I Need Advice On Dealing With The Justice System...

TexasAl · April 4, 2009

Well,

My younger brother has been a slacker for a long time now. He was basically treading water for the past few years, working minimum wage jobs while he "went" to school. He actually dropped out of school (community college), and was simply working. About two years ago, he purchased a car with a huge payment. Well, recently he was bitching about how this payment was not allowing him to do other things he wanted to do. I advised him to work as many hours as he could, and to pick up odd jobs (he is a mechanic) to bring up his income. Well, two weeks ago, My mother gets a call from a Texas trooper, telling her that my brother is in jail. It turns out that he and his "friend" had decided to traffic 5 Kilo's of coccaine to Dallas. They where pulled over for a traffic violation, and they are both in jail. They are charging them with a felony. This was my brothers first encounter with the law, and the other "kid" was the main conspirator (he confessed everything). My brother is in jail, and he has a public defender, and I just don't know what we have to do to help him. His excuse to the investigator was the he was behind on bills , and didn't know what else to do. I am not excusing his behavior at all. He is the first person to get in trouble with the law in our family, so this is extremely foreign to us. I want him to pay for his crime, but I don't want his life ruined by this STUPID mistake. He is very repentant for his crime, I believe this has scared him straight. If any of you are knowledgeable with the court system, Law Enforcement, or know an attorney that could help us with this, I would be very grateful. I contacted some attorneys, and they are estimating $15-$25 thousand for a criminal defense. We don't have access to that kind of money. Thanks in advance for you help.

Al

VMax2007 · April 4, 2009

I contacted some attorneys, and they are estimating $15-$25 thousand for a criminal defense. We don't have access to that kind of money. Thanks in advance for you help.

Al

Sorry to hear this. But for his sake, you had better find the money for the attorney. I would not want a Public Defender defending me for something as serious as this.

Good luck!

pennzoil29 · April 4, 2009

Damn, trafficing in cocaine is some serious sh*t now-a-day's. He'd have been better off killing somebody. Like Jeff said, I'd talk to some attorney's. Public defender's aren't free, and they seldom do you justice either. Good luck.

Sigmawess · April 4, 2009

Trafficing cocaine is serious in Texas. Not to mention 5 kilos. He needs a private attorney. Do not use a public defender! If it is his first offense he has a good chance with a good lawyer. At least go get some consultation, it doesnt cost anything.

Silverado4x4 · April 4, 2009

Theres no dought there going to get them with intent to distribute, CDS, traffician, etc with that much in there possession. The ONLY thing in his favor is no pryor criminal background if thats the case. Its going to cost big money or lot of time in jail or both. The worst thing is its going to follow him for the rest of his life. What he needs to do is enrole in any program pertaining to this once he gets out on bond. Good luck your going to need it.

Mark_in_Tulsa · April 4, 2009

He can get out of a lot of trouble if he snitches.

(which I would do)

Also does he also need to worry about the guy, who's drugs he lost?

txab · April 4, 2009

I had an older brother get busted for the drug thing about 9 yrs ago. I think he got busted for meth. He wasn't transporting much. It took about 15k for the atty. I let his ass sit in the county jail for 5 mos before I bailed him out. 2 reasons for that. First his bail was set way too high and they didn't lower it for about 3 mos. They busted him because they were hoping he'd roll over on someone else. He really didn't know enough, which was fortunate. Second, when they finally did lower bail, I figured he needed a little more punishment time. The time inside did him good. He ended up getting a plea deal. He got 10 yrs probation, plus time served, plus a hefty fine. They also cleaned out his house, claiming everything was purchased with drug money. Which it wasn't, but the law likes to dispose of your property..... The Law officials even took 3 rifles and 2 handguns that were legally registered to me. I'll never see those again.

Bottom line is you need to find an Attny who knows how to dance with these guys. Seems a lot of it is a game. An Attny that deals with drug cases regularly in the area is what you need. Seems like it's just way to make everybody some money.

BuckFeverZ · April 4, 2009

IMO, if he can't afford an attorney, I would let him get what's coming to him. He decided to participate in illegal activities and they carry consequences if caught.

cerbomark · April 4, 2009

25 years law enforcement and I agree with ALL of the above. Sometimes this is the only way we learn and I don t say that in a nasty way. Good luck and sorry for your troubles. It s amazing how people make choices that affect their loved ones in major ways.

In NJ we have PTI(pre trial intervention) and you need a good lawyer to apply for this program which will give a first timer a light sentence if he meets the requirement for this program. Ive worked with officers who got in serious troubles and one of the many got PTI. Don t know about your local laws though.

killterrorists · April 5, 2009

Bottom line is you need to find an Attny who knows how to dance with these guys. Seems a lot of it is a game. An Attny that deals with drug cases regularly in the area is what you need. Seems like it's just way to make everybody some money.

^^^I Agree with txab and buckfeverz^^^

It really is a game about money, if you grease the right wheels things tend to work in your favor. Find a good lawyer that deals with criminal defense from the area the trial will be held. It's not gonna be cheap but aside from snitching which I don't agree with in this situation (If you do the crime be prepared to do the time) a lawyer is the only option for possibly not going to prison. Hopefully he got arrested where the justice system is corrupt like las vegas. I got in trouble about 5 years ago for a few much less serious crimes in LV and after $12,000 in lawyer fees I had only spent 30 hrs in jail. On the other hand my girlfriend was involved in trafficing one kilo of meth a few years ago and they charged her with 7 felonies, she pled giulty to one charge and is currently doing 3 to 8 yrs in prison. The public pretender that handled her case was a complete joke but you get what you pay for, you basicly have to buy your freedom. Unless you can find a bunch of money to hire a lawyer he will be going to prison. I think he should have to pay for his own lawyer since he knew what he was doing. I paid for my lawyer when I got in trouble. If you are a grown man then you shouldn't expect any help from anyone.

bigredmariner · April 5, 2009

Unfortunately this will be one of those " Money talks and Bullshit walks" deals. It's gonna take alot of $'s to get him out, 5 Kilos is heavy weight shit, and they can seize just about anything of his that they want, and the law allows them to. I agree with everybody that if he can get in front of this deal and snitch or whatever, maybe since it's first-time they will go easy on him. Just remember he's an adult and not just your little brother anymore, don't let his mistake ruin your life. Sorry I can't help more than just saying Good Luck.

TexasAl · April 5, 2009

Thanks for all your advise. I know the public defender is a joke. We went up to Waco for a pretrial hearing, and he didn't know what the hell was going on. He was consulting with another public defender about what the best thing to do was. I know the best thing for him would be to find him a real attorney, but like I stated earlier, we just can't afford that. I'm a teacher, and I don't have that kind of money. My mother is barely making ends meet at home, and dad is out of the picture. We are a hard working family, and we can't just get that kind of cash, especially not for an attorney. I agree. He should pay for his crime, but like most of you say, money talks, and BS walks. This was truly his first time doing this kind of shit. The other guy was the one with the contacts, and he snitched in a New York minute. They even got the guy who was going to meet them in Dallas. My brother was the IDIOT just driving with his friend, in order to make some easy cash. He knew the drugs where there, but he did not setup or have any contacts (which is good for him and my family). Either way, they both told the investigators everything before they got an attorney. It shows they are cooperating, but it is worthless if they wanted to plea out. If anybody know a good, cheap attorney in Waco, please let me know. I've called several, and the cheapest one was about $10K .

txab · April 5, 2009

I doubt if you'll find anything cheaper than what you've found already. You have to understand the number of hours that an attorney will be required to put in on this case. Even if he gets a plea deal, there will still be several court appearances and filings, etc.... Lawyers have an hourly rate. They like to get paid what they are worth, or think they are worth. I would suggest looking into financing if you really want to help your brother. If you can't come up with the money then you need to just move on. You can only do what you can do. He's made his choices in life. You have your own life to live. Just prepare yourself for the very real possibility of visiting your brother in prison, but hope that you won't need to.

ALange · April 5, 2009

As a tax payer I don't want to pay for his defense so I wouldn't mind if the family springs for it. That said, you get what you pay for. I am sorry for your family and the pain and disappointment you must all feel.

matt3 · April 5, 2009

He shouldn't have told the investigaters anything without speaking to a attorny or at least a public defender first! Now he just gave them a confession and he probably won't get anything in return. ALWAYS keep your mouth shut UNTIL to talk everything over with a lawyer FIRST and also tell him NOT to discuss his case AT ALL with anyone inside of the jail, inmate or not. They will tell on him to save their own a$$s.

I'm not gonna lie to you. He IS going to do some prison time. 5 kilos is a lot of coke and no lawyer is gonna get him totally off UNLESS the police did not handle the case properly. That is why you hire big $ attorneys to find out, also the big $ attorneys often have good contacts with the prosecuter and the judge and that can work in his favor.

The last thing I would be worried about is if he rolls over on someone. How dangerous are these guys, drug dealers that deal in that amount of drugs are probably very violent and would most likely kill him or someone close to him to get him to keep his mouth shut.

Just some things to think about.

BTW I do believe in "if you do the crime, you do the time". But, if he is truely a good kid that made a mistake, I'd hate to see his whole life screwed up because of 1 bad decision. Either way make sure he really learned his lesson!