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need legal advice...family drama
ok this is going to be a long post because I have to include all the details. This post is in regards to my younger sister whose 17 yrs old- she got into some trouble and i just need some thoughts and advice to this problem so if you can help i would deeply appreciate it... so here it goes:
My sister has a restricted liscense- meaning she cant drive past midnite, and she cant drive with more than 1 other person in her car till she's 18.
So last week, she was picking up some friends after school when they all decided to go out to smoke some weed. Now, my parents dont approve of this whatsoever, but they rather not know about it if you know what i mean. anyways, she picked up some friends not knowing anyone had weed in the car. She picked up the last person and their was a total of 4 people in the car. 2 kids that were 17 (including my sis) in the front, and 2 who were 18 in the back. As she was picking up the last girl at WaWa, my sister had to use the bathroom, so after she went, she came back out to her car and saw a group of people around it. (Later on- she found out someone did an exchange, which meant some one from that group of kids, sold a bag of weed to someone in my sisters car).
So, she went to the gas station to get some gas and the girl in the back seat bought a blunt. The girl proceeded to empty out the blunt guts at the gas station, after my sister told her not to. she did it anyway. Then, an undercover cop car, not in uniform, but in his pick-up truck, followed my sister's car.(entrapment?) He radio'ed in to headquarters to tell them what he saw, giving them a reason to meet and pull her over. Once she was pulled over, she asked what she did wrong & if she was speeding. the cop told her she wasnt speeding, but told the girl in the back seat to get out right away. he searched her and found nothing, he searched everyone else but only found a bag of weed on the other kid who was 18. the cop also found seeds & stems in this schoolbook in the back seat. No one would confess to it. the girl in the back was breaking it up so it was technically in her possession. Since no one confessed to it, and my sister didnt know who it was, she was charged with a CDS in her vehicle. her car was impounded, and my mom had to pick her up at the police station b/c she's not 18. the cop also slapped her with a speeding ticket.
My sis told the cops that she didnt know whose weed it was. She did not see the exchange that took place while she was in the bathroom, and therefore, didnt know who was in possesion of it. she was driving, she couldnt see what was going on back there. Yes, she admitted they all planned to smoke- but, didnt know who had the weed. We got a letter in the mail, and the cop wants to take her to superior court b/c the cop is saying she knew it was in her car, she knew who had it, and basically making her look like a liar. she told them she didnt know who had it, if she did, sshe wouldve confessed when everyone was being handcuffed. (common sense to save her a$$) As she was being arrested, one of the kids in the back seat, told my sister, that the girl in the back swallowed the bag, so thats saying she didnt find out who had it until she was handcuffed.
Since all this chaos, my mom has hired a lawyer to reduce these charges with the speeding ticked at CDS in a vehicle. They havent gone to court yet, but my mom is really stressed out about this cop telling us my sister is lying. The cop is telling us she knew who had it the whole time when she really didnt. The only proof she has is when she went into the store to use the bathroom, which should be on videotape. Does anyone have any advice on what to say in court? i know you guys cant help b/c you dont know all the details but i tried to be somewhat informative. if this has happend to anyone else before, do you know what we should expect the outcome to be? what will happen? what to tell the judge? she wont go to jail which is the best part since she is only 17. Her liscense will be suspended but we dont know how long. What it all winds down to is money.. thats all the system is worried about... anyone have any positive feedback? lol thanks for hearing me out on this... its just been really stressful in my family and if someone else has a familiar situation i would love to hear about it. thanks!
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