Drug conspiracy charges are very serious. In Alexandria, a drug conspiracy charge occurs when two or more people have a plan in place to distribute a drug, such as cocaine. There has to be a meeting of the minds. They are treated the same as if there was an underlying act, so multiple charges happen often, resulting in very serious penalties for multiple offenses. With this in mind, it is important to combat these penalties early with the help of an Alexandria drug conspiracy lawyer. A skilled drug lawyer can help to build a defense to maintain a positive outcome in a case.
In order for the prosecution to prove drug conspiracy in Alexandria, they need to show that two people had an agreement to participate in a scheme to distribute illegal drugs. They do not necessarily need to show any acts done in furtherance of it, but they need to show that two people had an agreement. Often, it is circumstantial because the commonwealth has to make the case based on how these two people behaved and if they said anything about one another.
Often, on drug conspiracy charges, the most common ones seen are where somebody sells and an undercover informant buys the drugs, then the person selling the drugs says that they are sending the money to another person, getting money from another person, or talking to another person about the deal. Often, the officer finds out that two people are working together to reach a common goal. In these cases, an Alexandria drug conspiracy attorney must be contacted.
Penalties for violation of drug conspiracy laws in Alexandria range in severity, based on the amount of drugs, and what type, along with other factors. For cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin, penalties can be anywhere from five years to life in prison, especially if it is more than an individual’s first offense. Other offenses, dealing with different drugs, are up to five years maximum, depending on what the drug is.
Individuals can be charged with both conspiracy and the separate underlying offenses, and that happens often making it even more important that an Alexandria drug conspiracy lawyer is contacted.
The most common technique is the undercover informant. Sometimes, they are paid, informants. Other times, they are people who have been arrested on other charges and they are trying to keep from getting convicted of those charges so they are doing work for the police. In these cases, they go undercover and they wear a body camera and a wire and they purchase illegal drugs so that the police can get to somebody else who is dealing.
Usually, the evidence is made through statements by someone who is implicating another person. However, it can also be a video of two people working together or photos of two people working together to distribute illegal substances.
If an individual is facing serious drug charges, they want a lawyer who has experience dealing with drug charges because they are often dealing with undercover informants. A lot of places in Alexandria and other large jurisdictions have separate drug task forces. Alexandria drug conspiracy attorneys know their procedures, and that gives a client an advantage in pursuing any of these cases.
A defendant wants a skilled drug conspiracy attorney in Alexandria with experience, who understands the difference between distribution and personal use because if an individual can defeat the parts about conspiracy, for example, an individual can often reduce the penalties they are looking at.