Category: Drug Crimes

California is the only state that limits access to the personal files of law enforcement witnesses resulting in a lack of fair trials for accused individuals. Read this L.A. Time article about how I navigated around that block in federal court to ensure a favorable outcome from my client. “This L.A. sheriff’s deputy was a pariah in federal court. But his secrets were safe with the state.” Los Angeles Times, August 10, 2018.

As of January 1, 2018, California courts are offering “pre-plea”diversion in some drug cases. The benefit of pre-plea diversion is that defendant’s are not actually convicted of the charges and can earn a complete dismissal down the road. Prior to January of 1997, California offered diversion programs similar to the new law. After 1997, the law changed from “diversion” to “deferred entry of judgment”. The difference between the two is that diversion does not require a plea to be entered prior to accepting this as a settlement. This means that the defendant is never “convicted” of the crime. In the deferred …

I got an unsolicited email this weekend. A potential client was asking how much I would charge to represent them in a drug possession for sale case. God bless this potential client who said she was trying not to take too much of my time, but wanted to get an idea of what it would cost to hire me. I emailed back that I had some questions: Where is the case, some background information on the client, criminal history, some specific facts about the case, etc. The client indicated she had been quoted about $5,000 from two different lawyers. She seemed to …

Proposition 47 Passes Making Many Drug and Theft Offenses Misdemeanors In case you have not heard yet, Proposition 47 just passed. This means that many felony drug and theft offenses will now be misdemeanors. There is an exception in the law to exclude certain defendants with prior convictions for murder, rape and certain other sex offenses and gun charges. Also, the proposition has a retroactive effect which would allow previously convicted felons to be re-sentenced under the new law. Before re-sentencing the proposition requires some kind of criminal history review by a judge in order to assure the public that …

These days one of the most common requests I get from clients is to help them “set up” a dispensary to sell medical marijuana. “No really”, they say, “I want to be legit”. The first thing I tell these clients is that they shouldn’t do it. Someone was in last week asking me to set him up with someone who could supply him with a larger volume of marijuana. I told him to get out. The first thing I have to say about setting up a marijuana “business” is that it is not legal. Nowhere in the California Attorney General’s Guidelines on …

I missed this article last week, so I will talk about it today because this is a lot of marijuana. California Highway Patrol officers in the Imperial Valley pulled over a Chevy Van that they said was weaving as it drove north on Highway 86. After pulling over the van, officers found a 30 year old man from Las Vegas who was allegedly heading home – with 2000 pounds of marijuana in his van. That’s a ton for those who aren’t that good at math — An actual ton. According to the Los Angeles Times, officers had to call out a canine …

Xavier Domic Smith, a 20 year old rap artist was charged with multiple felonies in Los Angeles County on Friday. Smith, also known as “Lil Za” was recently arrested when sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant a Justin Bieber’s gated Calabasas home. Sheriff’s officials indicated that as a result of the search they recovered MDMA, also known as ecstasy and Oxycodone, a strong prescription pain medication in the possession of Smith. Smith was taken into custody and not immediately charged as he posted bail shortly after his arrest. While in sheriff’s custody at the Lost Hills, sheriff’s station, Mr. Smith is said …

Two people were arrested last week in Simi Valley, California after investigators found Methylone with an estimated street value of over $400,000 at the homes of Aaron Lieberman age 23 and his girlfriend Samantha Brand, 22, both residents of Ventura County. Ventura County Sheriff’s officials suspect that the two suspects were the source of most of the ecstasy and bath salts being supplied to the East side of Ventura County including Simi Valley and The West side of Los Angeles County including the San Fernando Valley. Typically known as bath salts, the drug has become increasingly popular in recent months as it has been …

Tustin police officers recently stumbled upon 24,000 pounds (that’s right) of marijuana after the driver of a big rig truck called 911 telling the operator that he thought he was being hi-jacked. The truck driver said that two men in a van tried to pull him over and flashed some sort of badge. The driver said the men looked a little shady so instead of pulling over he pulled into the parking lot of a business and called the police. Tustin police officers arrived to find the attempted robbers gone upon their arrival. Further investigation revealed about 12 tons of marijuana secreted …

18 people were arrested and 2,000 pounds of marijuana were seized after a boat landed on a quiet Santa Barbara Beach Friday. Law enforcement officials said the boat was first spotted by a group of national guardsmen. The tip was turned over to Santa Barbara Sheriff’s who made the bulk of the arrests with the help of some other law enforcement agencies. Federal authorities later located a truck which was tied to the bust and led to additional evidence and arrests. Many of the suspects were thought to be from Los Angeles County. Identitites of the subjects were being withheld pending filing …

Two men in a small boat loaded with bales of marijuana were busted off the coast of Zuma Beach yesterday. Los Angeles County lifeguards in the area notified the United States Coast Guard of the presence of the occupied “panga” style boat just off the popular Southern California Beach. The U. S. Coast Guard deployed helicopters and boats to intercept the boat which had broken down in the area of Malibu near the Ventura County Line. Authorities overtook the boat and arrested two men on board. 26 bales of marijuana were seized by law enforcement and the Los Angeles County …

Ventura County Law Enforcement arrested three men from kern County after they were discovered tending to a 55,000 plant marijuana operation in the Los Padres national Forest located in norther Ventura County near the small town of Ojai. This was very near the site where a record setting bust took place last year. That grow was discovered by hikers while this was discovered by a night surveillance operation by the Ventura County Sheriff. Along with the three men, police found a handgun, growing supplies and about one pound of finished marijuana. One of the three men posted bail while the …

The threat of jail and deportation was not enough to deter Ricardo Valencia from allegedly tending to over 6,000 marijuana plants shortly after his conviction and deportation for similar conduct. Valencia, 36 was being investigated by Ventura County law enforcement based on his prior conduct. A search warrant execution yielded $5,000 in cash, two firearms and various other indicia of marijuana cultivation. The sheriffs searched at least three different locations and seized over 6,000 growing marijuana plants. For those of us who are not counting, that’s a couple more than the attorney general says we can have. It appears that Valencia will be …

In a brief interview with a Spanish language television station this weekend, Mayor elect Eric Garcetti voiced his opinion that medical marijuana is ok and that casual use of marijuana might not be so bad either. Garcetti was interviewed by Univision’s Jorge Ramos on Saturday and suggested that if the California voters wished to make marijuana legal, he didn’t seem to have a problem with it. He also stated that medical marijuana is a valuable treatment method. The brief interview did not extend to the countless numbers of medical marijuana “clinics” in the city or how Garcetti planned to deal with them …

The only thing Ventura County Law Enforcement likes less than crime is crime committed by people from out of the county. Simi Valley police arrested a 40 year old man from Los Angeles County earlier today after he was caught in possession of ecstasy and suspected of selling the illegal drug. After arresting Chen, officers with both the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and The Simi Valley Police executed a search warrant at Chen’s Rowland Heights home. Police recovered additional drugs at the home as well as in his car. Chen is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail and will …

In the second Supreme Court case in a year to involve drug sniffing dogs, the Court held that the cops need a search warrant in order to bring drug dogs onto your porch. The Court went on to say that not just inside the house, but the “curtilage” of the home should be free from law enforcement searches without a warrant. Curtilage is anything connected to the home or closing associated with the home like the porch or garage areas. The ruling came after Miami-Dade police and Federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration started watching a home where they …

Three men were arrested in Ventura County after an extensive undercover operation led police to believe a couple of local medical marijuana dispensaries were selling illegal “bath salts”. Bath salts, as they have become known are said to be a manufactured drug that has a composition similar to methamphetamine and offers some psychedelic effects to its user. The drugs were allegedly being sold right out of the dispensary without any need for a prescription or other medical recommendation. Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten went public this week after his office and local law enforcement completed their investigation. Totten warned the …

Members of the Merced Multi-Agency narcotics Task Force arrested 11 people , seized 330 pounds of Methamphetamine, more than $100,00 cash and three vehicles during a raid that took place in Merced, CA. The investigation began in April with the purchase of one pound of Meth. Merced County District Attorney, Larry Morse said the street value of the meth is estimated to be more than $9 million.

Italian authorities uncover the biggest marijuana cultivation site ever discovered in Rome. Financial Officers on a routine walk through of the Bank of Italy detected the smell of marijuana rising from an air duct of an underground tunnel. The aroma led them to a metal door that opened onto what looked like a legitimate subterranean mushroom-growing business. Truffles, which are a known delicacy in Rome, are a type of mushroom that would be sold in this type of store. After the Officers noticed a fake brick wall, they pushed on the bricks and discovered a 43,000 square foot tunnel cultivation …

Two former US Border Patrol agents were found guilty of human smuggling. Raul Villarreal and his brother Fidel Villarreal assisted in the smuggling of immigrants on foot across the border in the backcountry east of San Diego. Over a two year period, the brothers would pick up immigrants and drive them into the US in their official government vehicles. Immigration and Customs Enforcement estimate the brothers brought roughly 500 immigrants into the US during this period, generating up to $4 million in profits. If you know someone who has been accused of a crime or have questions regarding aliens or …

A yearlong police investigation targeting the Eastside Anaheim gang resulted in 33 arrests of various criminal activities including drug trafficking and possession of firearms. Anaheim has seen a rise in police shootings this year and attribute the violence to gang activity. The investigation, named Operation Halo consisted of more than 250 officers raiding over 50 locations in the Anaheim area. Local residents voiced fear as police barged into homes in the quiet neighborhood near the 91 freeway. Residents spoke of police ransacking their homes, being handcuffed and having property seized from the home. If you have questions about this or …

Heroin use is on the rise in Ventura County, with a spike of cases found in Simi Valley. The prevalence of heroin addiction is often connected to prescription pain medications. Due to easy access of obtaining a prescription for opiates such as OxyContin, we are seeing a higher demand for heroin on the streets, which offers the same high, only more intense and at a much cheaper price. 75% of heroin overdoses that occurred in Ventura county from January 2010-March 2012 were found to be white males between the ages of 16-30 years of age. Simi Valley residents have responded …

I was recently contacted by the Los Angeles Area Drug Enforcement Administration or DEA. Special Agents on a task force dealing with physicians over-prescribing pills called me because they wanted to talk to one of my clients. My client, who is under doctors care for chronic pain, has been getting prescription pain medication for many years. Although my client has done nothing wrong, DEA agents are investigating my client’s doctors in an effort to determine if certain doctors are over-prescribing drugs. Many of us are familiar with the recent trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. However, we may not be aware …

A three judge panel in the 4th District (Riverside) Court of Appeal of the State of California just ruled that cities and counties are free to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in their jursidictions. This case followed another case in Long Beach where the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that Long Beach could not make laws specifically authorizing medical marijuana dispensaries because the drug still remains illegal under federal law. Taken together the new ruling are very damaging for the medical marijuana community. At least in so far as it pertains to dispensaries. While these new laws will have little effect on …

Ventura County law enforcement busted seven people and confiscated an estimated 130 pounds of marijuana in a farm-like setup near Pyramid Lake in the Los Padres national forest. Sheriff’s officials described a temporary camp-like setting where workers were using public land and water to cultivate there marijuana. Upon inspecting the area deputies found camping gear and food which apparently belonged to the marijuana growers. Police then discovered the drying marijuana plants and seized them. Shortly thereafter police located seven men a short distance from the camp. Unable to elude sheriff’s deputies the suspects found themselves at the edge of a …

Many years after the voters in California passed an initiative to allow legal use and possession of marijuana, the federal government still does not see it our way. The Compassionate Use Act allows authorized persons with medical needs and a doctor’s recommendation to have, use and even cultivate marijuana for personal use or for use as a caregiver or within specified group. I got a call just this Friday from a woman charged with possession of under an ounce of marijuana. She was on a federal military base and had the marijuana (with a valid CA prescription) on the base. …

Orange County Judge David Chaffee just ruled that Anaheim is within the law when it bans all medical marijuana dispensaries in it’s city. In a hotly contested ruling, a Superior Court judge in Orange County just sent the dispensaries packing – or at least moving – outside the city of Anaheim. Attorney Anthony Curiale, who represents the Qualified Patients Association, says his client, who runs a marijuana dispensary is going to appeal. Curiale goes on to state the the city ordinance is unconstitutional and conflicts with state law. Paul Chabot of the Coalition for a Drug Free California indicated that …

Here in Los Angeles people have long had a liberal view of illegal drug use.  In recent years we have seen our state’s marijuana laws become more and more liberal as well.  Not all other states take the same view toward unlawful drug activities like personal use and sale of small amounts of drugs. As people’s views toward drug use tend to liberalize, a phenomenon occurs within the court system.  It becomes increasingly difficult to find twelve jurors who will hold a defendant accountable for certain minor drug crimes.  Most people think of the term “drug dealer” as someone who prays on the …

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr issued a temporary injunction allowing dozens of Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensaries to stay open pending new City Laws or further court action.  The judge stated that as written, City laws violate the Constitution in several significant ways including the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause. The bad news is that the judge also allowed a quick out for the City.  By simple amendments to the current laws, the City could prevent any new dispensaries after a certain date and only allow dispensaries operating prior to that same date. My thoughts are …

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently reported that the top reason for “removing” or deporting immigrants is based upon their being detained for crimes involving “dangerous drugs”. these crimes involve the manufacturing, sale or distribution and even possession of illegal drugs. Dangerous drug crimes caused the deportation of almost 30 percent of all people deported in 2009. Next to dangerous drugs came traffic offenses which accounted for 16 percent of deportations and then came other violations like illegally entering the country of smuggling of other immigrants into the country which accounted for over 15 percent of deportations. Statistics maintained by …

Former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Peter Paul Felix was just sentenced to four years in state prison for bringing drugs into the very jails that he was charged with protecting.  He must have done it for the money, right?  As a deputy with two years on, Felix was probably going to make close to $100,000, in the full year he left the Sheriff’s Department.  With a salary like that, the idea of supplementing one’s income by a few thousand dollars does not seem to warrant the risk losing your job or going to prison.  Why then would Deputy Felix …

Proposition 19, California’s initiative to legalize the possession, growth and use of marijuana by people over 21 is losing ground according to the latest Field Poll.  The latest poll shows that more potential voters are likely to oppose it than support it. The poll goes on to show that the division appears to be on ethnic lines.  While more white voters support the legalization, black, hispanic and asian voters tend to be against it. Let’s wake up our pot smoking friends and get on the move.  Maybe we should offer brownies to people if they show us their “I voted” stickers.  For the …

Beverly Hills attorney Michael Inman was arrested yesterday after he allegedly brought heroin and methamphetamine into a courthouse lockup facility in downtown Los Angeles.  Inman was held for felony charges and bail was set at $190,000. The location of the arrest which is within the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, or CCB as it has been known for years, houses hundreds of inmates who are attending court hearings in the massive courthouse.  Sheriff’s officials say that a drug dog that was there to check inmates for narcotics alerted on Mr. Inman after which Inman was found to be in possession of black tar …

Earlier today a Federal Judge dismissed a lawsuit by three Orange County, California residents who contended that a total ban on marijuana dispensaries in certain cities in Orange County violated the American’s With Disabilities Act. Federal District Court Judge Andrew Guilford indicated that marijuana cannot be prescribed under the ADA, thus, the Act did not apply to marijuana. As such, the parties bringing the action were not likely to win at trial and the case was dismissed. It seems to me that an argument under the Equal Protection Clause might have been more successful. For example, it would likely be found …

Four men were arrested yesterday after they broke into a marijuana dispensary located in Laguna Hills. I suppose the high costs of medication caused them to become desperate. In their desperation they broke into a neighboring business and tunneled under ground and into the dispensary. They were said to have been in the process of burglarizing the business when they accidentally set off a recently added alarm system. Sheriff’s officials arrested the four men shortly after the alarm was set off. The business was burglarized a couple weeks ago and suffered a significant financial loss. This prompted the recent installation …

April 20th has long been a day that has been celebrated by marijuana smokers and 2010 seems to be no exception. I recommend that the day be celebrated by a visit to one’s doctor who can provide the 4/20 aficionado with a medical recommendation for the lawful use of marijuana. Marijuana has long been thought to be medically beneficial for a variety of ailments. I you are one suffering from almost any medical condition, you might seek a doctor’s recommendation for marijuana. Once you receive such a “prescription” then it is truly time to celebrate. However, until then, smoking marijuana …

I just came from court in Burbank where I achieved a fantastic settlement for JC.  JC was pulled over and found to have several thousand dollars in cash and 26 baggies of cocaine in his car.  There were also four cellular phones with one wringing off the hook. Police convinced him to let them search his house where they found three pounds of cocaine, one pound of marijuana and two loaded handguns.  Did I mention that both of JC’s children (ages 1 and 3) were at home? Result?  Probation and 180 days in county jail.  Another good day, and another …

Recently a client (A.G.) came to me after he had been arrested and charged with possession narcotics. Normally, this is not a big deal for a criminal defense attorney. In A.G.’s case, he was not a United States citizen. He couldn’t plead guilty to a felony and do a drug program. His immigration lawyer told him this would have devastating effects on his immigration status. We decided to set the case for trial. The prosecutor and the judge were very upset that AG didn’t want to plead guilty and they were likewise upset that I didn’t want to try and …