VapesitDaily

i'm 20 years old. in riverside county CA.

there was a small fire in my bedroom, i was able to put it out but it was really smokey and i was not sure it was all the way out so we called the firefighters (i won't call them again unless the whole house goes up) they came in and found a pipe in my room (i tried to clean it up but it was dark and smokey so i could not really get all my stuff) then they found aprx 1/2 oz of ABV (already been vaped MJ) so the firemen grabed my pipe and ABV and called the cops on me and gave the cops the pipe and ABV. the cop then walked into my house (did not ask to come in, did not have a warrent, just walked in) but he did not find anything more then what the firemen already gave him.

so he wrote me up for 11357(b) Poss. of MJ. he took the pipe and the ABV MJ. so i've been looking around online and see it's a $100 fine; thats no big deal really, but then i see for anyone under the age of 21 they may suspend your drivers licence. i can't afford to lose my licence.

what are the chances of me losing my licence?

i have a few things going for me, this is my first offense ever, for anything, i have not done anything wrong in my life (besides one speeding ticket) i'm also a good student, i have good grades and am attending college at the moment, i work full time so i need to drive to work and lastly the poss. of mj had nothing to do with a car, i was in my home when it happend, so no car was involved in the offense.

i don't care about the $100 fine, but should i get a lawyer to make sure i don't lose my licence?

my court date is Dec. 5th 2006, at 7:30am, 45min. from my house.

BartSimpson

One of my purposes on here (whatever-we-call-it-this-week.com) is to help young men like you to avoid trouble. Firstly, I have to suggest that you somehow pissed the firefighters off; most could care less if you smoked weed unless you start something with them. Give the nice firefighter a chance and understand that getting to the truth is important to make sure nobody else is hurt. Firefighters could care less about your smoking weed unless it is a danger to others.

It sounds like the source of fire was related to your smoking weed - not a good thing - and you got cited for being rather stupid with your smoking methods, not for being an average pothead.

Hire a good attorney and you should expect some suspended sentence pending your particiation in a community service program - I recomend being "Smokey the Bear" at the next fire prevention event - but you deserve a break and you will likely get it if you are cooperative.

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VapesitDaily

i did not make them mad at all, i was as nice as i could be to them, however the head firefighter was also an ex-cop. i helped them as much as i could when ever they asked me anything.

it was my smoking that caused it, i thought the ash was compleatly out but it turns out it was not; i fucked up.

what do you mean by "you should expect some suspended sentence"? does that mean i should expect a suspended licence?


so you're saying it'll be a $100 fine and community service, along with a suspended licence?

BartSimpson

In California, the court costs exceeds the fine, so you will pay about $350 total after all is said and done, fine plus court costs.

A decent attorney should cost you about $500 to take care of this matter, but $1k is not out of limits if you want to get rid of the entire charge.

Do everything you can to get this off your record, and paying a couple of thousand now will mean a whole lot in the next few years. Find an attorney who is active in the Court you will appear in, pay cash and you will have his best attention.

Remember that if you are guilty, that the lawyer does not get you off because of some silly loophole. The negotiations are about your future and you can be smart about your behavior.