If your roomate sold drugs....

[Kev]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: IEatChildren
I've been with my roommate for 3 years now, and he sells drugs. But then again, what kind of drugs does your roommate sell?
Weed is nothing to worry about. Cocaine and crack are.

Weed is nothing to worry about? Tell that to the thousands in prison right now for selling it.

If it's the same house and seperate rooms the police would need a search warrant for your room.

How many cop shows have you been watching? You think they need to get a search warrant per room? haha, have fun standing in front of your door telling the cops "Yeah I know you have a search warrant, but it doesn't cover my room." See how long they find that funny before you're cuffed.

if you're not the one selling then wtf does it matter if they search your room? they wont find anything!

 

[Kev]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: Kev

Say that when the cops execute a no-knock search warrant and arrest everyone in the house for distribution of a controlled substance and you go to jail for a mandatory 10 years.

if everyone lives in separate rooms and pays separate rent, they will not all be arrested. don't be foolish

Put down the crack pipe. You're all in trouble.

Explain why.

Does everyone in an aparment complex get arrested if one of the guys living there sells?

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Kev

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: Kev

Say that when the cops execute a no-knock search warrant and arrest everyone in the house for distribution of a controlled substance and you go to jail for a mandatory 10 years.

if everyone lives in separate rooms and pays separate rent, they will not all be arrested. don't be foolish

Put down the crack pipe. You're all in trouble.

Explain why.

Does everyone in an aparment complex get arrested if one of the guys living there sells?

Have some common sense. You think the police are going to ask to see a lease and rent checks to confirm who is paying rent and who is associated with each room? If you're in a dorm or an apartment complex those are seperate clearly defined units. Doors on a hallway upstairs of a small house are not. They are going to search whatever they like.

if you're not the one selling then wtf does it matter if they search your room? they wont find anything!

Hey, he's the one who said they wouldn't do it. They will.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: Kev
Does everyone in an aparment complex get arrested if one of the guys living there sells?

Skoorb handled it quite well.

 

[jimmygates]

[/quote]How many cop shows have you been watching? You think they need to get a search warrant per room? haha, have fun standing in front of your door telling the cops "Yeah I know you have a search warrant, but it doesn't cover my room." See how long they find that funny before you're cuffed.[/quote]


That's not from cop shows, it the facts and experience. I don't know where polm lives but in California, even-though both reside under the same house, polm has standing to his room. Common areas where both parties are allowed access are allowed to be searched. If polm had his room closed the police would have to get a search warrant for a LEGAL search. If he had his door open and the officer saw contraband within plain view then the officer is allowed to recover the items. Yea, the cop could bust down the door anyways and find contraband. However when questioned in court how the evidence was obtained the search will be deemed ILLEGAL and items siezed will not be allowed as evidence.



-Jimbo

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: jimmygates

How many cop shows have you been watching? You think they need to get a search warrant per room? haha, have fun standing in front of your door telling the cops "Yeah I know you have a search warrant, but it doesn't cover my room." See how long they find that funny before you're cuffed.[/quote]


That's not from cop shows, it the facts and experience. I don't know where polm lives but in California, even-though both reside under the same house, polm has standing to his room. Common areas where both parties are allowed access are allowed to be searched. If polm had his room closed the police would have to get a search warrant for a LEGAL search. If he had his door open and the officer saw contraband within plain view then the officer is allowed to recover the items. Yea, the cop could bust down the door anyways and find contraband. However when questioned in court how the evidence was obtained the search will be deemed ILLEGAL and items siezed will not be allowed as evidence.



-Jimbo[/quote]You're walking a tight rope on this and splitting hairs. Whether that is technically the case or not doesn't change the fact that I gaurantee you can find cases of cops executing a search warranty for an entire house even though there are multiple roomates paying multiple rents. Why would you even want to put yourself in that situation at all? How do you know the judge won't just give a search warrant for the entire house anyway? I'm sure most would, since two people living together communicate with each other and for something like drugs it's very possible both are engaged in the selling of them. If I was a judge I'd just hook the cops up with a full-on search warrant (if one is in fact necessary and frankly I'd be very surprised if it is necessary to check rooms rented by different people).

Let's put it plainly: If you live with somebody who deals drugs, you do not want to be there when the cops come busting down the door.

 

[Papagayo]

I would ask for discount...

 

[ndee]

OK, what if you REALLY don't know that he is seeling drugs because you're not there most of the time. How can you get busted?

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: polm
and you simply do them....

and your roomate gets busted, but takes full credit....

what kind of trouble could you get into ?


on a side note....if your roomate sold drugs, would you expect some sort of compensation in return for any danger you might be placed into through his illegal actions ?

As soon as possible, you need to find a new place to live.

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: jimmygates

How many cop shows have you been watching? You think they need to get a search warrant per room? haha, have fun standing in front of your door telling the cops "Yeah I know you have a search warrant, but it doesn't cover my room." See how long they find that funny before you're cuffed.[/quote]


That's not from cop shows, it the facts and experience. I don't know where polm lives but in California, even-though both reside under the same house, polm has standing to his room. Common areas where both parties are allowed access are allowed to be searched. If polm had his room closed the police would have to get a search warrant for a LEGAL search. If he had his door open and the officer saw contraband within plain view then the officer is allowed to recover the items. Yea, the cop could bust down the door anyways and find contraband. However when questioned in court how the evidence was obtained the search will be deemed ILLEGAL and items siezed will not be allowed as evidence.



-Jimbo[/quote]

Judges don't issue search warrants for certain rooms in a residence. Any warrant issued giving them rights to search is going to give them rights to search any and all rooms in a residence for drugs, weapons and paraphenalia. Not only are they going to kick every door down in the residence looking for drugs they are going to be completely authorized in entering every room (even in the warrant specifically limited it to certain rooms) for their safety. The first thing the police do when excersizing a search warrant is get everyone in cuffs, for their safety, and make sure no one with a handgun is hiding behind a bed.

 

Guilty by association. It would probably be knocked down depending on state laws.
This happened to someone very close to me.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: Papagayo
I would ask for discount...

Cops don't give discounts but they do appreciate volume business.

 

[StageLeft]

Not only are they going to kick every door down in the residence looking for drugs they are going to be completely authorized in entering every room (even in the warrant specifically limited it to certain rooms) for their safety.

Hadn't thought of that and it's completely correct. Cops won't do a search with doors closed and people saying they can't enter. They need to confirm the presence of all people in the house (I got THAT from cop shows 😀).

 

[lowtech1]

Originally posted by: polm
and you simply do them....

and your roomate gets busted, but takes full credit....

what kind of trouble could you get into ?


on a side note....if your roomate sold drugs, would you expect some sort of compensation in return for any danger you might be placed into through his illegal actions ?

You will be prosecute if you are implying that you should get compensation for the drug trade on your premise.

I?m not familiar with the law, but you could be incriminating yourself.

1. Aid an abating a criminal.
2. Procession of illegal substance.
3. Procession of illegal substance with the intend to sell.

 

[jimmygates]

[/quote]You're walking a tight rope on this and splitting hairs. Whether that is technically the case or not doesn't change the fact that I gaurantee you can find cases of cops executing a search warranty for an entire house even though there are multiple roomates paying multiple rents. Why would you even want to put yourself in that situation at all? How do you know the judge won't just give a search warrant for the entire house anyway? I'm sure most would, since two people living together communicate with each other and for something like drugs it's very possible both are engaged in the selling of them. If I was a judge I'd just hook the cops up with a full-on search warrant (if one is in fact necessary and frankly I'd be very surprised if it is necessary to check rooms rented by different people).

Let's put it plainly: If you live with somebody who deals drugs, you do not want to be there when the cops come busting down the door.[/quote]




I'm not saying that's what I would do, I'm just saying that's what California law provides. Trust me I would love for a judge to grant me a full building search warrant in a two party residence, it would make my job easier. However you base search warrants on probable cause, not assumptions that just because they are friends they are both guilty. Both you and I know in the real world it's MORE than likely they have both are in cahoots but you would still need to prove PC for both.




-Jimbo

 

[jimmygates]

Judges don't issue search warrants for certain rooms in a residence. Any warrant issued giving them rights to search is going to give them rights to search any and all rooms in a residence for drugs, weapons and paraphenalia. Not only are they going to kick every door down in the residence looking for drugs they are going to be completely authorized in entering every room (even in the warrant specifically limited it to certain rooms) for their safety. The first thing the police do when excersizing a search warrant is get everyone in cuffs, for their safety, and make sure no one with a handgun is hiding behind a bed.[/quote]


That's correct judges don't issue warrants on room bases, however they do issue warrants giving rights to search any and all rooms belonging to the person named in the search warrant. If Polm is not named in the search warrant he has standing to his room and has the right for it not to be searched.


The officers should and hopefully would perform a protective sweep of the premises. As I stated earlier, if drugs, weapons, paraphenalia are not in plain view nothing will be seized. I can't say I'm entering the defendants room for the purpose for a protective sweep (looking for additional suspects victims, or hostages) but then poke around and look for narcotics.



-Jimbo

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Depending on what city/county/state you live in, you could lose your possessions to seizure laws, even if you were not selling.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Not only are they going to kick every door down in the residence looking for drugs they are going to be completely authorized in entering every room (even in the warrant specifically limited it to certain rooms) for their safety.

Hadn't thought of that and it's completely correct. Cops won't do a search with doors closed and people saying they can't enter. They need to confirm the presence of all people in the house (I got THAT from cop shows 😀).

I can verify that. Someone hit one of the autodial buttons on the phone here the other day. Turns out it was hardwired to dial 911. It wasn't marked though. Anyway, the person hung up as soon as they heard the people on the other line come on and say "911 emergency..." The State Troopers showed up at the house to see if anything was wrong, since they had been unable to get through on a call-back (line was busy, the person that dialed them called someone else right afterwards), and I had to get out of bed and go out to the living room because after the other person told them how many of us were in the house, they wanted to verify it. If I had not gone out, they were coming in.

 

[Mill]

jimmygates is right. In a roommate situation, a warrant will sometimes name JUST the person who is assumed to be committing the crime. If polm's room was locked/closed and there was nothing in plain view to indicate something was going on back there, then there is little reason to believe it would be a legal search to enter his room. He isn't splitting hairs... that is just how warrants work most of the time. Most of the full house searches you see are done because a crime has been committed and they are there to arrest someone. Anything in plain view is fair game, or any area that the warrant specifies. Common areas are always looked over, but a private room(in a roommate or family situation) for the most part won't be "legally" searched. Now, I'm not saying some officers won't search it anyway and arrest polm(some would), but he would then have to get a lawyer to prove it was an illegal search. My advice is to NOT live with a drug dealer.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

I wouldn't have a roomate that sold drugs.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Does he give you good deals?

 

If your roomate sold drugs....

I would ask him for some.

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: Millennium
jimmygates is right. In a roommate situation, a warrant will sometimes name JUST the person who is assumed to be committing the crime. If polm's room was locked/closed and there was nothing in plain view to indicate something was going on back there, then there is little reason to believe it would be a legal search to enter his room. He isn't splitting hairs... that is just how warrants work most of the time. Most of the full house searches you see are done because a crime has been committed and they are there to arrest someone. Anything in plain view is fair game, or any area that the warrant specifies. Common areas are always looked over, but a private room(in a roommate or family situation) for the most part won't be "legally" searched. Now, I'm not saying some officers won't search it anyway and arrest polm(some would), but he would then have to get a lawyer to prove it was an illegal search. My advice is to NOT live with a drug dealer.

That would be true if the warrant named a specific individual. If the warrant is issued on the suspicion that drugs are being delt from the residence there would be no name on the warrant and it would be more general to the premises.

You should also keep in mind that if one of the people he sell's to is arrested for possestion the cops often offer a "deal" where the person gets reduced charges for helping them get the dealer. When you are looking at jail time this offer becomes very tempting. I would personally not take the risk but there are lots of young and stupid people that don't realize that those drugs you think aren't a big deal can destroy your life through prosecution.

 

[AmericasTeam]

Originally posted by: MegaloManiaK

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: SackOfAllTrades

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: SackOfAllTrades
well this happened to my neighbor in the dorms a couple years back. 1 roomate when home to visit his parents and the other roomate got busted while partying inside with friends. the absent roomate had no legal action taken against him.

situations may vary depending how bored the cops are at any given time.

Sounds different to me.
1st example is selling.
Your example is partying.

If you are present when your roomate is selling and the cops come, you are going to jail. They'll let the judge sort out whos drugs they were.

ah yes a good point, but they always throw in the "intent to sell" stipulation...and he WAS a dealer but probably not investigated. he always had way more than godly needed for partying

Intent to sell is usually based on:
quanity
baggies present (packaging)
scale
records (yes, some dopes keep them)

Maby they want to send out christmas cards. You never know.

Actually I knew this guy who gave out buds shaped as Christmas trees to his best customers.
It does make a good gift

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: rahvin

Originally posted by: Millennium
jimmygates is right. In a roommate situation, a warrant will sometimes name JUST the person who is assumed to be committing the crime. If polm's room was locked/closed and there was nothing in plain view to indicate something was going on back there, then there is little reason to believe it would be a legal search to enter his room. He isn't splitting hairs... that is just how warrants work most of the time. Most of the full house searches you see are done because a crime has been committed and they are there to arrest someone. Anything in plain view is fair game, or any area that the warrant specifies. Common areas are always looked over, but a private room(in a roommate or family situation) for the most part won't be "legally" searched. Now, I'm not saying some officers won't search it anyway and arrest polm(some would), but he would then have to get a lawyer to prove it was an illegal search. My advice is to NOT live with a drug dealer.

That would be true if the warrant named a specific individual. If the warrant is issued on the suspicion that drugs are being delt from the residence there would be no name on the warrant and it would be more general to the premises.

You should also keep in mind that if one of the people he sell's to is arrested for possestion the cops often offer a "deal" where the person gets reduced charges for helping them get the dealer. When you are looking at jail time this offer becomes very tempting. I would personally not take the risk but there are lots of young and stupid people that don't realize that those drugs you think aren't a big deal can destroy your life through prosecution.

I would think in a situation like this(since it's not a crackhouse) that the police would be fairly familiar with the seller.