Stepson left crack pipe/crack in backseat of patrol car

[SuperCat]

What is the name of your state? South Carolina
Stepson arrested Saturday night for public drunk and illegal possession of alcohol by an underage person (he is 18 - drinking age in South Carolina is 21). The real capper is that when they cuffed him (at the bar he was brazen enough to take his own beer into) the officer patted him down and emptied his pockets before putting him into the patrol car. They took him into the detention center and booked him and one of the officer swent back out and searched the car. Found a crack pipe with 5 rocks of crack in a baggie stuffed behind the seat of the patrol car.
Stepson of course claims the drugs & paraphernalia are not his and the cops planted them -- like this kid is so "notorious" that the cops are just waiting for him to screw up so they can railroad him -- I just don't buy it for a minute. He has had numerous drug problems and another drug arrest in the past when he was a juvenile.

We have been thru hell with this kid in the past. We have been out over $60K with putting him thru 18 months in a resident-type of rehab program when he was 16 and 17 for alcohol and drug dependency. He told us the whole time that "we were just wasting our money" and he would "show us he didn't need anybody's sh-t!". The first thing he did when he came home to try and live with us was steal money and threaten to kill my husband (his father). He then proceeded to move in on top of his mother and she ended up throwing him out for drugs and alcohol use in her house (he was 18 by then and told all of us we didn't have any "say" over what he did). He has never finished the 9th grade and won't take the GED. He has never been gainfully employed.

What do we risk with letting this kid "ride out" this latest round of charges with a public defender? The max penalty for a first offense for crack cocaine is 2 years/$5,000 and it is a misdemeanor. The public drunk and alcohol possession are misdemeanors also. We are really seriously considering letting him realize the consequences of this round of BS.

We are really "tapped" when it comes to funds for this sort of thing. His bail is at $20,000 and I just don't think that putting up a car or our house for collateral to bail him out and hire an attorney, etc. etc. once again is the answer. It hasn't worked in the past. At this point, I think we just really do a dis-service to this kid everytime we bail him out and then he goes right back to the same old BS.

We have let him sit in jail since Saturday night and he has whined and cried and begged and pleaded, but then he always does when his butt is in a jam. We have bailed him out of stuff like this when he was a juvenile before and he was always remorseful until he got clear of the detention center and then it was F-U to us, to his mother, the cops, basically anybody that draws a breath and gets in his way.

He has a hearing scheduled for Nov. 30 for the public drunk/alcohol possession in magistrates court. The drug charge has been remanded to the state court docket and no date has yet been set. I just think we have reached the point with this young man that he needs to dig his own way out of this one. I don't see where throwing more money at this kids problems is going to help him.

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: What do we risk with letting this kid "ride out" this latest round of charges with a public defender?

A: The greatest risk that I see is that he is somehow not thrown in the pen.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? South Carolina
Stepson arrested Saturday night for public drunk and illegal possession of alcohol by an underage person (he is 18 - drinking age in South Carolina is 21). The real capper is that when they cuffed him (at the bar he was brazen enough to take his own beer into) the officer patted him down and emptied his pockets before putting him into the patrol car. They took him into the detention center and booked him and one of the officer swent back out and searched the car. Found a crack pipe with 5 rocks of crack in a baggie stuffed behind the seat of the patrol car.
Stepson of course claims the drugs & paraphernalia are not his and the cops planted them -- like this kid is so "notorious" that the cops are just waiting for him to screw up so they can railroad him -- I just don't buy it for a minute. He has had numerous drug problems and another drug arrest in the past when he was a juvenile.

We have been thru hell with this kid in the past. We have been out over $60K with putting him thru 18 months in a resident-type of rehab program when he was 16 and 17 for alcohol and drug dependency. He told us the whole time that "we were just wasting our money" and he would "show us he didn't need anybody's sh-t!". The first thing he did when he came home to try and live with us was steal money and threaten to kill my husband (his father). He then proceeded to move in on top of his mother and she ended up throwing him out for drugs and alcohol use in her house (he was 18 by then and told all of us we didn't have any "say" over what he did). He has never finished the 9th grade and won't take the GED. He has never been gainfully employed.

What do we risk with letting this kid "ride out" this latest round of charges with a public defender? The max penalty for a first offense for crack cocaine is 2 years/$5,000 and it is a misdemeanor. The public drunk and alcohol possession are misdemeanors also. We are really seriously considering letting him realize the consequences of this round of BS.

We are really "tapped" when it comes to funds for this sort of thing. His bail is at $20,000 and I just don't think that putting up a car or our house for collateral to bail him out and hire an attorney, etc. etc. once again is the answer. It hasn't worked in the past. At this point, I think we just really do a dis-service to this kid everytime we bail him out and then he goes right back to the same old BS.

We have let him sit in jail since Saturday night and he has whined and cried and begged and pleaded, but then he always does when his butt is in a jam. We have bailed him out of stuff like this when he was a juvenile before and he was always remorseful until he got clear of the detention center and then it was F-U to us, to his mother, the cops, basically anybody that draws a breath and gets in his way.

He has a hearing scheduled for Nov. 30 for the public drunk/alcohol possession in magistrates court. The drug charge has been remanded to the state court docket and no date has yet been set. I just think we have reached the point with this young man that he needs to dig his own way out of this one. I don't see where throwing more money at this kids problems is going to help him.

I agree...Let the little shi* get out of this one himself!!

 

[trustknow1]

"The best predictor of future behavior....is to look at past behavior."

I would go ahead and make one last investment....$50 to re-key the house door locks.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

"The best predictor of future behavior....is to look at past behavior."

I would go ahead and make one last investment....$50 to re-key the house door locks.

And change the telephone number. I'll bet everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he turned 18. Unfortunately it is hard to say how much time he may get but he will be out before you know it.

 

[HomeGuru]

and looking for his crack pipe.

 

[SuperCat]

Oh, but he is swearing that the crack pipe and crack aren't his -- That the cops just said they found the stuff in the back seat after he got out because they hate him! The cops planted that evidence on him. I think this kid is a true psychopath -- he has an incredibly inflated ego if at 18 he thinks the cops think he is THAT important!

I checked with a very good friend of mine who was a Deputy in this County for about 10 years before he went back and got an engineering degree and went into another line of work. He said the likelihood of the drugs and crack pipe being in the car before the brat got into the car is almost zilch. He said even back when he was a cop, they all searched/checked the squad car out at the beginning of a shift and after every transport because of exactly this sort of thing. He said the kid could of had the stuff stuck a number of places and they might not have run across it in a patdown and "empty your pockets search". My guess is the kid had it in his boot or his coat (they let him keep his coat on because it was cold) and he was able to get to it and stuff it behind the seat while he was being "given a ride".

My friend went on to say that if the cops were out to "set up" everyone that accused them of doing that, then they would have to come to work everyday with backpacks on in order to carry all the paraphenalia they supposedly "plant" on all these innocent people -- like my stepson.

Of course this poor innocent little tyke won't take any kind of drug test in order to support his innocennce.

 

[Ranger56]

SuperCat

I'm not an attorney but being someone who's been in prison (10 months), having any amount of crack cocaine is a FELONY unless South Carolina is the only state in the U.S. to not charge it that way.

It sounds as though you all have done everything you could except do his jail time for him also. Time for him to pay the piper this time.

Good Luck

 

[Just Blue]

Oh, but he is swearing that the crack pipe and crack aren't his -- That the cops just said they found the stuff in the back seat after he got out because they hate him! The cops planted that evidence on him. I think this kid is a true psychopath -- he has an incredibly inflated ego if at 18 he thinks the cops think he is THAT important!

I checked with a very good friend of mine who was a Deputy in this County for about 10 years before he went back and got an engineering degree and went into another line of work. He said the likelihood of the drugs and crack pipe being in the car before the brat got into the car is almost zilch. He said even back when he was a cop, they all searched/checked the squad car out at the beginning of a shift and after every transport because of exactly this sort of thing. He said the kid could of had the stuff stuck a number of places and they might not have run across it in a patdown and "empty your pockets search". My guess is the kid had it in his boot or his coat (they let him keep his coat on because it was cold) and he was able to get to it and stuff it behind the seat while he was being "given a ride".

My friend went on to say that if the cops were out to "set up" everyone that accused them of doing that, then they would have to come to work everyday with backpacks on in order to carry all the paraphenalia they supposedly "plant" on all these innocent people -- like my stepson.

Of course this poor innocent little tyke won't take any kind of drug test in order to support his innocennce.

What's daddy got to say about this??

 

[boti]

if the kid was frisked or searched, and cuffed, then how do you explain how the cops missed this pipe if it was in his possesion? if kid has problems with the cops anyway they would know his behavior and probably search him better for drugs and weapons. alot of time they turn your pockets out for you, so being cuffed and searched how did the kid get a pipe into the backseat of the police car? why didn't the police find it when searching him at first search? most of the time when cuffed they cuff you behind your back, so how did kid get pipe into police car? i think this needs looked into a little bit more. kid shouldn't of been drinking or into trouble butsomething doesn't smell right to me and i am a not up on laws(just learning), but this just isn't black and white...kid needs benefit of doubt this time....if not by parents,...i bet a jury won't convict on this charge...reasonable doubt...

 

[Just Blue]

if the kid was frisked or searched, and cuffed, then how do you explain how the cops missed this pipe if it was in his possesion? if kid has problems with the cops anyway they would know his behavior and probably search him better for drugs and weapons. alot of time they turn your pockets out for you, so being cuffed and searched how did the kid get a pipe into the backseat of the police car? why didn't the police find it when searching him at first search? most of the time when cuffed they cuff you behind your back, so how did kid get pipe into police car? i think this needs looked into a little bit more. kid shouldn't of been drinking or into trouble butsomething doesn't smell right to me and i am a not up on laws(just learning), but this just isn't black and white...kid needs benefit of doubt this time....if not by parents,...i bet a jury won't convict on this charge...reasonable doubt...

Oh Brother!

 

[SuperCat]

Baystategirl,
Well Daddy is of course hurt and disappointed. I mean how many times can you go down this road? He wants desperately to believe that the drugs and paraphanelia aren't Juniors but we have been down this road before, several times. From past behavior, we can always tell when this young man is lying -- his lips are moving. If the cops had gotten ticked off at him, they would have just beat the snot out of him and said he resisted arrest, not "set him up". We have heard that story too many times before -- It has never been this young man's fault, he has always either been "set up" or somebody has "had it in for him".

To Dad's credit, he is letting Junior cool his heels in jail still and Momma isn't inclined to get him out either. Before he went out and did all this Saturday night, he cussed Mom out and threw things at her because she had told him he couldn't live with her anymore because of his continued drug use and alcohol consumption in her home. There is a 14-year-old daughter (this kids sister) that still lives with Mom and Mom and Dad both don't think she needs to be around her brother a whole lot right now either.

Dad is also having a hard time with the fact that this kid is swearing the drugs and stuff aren't his but he won't take a drug test. That doesn't bode well for his innocence. That's the first thing you should do if the drugs aren't yours -- Dad's position at the present time is that until Junior takes a drug test, then he isn't going to lift a finger, and the kid refuses to test.

 

[Kane]

This is not legal advice, but but you'd do well to remember this is your husband's son - his flesh and blood. Marriages can be dissolved, but you're a father to your son forever.


As to the possession - I wouldn't convict - if it were up to me. But it'll be up to a jury (if he goes to trial), and a lot of juries will.

 

[seniorjudge]

Dad is also having a hard time with the fact that this kid is swearing the drugs and stuff aren't his but he won't take a drug test.

Someone needs to point out the elephant standing on dad's chest, who is fixin' to dump right in dad's face.

 

[Fat Tony]

Some cops plant evidence, especially when the subject is an ******* to them. That probably isnt the case here, but dont think that its unheard of. It wont go to a jury though, he'll end up taking a deal long before that, and probably avoid jail time at all. And like a previous poster said, I've never heard of any amount of cocaine, ir especially crack being a misdemeanor. Maybe just the pipe, but once they charge you with the dope, its a felony, and thats almost anywhere. BUt let him sit in the county until the charges are taken care of. MAybe that will give him some sort of perspective on what hes doing.