Keith Oliver from my office just finished representing an individual who was charged with two counts of possession of prescription drugs, specifically, Xanax and Oxycontin; one count of possession of cocaine and one count of possession of prescription drugs (Oxycontin) with the intent to distribute. All of the three aforementioned charges are third degree indictable (felony) offenses and if convicted, the defendant will be facing up to five years in a New Jersey State Prison on each charge. Fortunately for the Defendant, he was not within a Park or School zone at the time of his arrest otherwise he would have been subject to the Brimage Guidelines.
It was alleged that the defendant was observed by local police officers making a hand to hand transaction inside his vehicle. The Officer states in his report that he then approached the defendant’s vehicle and upon doing so, saw in plain view several Xanax pills. Based on their observations, the Officers were able to receive consent from the defendant to search the remainder of his vehicle. During the search, the Officers uncovered over forty pills of Oxycontin and a plastic zip lock bag of cocaine. The defendant denied making any hand to hand transactions, however, the co-defendant made a full confession, admitting that the defendant did in fact sell him several Oxycontin Pills.
Traditionally, possession of a controlled dangerous substances with the intent to distribute or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance charges are barred from participating in the Pre Trial Intervention Program. However, the Courts do make exceptions if defense counsel is able to convince the Judge and Prosecutor that the defendant deserves this opportunity. In the case at hand, my office was able to put-forth enough compelling reasons on why the defendant should be entitled to participate in the Pre Trial Intervention Program (“PTI”). PTI is a diversionary program in New Jersey, where in which if the defendant completes the program without violating any of the conditions imposed by the Judge, the then outstanding charges will be outright dismissed. Therefore, the defendant will be afforded the opportunity to walk away from these otherwise life changing charges without a criminal record and serving a single day in jail.
The Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall is an experienced Bergen County Criminal Defense Firm with a long track record of success. If you or someone you known has been charged with a criminal or traffic offense in Bergen County we can help. If you have any further questions please contact any one of our Bergen County Offices for a free initial consultation with any one of our eight criminal defense attorneys on staff.