Fredericksburg Drug Arrest Process for Marijuana Offenses
Every case is going to be different, but normally the Fredericksburg drug arrest process for marijuana offense inlcudes an arrest, magistrate, arraignment, and trial or preliminary hearing. With simple possession of marijuana, a person is normally not going to be arrested for a simple possession of marijuana and all of these answers are assuming that a person does not have any kind of criminal history and that this is a first offense, unless of course, it is stated that it is not. The assistance of an adept drug attorney is a valuable asset throughout the arrest process.
Simple Possession
A person is normally not going to be arrested for simple possession. Instead, they will be given a summons or essentially a ticket to return to court, so there will not be a warrant and the person is not going to be taken to jail at the time of their arrest, they are going to be held. The defendant will be given a ticket and come to court on the date that the ticket says. The person will be arraigned.
The accused will be encouraged to hire a lawyer or get a court appointed counsel and then the person will have a trial. Same for a misdemeanor possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Once again, it is a misdemeanor offense with no record, they are not going to issue a warrant. They will give the person a summons. They will let the person go and then the accused will come back to court on their own power and the matter will be set down for a hearing or a trial.
Possession With Intention to Distribute
Possession with intent to distribute marijuana—a half ounce or more but less than five pounds is a class 5 felony. Since it is a felony offense, the court or the magistrate will have to issue a warrant for a person’s arrest and the person will be arrested. This likely will involve an undercover officer or a confidential informant and a person is going to be arrested, however, given the nature of the charge, the person is more than likely to be given a bond by either the magistrate or the judge.
The person will be able to post a personal recognizance bond in which a person can just walk out on the person’s own recognizance with a promise that they will come back to court and then they will allow the person to come back, but they are going to issue a warrant. The accused will be arrested however, they will more than likely be released.
Five Pounds or More
Possession with intent to distribute marijuana of five pounds or more is a felony offense, so there is going to be a warrant. The person is going to have to post a bond, with this crime, it is more than likely going to be a secured bond, meaning a bond that a person is going to have to pay for in some way, shape, or form. It may not be a high bond, but it is going to be something that they will have to post, as opposed to a personal recognizance bond and a person would not have to pay any money to get out, just a promise to come back to court.
For anything over five pounds plus, so possession with intent to distribute marijuana is the third established court offense and that carries five years to life as a mandatory minimum. So a person is going to be arrested. The person is going to be held, he or she is going to be held without bond post-arrest and pretrial, so the person is likely to be sent to jail for the foreseeable future as the person awaits trial. It is the same for distribution of marijuana to a prisoner.
The person is likely going to be held pre-arrest or post-arrest, pretrial. For distribution of marijuana in a school zone, once again, the person is likely going to be arrested on a warrant and then held without bond post-arrest and pre-trial.
Contact an Attorney
The Fredericksburg drug arrest process for marijuana offenses varies depending on the amount that an individual is caught with. Avoid unnecessarily harsh sentences, and get in touch with an experienced marijuana possession lawyer right away.
