacted a public defender if you are indigent. Has social services contacted you about the baby? This could be a real issue for you. Again I suggest you acquire counsel to settle this matter.

Anyway Heres a chart i found for Rhode Island Marijuana: I got it off the internet and not from Lexis because that is expensive for me; thusly i can not totally ensure the accuracy; although the chart was published by NORML.


Incarceration
Fine
Possession
Less than 1 kg misdemeanor 1 year $200 - $500
1 kg to 5 kg felony 10 years MMS* $10,000 - $500,000
More than 5 kg felony 20 years MMS* $25,000 - $100,000
Within 300 yards of a school, public park or playground felony double penalty double penalty
Possession while driving causes driver's license suspension for 6 months (first offense), and 1 year (subsequent offense).
*Mandatory minimum sentence.
Sale or Cultivation
Less than 1 kg felony 30 years $3,000 - $100,000
1 kg to 5 kg felony 10 years MMS* $10,000 - $500,000
More than 5 kg felony 20 years MMS* $25,000 - $100,000
Delivery to a minor 3 years younger felony 2 - 5 years $10,000
Within 300 yards of a school, public park or playground felony double penalty double penalty


As you can see Rhode Island is pretty serious about cultivation. The pipes and bongs are not the serious problem for your boyfriend. Its the plants and how the charges are written. I strongly urge that you hire an attorney immidiately. You and your boyfriend are facing more than a slap on the wrist.

majick

When we were first arrested we were told that his charges were cultivation, possession and trespassing (don't ask about the trespassing - long story). But I found out last night that it is now 'manual delivery of marijuana' - which I don't understand because he wasn't selling or anything like that. I don't know the weight of the plants - I was wondering if they weighed them or not. I'm not sure if they count the number of plants or if they weigh all the plants - and do they count the dirt/pot it was in?

And uh...

Less than 1 kg felony 30 years $3,000 - $100,000
1 kg to 5 kg felony 10 years MMS* $10,000 - $500,000
More than 5 kg felony 20 years MMS* $25,000 - $100,000


How does that work? Less than 1 kilo gets you more time than if you have more than 5 kilos but less of a fine??

I was not living there - I live with my parents. Like I said - the only reason I was charged was because I was there. I don't have any mail going there. And yes, it is his child.

Social services hasn't contacted me. I spoke with my parents and they told me not to worry - if they take my child, they can take custody of her.

Two years ago a guy in my town was arrested for marijuana. He had over 13 pounds in his basement. He served about a year in jail and maybe 6 months on home confinement. I don't know if that gives anyone any idea of how they treat marijuana cases around here - but it was a thought.

law420

The higher categories have lower sentences on the chart because its a mandatory sentence. The lower category is discretionary sentence. Think of it this way. The first category is a sentence up to 30 years but can be a lot less The second category is a minimum sentence of ten years and can be a lot more. The federal guidelines are based on the number of plants. You never said exactly what the charges were and whether it was a federal or a state cause of action.

There are a lot of factors to be considered. I think that you are oversimplifying your situation and looking for an easy answer, when one does not exist. The million dollar question is whether the courts are going to look at this as for perosnal use or for distribution. In Reynolds v.
Commonwealth the court held that there are a number of factors that may be considered in determining whether marijuana is being manufactured not for personal use. Such factors include the quantity and condition of the marijuana plants, evidence of the potential yield of the
plants, the existence of supervised growth, evidence of devices
to assist with growth (lamps, watering devices, etc.), packaging
materials, the presence of unusual amounts of cash, and
equipment related to distribution.

So the court is going to look at a variety of factors in making a decision.
Perhaps that gentleman you are talking about had a good lawyer. Perhaps the case against him was not that strong. Its hard to say without researching the other cases in your area and looking at all the circumstances surrounding your boyfreinds case. There are 2.2 pounds in a kilo so 13 pounds seems like it would be in the most serious category according to the NORML chart and would have given rise to a mandatory sentence of at least 20 years. http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?wtm_view=&Group_ID=4562.

In any event, the prosecuter has discretion to knock the charges down to a lesser offense. usually there will be a bunch of charges not just one. I think the delivery charge stems from this not being a plain and simple possession charge.

You and your boyfriend each need to get an attorney--you have competing interests so i do not suggest having the same attorney. these attorneys will be able to help you handle the situation better.

 

2point4

The 30 years for less than 1kg is the maximum sentence he could receive. The 10 years for 1-5kg is a Mandatory Minimum Sentence(MMS).

It sounds like there are some pretty important details missing from the story. How does a trespassing charge come into play if you were in your home? We can help you out here with advice, but you have to give the full story. And our advice is NOT legal advice. You'll want to contact a lawyer that is not your boyfriend's lawyer.

law420

I agree--this definately is not legal advice.

Im taking a guess on the trespassing. Were the plants being grown outside in somebodys field? But then that would not make sense if you were at home. I definately agree the story does not add up. There just isnt enough information. When you do get an attorney, you have to tell him everything.

majick

All right, here's the deal:

When my boyfriend first moved into that apartment, there were two other guys living there - his roommates. One roommate was kicked out months ago because he couldn't pay the rent anymore. The last roommate left because the rent was too much for him and that was about 2 months ago at most. So my boyfriend had been living there by himself for quite some time. The landlord never gave him a rental agreement. He had asked for a rent receit back when the last roommate was still around and she refused to give it to him. She told the cops that he was "trespassing" because she knew that he ddin't have any legal papers saying he lived there legally. The story has gotten to the papers and they say that she gave my boyfriend an eviction notice a week ago - not true; he never got one - and that the cops went into his apartment to get him out of there. Now, if that were really the case, why were there 4 cops on the scene if they were just trying to evict someone? Doesn't make sense. His landlord is just out to get him in any way she can. And that is the story about the trespassing.

I went with his mother to go visit him today, I wasn't allowed in, but she got all the info for me. Apparently, they're charging him with having 267 plants - this is because they can't seem to tell the difference between a cherry tomato plant and a pot plant. My boyfriend did not just have pot plants, he had a whole garden of vegetables with them. While the cops were searching the apartment they came over to us with a cherry tomato plant and asked what it was. My boyfriend told them what it was and they just laughed like he was lying or something. They're not too bright if you ask me... All the tomato plants were taken along with the pot plants. He was also charged for plants that were found outside - I know for a fact that they weren't his, but there's no way that we can prove that, so it doesn't really matter either way.

My boyfriend told his mother that he had 48 plants - so I was right about there being only around 50. What the other 217 plants are, I'm not sure, but they're most likely his tomato plants. With the plants, the cops also took two grow lights, a fan, some grow bags and they most likely took all the fertilizer and plant food. The papers say that there were baggies found, but that can't be true because I remember using the last sandwich baggie a few weeks ago when I made sandwiches. There were no baggies anywhere. My boyfriend had $13 on him and that was the only money in the house, unless you want to count a bunch of pennies on the floor. So, there was definitely no excessive amounts of money. In one paper it said how they found a cigarette rolling machine - he did actually roll his own cigarettes. I think they may even have found a 'roach' of a rolled cigarette.

He had his mother tell me to find him a lawyer that could possibly do his case "pro bono" (sp?). I was also told to get a High Times magazine and look in the back for the legal directory. I went and got one earlier and there isn't anyone from Rhode Island, but there's one for Mass and one for Conn. I plan on calling them tomorrow or sending them e-mails, possibly both. I also plan on looking for lawyers after I'm done writing this as well.

I know the advice I get on here is not legal advice, I'm just looking for anything I can get and I think the advice from this site is a little more legit than word of mouth on the street.

I hope that answered everything. If there's more you need to know, just let me know and I'll tell you all I can.

Sec

Your boyfriend has a lot of circumstances that haven't worked too well for him. I suppose none of this would have happened if he had taken care of his business instead of letting it ride. You cannot try to grow in a place where you know the landlord is trying to kick you out.

I suppose he was growing tomatos the in case he got the munchies from smoking the pot that was produced by 48 pot plants. 219 tomato plants. Did you ever think he was trying to hide the pot plants among the tomato plants, cuz that's a whole lotta tomatos for anyone.

Law420 is right on the mark when he/she said to get your own lawyer. One that is different than the lawyer for your boyfriend. He only has his immediate future to worry about, you have the entire future of your baby to consider. Just because your parents offer to adopt or foster your baby, doesn't guarantee that the State will allow it. They might put the baby in an independent foster home. Think of yourself and your baby. Your boyfriend is an adult, let him and his Mother handle his troubles.

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majick

In response to sec3: The landlord never told him that she wanted him to get out. I'm sorry, I thought I made that clear in my last message. She had never given him an eviction notice, nor had she said anything to him at all. The night before all this happened her and my boyfriend had an argument because she heard from somebody else that he planned on moving out soon. She was upset because he hadn't told her directly, which is rediculous because it was just something she heard. When she confronted him about it, he explained to her that he would give her two weeks worth of rent because he planned on being out by then. At the time she was perfectly okay with that plan and the next day we're getting arrested.

He wasn't growing the tomato plants incase he got the munchies. He had more than just tomato plants - he had about every vegetable you can think of, and no, it wasn't to hide the pot plants - it was for future food.

Also, it's not his mother's job to "handle his troubles" - he's an adult, she doesn't have to do anything to help him out if she doesn't want to. He told her earlier tonight when she saw him that it's MY job to get him help. He's been pretty much supporting me and now it's time for me to return the favor. He's the father of my child, so obviously I want him to be around for her. This topic isn't about me anymore - so don't worry about it. =) I just want advice about my boyfriend's case.