How Drug Cases Are Treated in Henrico
Below, a Henrico County drug lawyer discusses drug cases in Henrico County and how they are treated both in the local and national level. If you have been accused of a drug crime in Virginia, call today and schedule a free consultation with an experienced lawyer.
How Do Judges Treat Drug Cases in Henrico?
The judges in Henrico County are and can be very tough in imposing sentences. However, the judges will not object to treatment and first offender programs if they are approved.
The judges will first look as to is it an abuse issue, or is it something that can be handled without a significant jail sentence. And that’s what we try and work out. If we can show the judge that this person is getting treatment, this person is trying to resolve whatever drug issue they’re dealing with, the judges can be, and typically are, fairly sympathetic to that as long as we can show that there’s been an effort made on the part of our client.
However, if it’s a case with distribution or a case where a person has a repeated issues or run-ins with the law, the judges go for the jail sentence first to send a message. So, the way I like to word it with my client is if it’s your first bite of the apple and you show remorse and you show you’re, willing to get some treatment, the judge will work with you. However, if it’s a repeated problem and/or if you fail drug test while under probation, they can throw the book at you.
In What Ways Have They Been Cracking Down on Drug Offenses in Henrico?
Well, the officers are trained on what to look for as far as sales and with regard to people under the influence. When officers are conducting stops, they’ve been trained to kind of look for certain indicators whether it is smell or the behavior of people. They also do roadblocks or road checks where they are ostensibly looking for DUIs, but they’re also looking for drug possession charges.
Henrico County also works with some other agencies, they have drug task forces where they have confidential informants, and they have officers that conduct undercover buys.
How Are Drug Cases Typically Investigated and What Agencies Are Typically Involved?
If it’s something more than a possession charge where someone is distributing or manufacturing, the officers will use informants or conduct buys. Typically the informants are folks that pick up a possession charge and seek to help their own cause and get their own charges reduced by telling the officers who they purchased the drugs from or where they go about them. What the county officers will do is they’ll typically ask the person to conduct a monitored buy or to introduce an undercover officer to that party to make a purchase.
Henrico works with the other counties in drug charges, they work with the city of Richmond they work with Chesterfield. They also on occasion work with the FBI and the DEA on what are called joint drug task forces where they know drugs are being distributed either widely throughout the area or even to another state whether it is Maryland, or somewhere else like North Carolina.
They’ll work in conjunction with them so that they can bring state charges, but in addition to that they can also bring federal charges.
