A Maryland man who was convicted on drug charges was sentenced on Aug. 8 to 12 years in prison with four years of supervised release. According to the report, the man was already in prison after being convicted on charges from another unrelated case when he was sentenced the second time around.
The 32-year-old man had pleaded guilty to the possession with intent to distribute narcotics in February 2013. While he was waiting to be sentenced on these charges, he was taken into police custody for possession of heroin with intent to distribute in November 2013. He was then sentenced to 20 years for the first set of charges in December 2013. He ultimately entered a plea agreement for the second set of charges in April.
The plea agreement that the man entered for the second set of charges stated that he had purchased approximately 100 grams of heroin with the intent to divide it up and distribute it. In addition to the prison sentence, which was ordered to be served concurrently with his other prison sentence, he also agreed that any assets he obtained as a result of the selling of heroin could legally be seized.
In the state of Maryland, those who are convicted on drug charges are likely to face serious penalties that could include a jail sentence, especially if they have prior drug convictions. In some cases, the attorney may be able have the charges against their client dismissed if they can prove that the authorities illegally searched for and seized evidence against the client. They may also be able to argue that the drugs did not belong to their client if the prosecution’s evidence is not strong. Finally, if the evidence the prosecution has is strong, a plea argument that reduces the consequences could potentially be reached.
Source: The Baltimore Sun, “Harford drug dealer gets 12 years for federal heroin conviction “, Allan Vought, August 21, 2014
Source: The Baltimore Sun, “Harford drug dealer gets 12 years for federal heroin conviction “, Allan Vought, August 21, 2014
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