Occupying a car with drugs calls for a full defense, says Fairfax criminal lawyer

Occupying a car containing drugs is risky. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I say that a person’s head is in the clouds to think that it is safe to ride in such a car on the basis of figuring that every person is responsible for their own property. Virginia law defines the possession of illegal drugs and other contraband as knowledge, dominion and control over the item. “Ownership or occupancy of a vehicle or of premises where illicit drugs are found is a circumstance that may be considered together with other evidence tending to prove that the owner or occupant exercised dominion and control over items in the vehicle or on the premises in order to prove that the owner or occupant constructively possessed the contraband; however, ownership or occupancy alone is insufficient to prove knowing possession of drugs located on the premises or in a vehicle… Furthermore, proof that a person is in close proximity to contraband is a relevant fact that, depending on the circumstances, may tend to show that, as an owner or occupant of property or of a vehicle, the person necessarily knows of the presence, nature and character of a substance that is found there… However, in order for ownership or occupancy of property or of a vehicle to be sufficient to support the inference that the owner or occupant also possessed contraband that was located on the property or in the vehicle, the owner or occupant must be shown to have exercised dominion and control over the premises and to have known of the presence, nature, and character of the contraband at the time of such ownership or occupancy.” Burchette v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 15 Va.App. 432, 435 (1992).

Occupying a drug-containing car and speeding it away from and eluding the police makes winning a drug possession prosecution all the more challenging

Anthony Quentin Johnson saw that a police car was next to him in a parking lot, so Johnson burned rubber, ultimately ran out of the car, and was later caught after police found a straw with fentanyl residue therein. Johnson v. Commonwealth of Virginia, Record No. 2248-23-3 (Va. App., Nov. 26, 2024) (unpublished). Johnson makes clear that Johnson’s eluding the police permitted the conclusion that he had knowledge of the presence, nature and character of the fentanyl contained in the car he owned and was occupying. Seeing that the straw with fentanyl — only with a residue of fentanyl — was found in his car by police, had he simply stayed put, the police likely would not have had grounds to search his car in the first place, he would not have been charged with eluding police, and he may have avoided any prosecution in the first place. If Johnson had stayed in place and the police had still found the straw, his lawyer could have argued that presence of drug residue is less likely to be known by the occupant than a larger quantity of drugs. “Prior to searching it, [the police officer] looked through the driver’s side window [of Johnson’s car] from outside the vehicle and noticed a ‘red cut straw’ with ‘a white residue’ on the interior door handle.” Johnson. I would argue that such a visual perception did not by itself constitute probable cause under the United States Constitution’s Fourth Amendment for police to have searched Johnson’s car. Unfortunately, taking the witness stand in his own defense, on cross examination, Johnson testified that “‘I used [the straw] to sniff Fentanyl,'” which made it all the more likely that the fentanyl found in the car was Johnson’s, because how many people go around keeping in their cars’ door handles a straw for fentanyl sniffing?

Can I find a lawyer to advise me how to commit crimes or how to reduce my risk of police investigation and arrest, and court prosecution?

As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that attorneys are barred from telling people how to commit crimes and how to avoid their crimes being detected. We Virginia lawyers are permitted to tell everyone — regardless of the legality or not of their actions and intentions — to tell people their legal rights, to tell them about the law, and to tell them what is needed to defending themselves to the hilt if prosecuted. Yes, a potential criminal defendant can read between the lines of criminal defense lawyers’ permissible articles to figure out how to make themselves less likely to raise police attention and to modify their actions so that they do not permit an inference of a guilty mind, but a lawyer may not intentionally advise people how to break the law and how crime-committing people can avoid getting caught beyond telling people of their Fifth Amendment Constitutional right to remain silent with the police and Fourth Amendment right to refuse searches. In any event, too many innocent people find themselves occupying cars and places in proximity to drugs and other contraband, and then getting dragnet-arrested and prosecuted respectively by police and Virginia assistant commonwealth’s attorneys (ACA’s). If you have no interest in committing a contraband crime, why let yourself be near the contraband in the first place?

If police find contraband that is not mine, should I verbalize my innocence?

If you find yourself occupying a place near illegal drugs or other contraband, you may be inclined to proclaim your innocence on the spot, lest your silence be interpreted as the voice of culpability. In reality, police are not your friend when they suspect you of criminal activity, and they are skilled at taking your words to seek more words from you to catch you deeper in the lair of a criminal prosecution and possible conviction. The words you utter that you think exculpate you can do the opposite. Moreover, being human, police can mis-hear, misunderstand, misinterpret, and misremember your words. Do not rely on them having bodycameras that will accurately record what is said. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I have listened to thousands of hours of police audio recordings, and know that these recordings can get muffled, compromised, and interfered with others’ voices and other sounds. Police recording equipment can fail. When you talk with police as a suspect or potential suspect without the presence of your Virginia criminal defense lawyer, you do so at your own real peril.

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz does not judge your alleged and actual actions. His sole razor-sharp focus is to pursue and obtain the best possible defense for you against Virginia DUI, felony and misdemeanor prosecutions. You are bound to be convinced of this within the first few minutes of your free initial confidential in-person consultation with Jon Katz about your court-pending prosecution. Usually Jon can meet with you within one business day of your contacting his staff at 703-383-11oo, info@BeatTheProsecution.com, and texting at 571-406-7268.