“House Raided – What to Do Next? Legal Advice Needed! #HouseRaid #LegalAdvice #NeedHelp”
House Raided by Police
Today, my (f21) house was raided by the police due to someone downloading illegal content. My father, who my brother (m19) and I depend on, was taken, leaving us on our own. They also seized weed from my room, given to me by my father, which is illegal in my state. What should I do next?
Legal Concerns
- Should I prepare a lawyer just in case?
- What are my options at this point?
- Could I be arrested and charged for the seized weed?
Any help is appreciated, and please let me know if I should seek advice elsewhere. #LegalHelp #WhatToDo
Oh gosh, that’s awful.
Were computers, tabets, or phones also seized ? Did any of them belong to you or your brother ?
It is very unlikely that the marijuana will be an issue for you or your father. Police confiscated it because it’s unlawful to possess.
>F21 […] M19 […] both dependent
As a practical matter, that makes sense. But unless you’re disabled or in some kind of guardianship situation, you are legally just adult tenants.
>Should I prepare a lawyer just in case
You and your brother may wish to consult with (separate) criminal defense attorneys to be sure the you understand your rights and how to protect yourselves if you become subjects of an investigation. While most CSAM offenders are men, there’s nothing that keeps you or your brother from becoming suspects, and it very common for defendants in this kind of criminal case to blame other household members.
>on our own for the foreseeable future.
You’re about to get a crash course in adult home ownership and operation.
You could just lock up the house and move out, but it sounds like you’d like to at least continue living there for a while.
That means making sure that the mortgage, taxes, and utility bills get taken care of. Figure out which utilities provide your gas, water, electric, garbage collection, etc. Figure out which bank holds the mortgage, if any. Contact your father’s attorney and ask them to help him create a limited power of attorney that authorizes you or your brother to access the accounts for paying the mortgage, bills, and taxes on his behalf.
You have been given excellent advice already. What I will add is that it’s extremely unlikely that anything legal will happen to you. The police had their target, their probable cause and got exactly what they were looking for. I highly doubt they’re worried about a little weed after nailing a predator. Even then, they’d have to prove it was yours, which no one is going to be motivated to do after a real bust.
If they hadn’t found what they were looking for, then there might be some cause to worry. They would need to show some kind of result for the expenditure.
Not a lawyer, but get a lawyer asap. They didn’t find your weed, they found weed in the resident you reside. Unless admitted to it being yours, until you admitted to it on the internet. Which is why lawyers tell people to shut up.
Don’t speak further to the police. Don’t confirm anything was yours, don’t confirm anything was his.
“I will to cooperate with your investigation, and I would like to answer your questions, and I can only do so in the presence of an attorney.” THEN STOP TALKING.
Sounds like you are getting out of the house. Plan to get anything and everything that you could possibly want.
If it comes to this, you will want your own attorney.
Look up Legal Aid for your state and look into getting at least a consult.
If the weed wasn’t left in open view, I e. In a container or drawer, they are not allowed to take it unless it is specified on the search warrant or another warrant gained after entry.
Did you claim the weed as yours?
If not, I seriously doubt they will charge you for it.
And if they do it will probably be tossed out, so I’d wait to see what happens before getting a lawyer.
Especially if it was a small amount.
If they charge anyone with it it’ll probably be your father as they like to stack multiple charges on someone, in case one charge doesn’t stick, they can still get them on another.
I was in 2 homes that have been raided for drugs in the past. One experience the weed was found and the officers just told us it was not cool to smoke. They actually left it there. They typically don’t bust people here (GA) for marijuana unless you’re pushing a lot of it. Or if they’re there looking for something else they usually won’t touch it at all. Chances are they took it just to have it if “needed” for evidence in court later. Likely only against your father. The fact it was in your room will never get mentioned if I had to guess.
Tell your brother if college becomes something farther off in his plans, a technical career in big trucks and trailers as a repair technician is booming. Here in GA it’s common seeing $20-25 per hour starting out and most places offer decent benefits. No education needed and the skills are extremely useful outside of work. Only mentioning because I stumbled into it in similar fashion and found out it’s a pretty enjoyable field and now I own my own home, car, and just had my first daughter with my wife on my income! Been doing it for closer to 7 years though.
Unless weed was on the warrant they can’t do shit about it other than take it. You’re fine. Don’t even worry about it.