Selling Simulated Substances Is a Felony Crime in Minnesota

 

Felony Criminal Charges For Selling Simulated Controlled Substanses

 Selling simulated controlled substances in Minnesota is a felony offense.  A recent client of ours was charged with this drug crime.  Often the people charged with this crime are unaware of the seriousness of selling something that is not a drug, representing that it is a drug.

 

 

Aspirin - Legal until sold as a Controlled Substance

Illegal Ecstasy Pills

For example, in my recent case, my client was charged in Redwood County.  An undercover officer from the Drug Task Force contacted my client, seeking to buy Ecstasy. My client declined to do so initially, but the undercover officer continued to pressure my client.  So my client caved in, and agreed to sell him Aspirin that looked like Ecstasy pills. The undercover agent knew that the pills were fake Ecstasy, but agreed to buy them anyway.

   Under Minnesota Statute Section 152.092 selling a substance representing it as an illegal drug, even though it is not, is a serious felony offense.

 Fortunately for my client, there are good defenses available suitable for the specific facts of his case.

 If you have been charged with a Minnesota drug related crime, please call criminal defense attorney john Scott at 651-203-5990, or visit  my website.  Come back and visit my blog for more criminal defense information.

 

An Alford Plea-Not Necessarily the Best Defense –Criminal Defense Attorney in Minnesota

You Have Been Told To Take An Alford Plea, Should You?

You find yourself in a predicament where you are faced with charges.  Maybe you are guilty of one charge, but not the other.  You are offered a plea for both.  Maybe it is a good deal for the one, but not really for the other.  Should you take an Alford plea for the one charge you didn’t do?

What is an Alford Plea exactly?  An Alford Plea is a plea in criminal court in which the defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence, but admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty.  Upon receiving an Alford plea from a defendant, the court may immediately pronounce the defendant guilty and impose sentence as if the defendant had otherwise been convicted of the crime.  It is basically the same as a guilty plea, and is treated as such by all parties, except-the defendant, who is proclaiming their innocence. 

If you find yourself in a situation like this, or you need council in your court proceedings, call Minnesota Attoreny John Scott at 651-203-5990.

 

 

 

 

Chain of Custody Criminal Defense

In establishing a conviction for controlled substaces, such as marijuanna, the prosecutors need to establish a “chain of custody” from the site where the drugs were found to the BCA for testing. Usually after drugs are siezed at the scene of an arrest, the arresting officer marks them for evidence, and then delivers the the the BCA for weight and content certification. If the known “chain of custody” is broken, then the prosecutor has an authentication problem, as in – are these really the same drugs that were at the scene of the arrest?

I represented a client in Isanti county who was charged with possession of controlled substaces. He was growing for his own use, and had a closet set up with a grown system, including lights and potted plants. Upon seizing the marijuana, the detectives took it, dried it out, and put it in a box, and shipped 120 ounces of dried weed to the BCA via UPS. At the UPS warehouse in northeast Minneapolis, an UPS employee identified the box as containing the weed by its smell, opened it up, and took the weed. Only 62 ounces arrived at the BCA for testing. An examination of the UPS internal investigation revealed that the box was empty when the UPS learned of the employee’s theft.

In the course of defending my client, because the state could not establish the chain of custody, or where the 62 ounces of drugs came from, the charges against my client were dismissed.

John D. Scott, Esq.
Boedigheimer, Horejsi & Scott, P.A.
612-840-8961
jscott@boedigheimerlaw.com