Drug stings run rampant- Fairfax criminal lawyer says to beware them

Drug stings are common with Fairfax police and beyond. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that a common offer by Fairfax police and other Virginia law enforcement officers (LEOs) is for the Virginia drug crime arrestee to be offered to endeavor to snitch / work off their case with the police, usually with no assurances about what benefits will be received by the defendant in return, and usually without a quantitative roadmap to receive benefit from such cooperation with police. All of this means that you should not delay finding and obtaining the right Fairfax criminal lawyer / Virginia drug defense attorney for you. This article provides food for thought on this topic.

What protection do I receive — or not — to be on the receiving end of Fairfax drug stings?

Drug stings (DSs) are common by Fairfax police and in other Virginia counties. No matter how much the Fairfax commonwealth’s attorney / chief prosecutor fashions himself as a progressive, do not expect his prosecutors to abandon prosecuting police DSs, whereby the sting involves an effort for illegal drugs to be placed by a drug seller into the hands of an undercover police officer (with or without the assistance of a civilian informant) or a civilian informant who hopes his or her efforts will soften the blow of themselves being caught by the police in alleged drug dealing activity or with the promise of financial payment for such activity. Each new alleged drug dealer caught in a police sting is potentially looked at by LEOs as fresh meat to offer to act as police informants as detailed above.

Should I snitch / cooperate if caught redhanded selling illegal drugs to police or a confidential informant?

Snitching is common among federal drug defendants. Fairfax police sometimes encourage snitching / cooperation by such defendants at the state level, and sometimes prosecutors will ask about such interest as well. I am a Fairfax criminal defense lawyer, not a snitch nor cooperation lawyer, and my standard retainer agreement language makes clear that I do not offer snitch / cooperation assistance. My decision not to do such work must not be the grounds for one of my clients or potential clients to do such work, because they may always simply go to another lawyer for such assistance. The upside of snitching may be to decrease a criminal defendant’s sentencing and disposition exposure in drug stings and otherwise. The downside may include having to watch one’s back. Defendant’s should consider how much possible benefit they will get for any snitching. At minimum, it is important for you to have a lawyer’s assistance and advice on such an approach and for the lawyer to endeavor to reduce any snitch agreement to writing, at the very minimum to immunize your debriefings to the police and prosecutors as much as possible. If the Fairfax police or other police and/or prosecutors decline to reduce any such arrangement to writing, your Virginia criminal lawyer can point out that reducing such agreements to writing are done all the time in federal court.

Will I succeed in attacking the credibility of the snitch against me for having financial or liberty benefit to gain for snitching?

Although in an unpublished opinion, the Virginia Court of Appeals has made clear that the judge and jury have no obligation to discount the testimony of a snitch on the grounds that the snitching is being done for a liberty or financial benefit in drug stings. Erik Smith v. Commonwealth of Virginia, Record No. Record No. 1807-22-3 (Dec. 19, 2023) (unpublished). Smith got prosecuted for selling heroin and methamphetamine to a snitch who testified to having previously purchased drugs from Smith, and who was wired audibly and visually by police for the transaction, using recorded police funds. Police testified to having searched the snitch to assure that he had no drugs on him before the purported purchase. Smith’s testimony that someone else at the house must have conducted the sale fell on deaf ears with the trial judge at this non-jury trial, and the Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed Smith’s conviction. Smith.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz relentlessly pursues your best defense against Virginia DUI, drug and criminal prosecutions. Secure your free in-person confidential initial consultation about your court-pending prosecution, with Jon Katz at 703-383-1100.