A man in New Jersey was recently arrested for a drug crime. The arrest happened after police stopped him because the lights around his license plate were not functioning properly. A strong criminal defense will likely be necessary as he fights the drug charges filed against him.
According to police, an officer saw a car pass him at about 11:30 p.m. with no lights on in the license plate area. The officer thus decided to stop the car, and during the traffic stop, he reportedly saw the 25-year-old driver reach for an item from his pocket. The man then allegedly placed this item in his center console.
Police said the passenger in the front seat opened the window. At that time, the officer noticed the smell of marijuana coming from inside the car. When police asked the driver to retrieve the item he had taken out of his pocket, the 25-year-old man revealed a marijuana pipe. Police said they later found other items, including a wooden bowl and zip-type bag featuring marijuana as well as another marijuana pipe. The driver currently faces charges of possessing a drug in a car, possessing less than 50 grams of the drug marijuana, possessing drug paraphernalia and not maintaining his car lights.
The man facing drug charges has the right to proceed to trial to battle these charges. Alternatively, he may seek to negotiate a plea agreement with the prosecution. Plea agreements may offer the benefit of resulting in lighter charges and therefore more personally favorable sentences than what may result following a finding of guilt at trial. A New Jersey criminal defense attorney in either situation will strive to make sure that the client’s rights are not violated during the criminal proceedings.
Source: njherald.com, “Montague man faces drug charges”, Nov. 28, 2017