About a month ago, we wrote about the drug arrest of the rapper T.I. and his wife Tameka Cottle, better known as the singer Tiny from the R&B group Xscape. At the time, that arrest was interesting to our Long Beach drug possession criminal defense lawyers because T.I. had recently been paroled after serving time for a firearms charge. T.I., born Clifford Harris Jr., was found in violation of his parole and returned to prison Nov. 1. Both spouses had originally been charged with drug possession, but prosecutors later dropped the charges against T.I. Now, CNN reported Oct. 30, the charges remain against Tiny, who is accused of misdemeanor possession of Ecstasy. She pleaded not guilty in early November.
The couple was arrested Sept. 1 on the Sunset Strip section of Los Angeles. Police officers saw their luxury car make a U-turn and said they smelled marijuana coming from the car. After pulling them over, reports suggest that the officers did not find any marijuana. However, they did find pills on both Tiny and T.I., reportedly Ecstasy and codeine. T.I. later tested positive for opiates, a class of drugs that includes codeine. As a result of that and other alleged parole violations, he was sent back to federal prison to serve 11 months. Tiny is not accused of being under the influence or driving under the influence; merely of possessing the pills. If convicted, she could serve up to a year in jail.
Fortunately for Tiny, a drug possession charge is often easy for an experienced Torrance drug possession criminal defense attorney to defend. One avenue to explore in this case is the original traffic stop that resulted in the couple's arrest. The original reason for the stop was a smell of marijuana, but police officers don't seem to have found marijuana. (Initial reports said they found the drug, but if so, it did not result in a charge.) That makes us wonder if the officers had another reason for pulling the couple over that they'd prefer not to disclose. From the article, we don't know if the officers were up to no good, but that's certainly something we'd look at closely if it were our case.
Challenging the legality of a traffic stop is just one way that Howard Law, P.C. defends clients facing drug charges. Depending on the circumstances, we can also look into the legality of a search; whether our client "possessed" the drugs within the meaning of the law; and more. Drug possession is a nonviolent offense that typically doesn't hurt anyone, but that doesn't mean police officers treat it that way. Often, officers trained to overreact by the "war on drugs" will pile on charges without considering whether they can be proven. It's the job of our Chino drug possession criminal defense lawyers to make prosecutors either prove their cases or drop the charges. For clients who prefer a guilty plea, we can also help secure alternative penalties like drug court, which they can complete in order to keep a conviction off their records.
If you're charged with any drug crime, from possession up to trafficking, don't hesitate before you call Howard Law, P.C. for help. To learn more or set up a free consultation, send us an email or call 1-800-872-5925 toll-free.
