Can I Receive Drug Charges at a Traffic Stop?

You may assume that you are being asked to pull over your vehicle by a law enforcement officer for accidentally violating a Tennesse traffic law on the road. While this may be the initial reasoning behind your traffic stop, it may quickly turn into an officer accusing you of drug possession or another drug crime. This is possibly the worst-case scenario to find yourself in. Nonetheless, read on to discover whether you can receive drug charges at a routine traffic stop and how one of the seasoned Clarksville drug crime lawyers at Fendley and Etson can help prevent them from landing on your permanent criminal record.

Can I receive drug charges at a routine traffic stop?

Your traffic stop may start as normal, with a law enforcement officer asking for proof of your driver’s license and car registration. However, they may notice that there is drug paraphernalia (i.e., pipes, bongs, syringes, pill bottles, etc.) resting on your passenger’s seat or dashboard. This may give them reasonable grounds to believe that affiliated drugs are present in your vehicle. Further, this may prompt them to call for reinforcements, possibly having a K9 sniff the exterior of your vehicle to identify any drug presence.

Or, a law enforcement officer may notice you are struggling to keep up with their line of questioning or are otherwise acting or appearing nervous about it (i.e., sweating, stuttering, etc). This may be a probable cause, in which they may lawfully ask you to blow into a breathalyzer or step out of your vehicle and submit to field sobriety testing.

Ultimately, in either scenario, a law enforcement officer may be valid in accusing you of a drug violation during your routine traffic stop. This may turn your traffic offense that would have been litigated in a local municipal court into a criminal offense that needs to be defended in a superior court.

What are the drug charges I am possibly up against?

The most common drug charge that stems from a traffic stop is a drug possession charge. Now, the severity of the penalties you are possibly up against may depend on the type of drug found in your vehicle, along with its quantity and your intent with it. More specific examples read as follows:

• The presence of more than half an ounce of marijuana in your vehicle: a prison sentence of one to six years and a fine of up to $5,000.
• The presence of more than half a gram of cocaine in your vehicle with an intent to sell: a prison sentence of eight to 30 years and a fine of up to $200,000.
• The presence of minimal amounts of heroin in your vehicle: a prison sentence of one to six years and a fine of up to $5,000.
• The presence of methamphetamine in your vehicle with an intent to sell: a prison sentence of three to 60 years and a fine of $5,000 to $500,000.
• The presence of prescription drugs in your vehicle: a prison sentence of one to 12 years and a fine of up to $5,000.

We understand just how delicate this situation may be for you. If you need an emotional support system that doubles as a legal support system, look no further than Fendley and Etson. Retain the services of one of the competent Montgomery County criminal defense lawyers today.