HELP! (Nevada Lawyers) Drug bust on the way into burning man

Queenofallevil5 · Post by **Queenofallevil5** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 6:56 pm

(I'm new, where does this post go?)

Help!
My boyfriend was on his way to burning man 2008 early, to set up camp for us. He was [b]pulled over a few miles from the gate. They are a K-9 unit![/b] He was pulled over for exceeding the speed limit by 5 mph. WATCH OUT. They are now targeting people coming into Burning Man. He had small to moderate quantities of schedule I drugs. They had their K-9 do a preliminary sniff around the car, and he caught onto something. They asked if he had drugs in the car, & he said yes (Bad judgement, but it's already happened now). He was arrested, not told his miranda rights, then kept in jail overnight. Bail was posted & they let him go the next day. He is being charged with two felonies, on for each substance.

Can anyone offer some advice or knowledge about this situation? I'm really desperate.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 8:24 pm

So he was carrying drugs?

BTW, if I were your lawyer, I'd advise you not to answer that.

Nevermind, too late.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 8:34 pm

now what would you do if you were home and got busted.??.

I have made a practice of not fucking with the law..

Burning Man Org and the people on the e playa have posted warnings for years..

Blenderhead · Post by **Blenderhead** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 8:46 pm

He confessed, right off the bat. Case closed.

Get an attorney and try to plead out to a lesser charge.

And for god's sake, don't take legal advice from Bob.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 9:01 pm

See: http://afterburn.burningman.com/07/admin/legal.html

Good luck.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 9:12 pm

If you're going to go outside of your house, you should learn what your rights and obligations are when dealing with the police.
And in case anyone is still under delusions, Nevada is not a champion of personal rights.

K-9 units are not evidence of anything.
Dogs have been known to trigger off of cocaine on dollar bills- any dollar bills.
Valid evidence often has nothing to do with what a court does.

Never give anyone permission to search anything EVER.

There is a JRS with legal information.
You should look at that.

(Bob's advice is always worth every penny it costs.)

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 9:22 pm

Hello!??!!!??

Nevada isn't a champion of things illegal in Nevada. Neither is any state, AFAIK.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 9:51 pm

When police don't follow the law, they are criminals too.
The worst kind of criminals, in fact.
Some states care more than others about the law.

Nevada is a state that has championed legal gambling.
Anyone that is successful at winning can be banned from gambling.

Don't confuse law with justice or morality.
Most courts sure won't.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 10:29 pm

Read your fucking ticket, whatever planet you live on, Mister Alderaan.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 10:56 pm

Not getting your point.

What are you advocating, Bob?

I'm not supporting the idea of courting disaster by carrying drugs, if that's what you've got hold of.
But that doesn't make unethical or illegal activity by the state acceptable.

All states still allow law enforcement to lie to the public.

Do I need to comment on credibility?
Or ethics?

Queenofallevil5 · Post by **Queenofallevil5** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:48 am

So I have more information.....

Apparently one the cops, after writing the ticket, opened the driver-side door unexpectedly. Then he pointed to a bag on the floor and said, "what's that?" There was a bracelet in the bag....... When they did a preliminary sniff of the car, the dog jumped into the window of the car. Then, after they found the first schedule I drug, they arrested my boyfriend and put him in the cop car. They never did read him his miranda rights, and then asked him if there were any other substances in the car, to which he replied "yes, there was one more substance." therefore incriminating himself further. If he had been read his miranda rights, he would not have answered.

I personally think that all of these things are not proper cop procedures, and I'm wondering if anyone knows any more about what may occur in court or how to fight this. My boyfriend has a clean record, and I obviously really don't want him to go to prison. A little help please?

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:01 am

http://www.cieux.com/bm/LEALissue.html

gilesgoatboy · Post by **gilesgoatboy** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:23 am

You may be able to get legal representation for free.

There is a place at Burning Man to report improper law enforcement activities. They have volunteer lawyers, and they need to know about this.

Read the JRS:

http://www.cieux.com/bm/LEALissue.html

In addition to the Miranda violations, opening the door unexpectedly and without permission may constitute an illegal search. Likewise with the dog just jumping into the freaking car. However I am not a lawyer. Check with the people who are.

http://www.cieux.com/bm/LEALissue.html

Good luck.

pSychobabble · Post by **pSychobabble** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 11:53 pm

Amazing videos to keep you up to date on your rights.

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:02 am

Don't ask on here, get a lawyer. Regardless if you don't think you can't afford it, YOU CAN'T AFFORD NOT TO GET A LAWYER EVEN MORE!

It sounds like there may be a lot to work with, but I am not a lawyer, which is why you need to talk to one. With a lawyer he'll likely get stuck with a couple misdemeanors, fines, probation and/or community service. Stop talking about it on public forums and get a lawyer.

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:33 am

julie_c · Post by **julie_c** » Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:01 am

driving to the playa after going thruough Fernley is an excercise in staying alert at all times!!! the speed limits on the road out change from 75 to 35 to 25 to 45 to 55, in a blink of an eye. not sure how much and what parts are federal land, but the fed's have the right to search you on fed land anytime anyplace they want to..I found that out along time ago in another situation. your BM survival guide talks extensivley about the do's and dont's when going through Empire, Nixon etc....pay attention to what they are telling you! it aint no bullshit...

Sidewinder · Post by **Sidewinder** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 12:09 pm

Queen, first let me say I am very sorry that your boyfriend has now become a victim of the very, very stupid and fucked up war on drugs. We avoid Burning Man like the plague because of it.

Make sure you remember all of the details of the search and do get a good lawyer. Chances are that if they are Nevada police or BLM, they did something stupid. I do believe that you can question thier opening up the car door. If some stipid cop opened the car door before your boyfriend agreed to the search, a lawyer may be able to challenge that. Get the charges reduced due to unethical search procedures.

The state of Nevada is run but corrupt politicians who bankrupt the budget by funneling money into special interests. They tend to have a wild west attitude that they can do anything they want. Many of the small towns will have board LEO officers who pull motorists over for going to slow, or 1 mile over the speed limit. Because it is now legal to run drug dogs around a car, they search EVERYBODY in some of the towns. They make much money for their counties this way. It really has become a police state economy. It is common for people to get busted because their money smells like drugs. Legally, this can easily be challenged and most Nevada cops assume that people just passing through will not seek legal help, but when people do get lawyers, many of the cases are thrown out.

It is one thing to say that your boyfriend did not handle it right, but we do have rights and a constitution and the police up,there are abusing their athourity. You need to defend yourself.

STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS. FUCK THE DRUG WAR...

--Ever-- · Post by **--Ever--** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:29 pm

I heard a story in our camp this year that a man's friend was pulled over and had his car searched by "a fed who said they were doing random drug checks." Not sure of the exact story but I'd love to hear more about this if anyone knows something about it.

Kinetik V · Post by **Kinetik V** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:37 pm

Is this the same bust that made the national AP newswire for weed, ecstasy and other stuff being found? Cause if it is...that dude is so fucked that it's not even funny.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:55 pm

Tues Aug 28 - half oz coke, half oz x, bag of weed, exp license, exp reg, 80 mph

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic ... 8808290514

You people.

Kinetik V · Post by **Kinetik V** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:57 pm

I feel sorry for that guy's defense attorney...

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:34 am

Bob wrote:Tues Aug 28 - half oz coke, half oz x, bag of weed, exp license, exp reg, 80 mph

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic ... 8808290514

You people.

Man, if this is the same guy........

He's just fucked and was just beggin to get caught.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:48 am

...if that is what happened.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 4:24 am

Maybe next year he will learn to stuff the dope up his ass and dig it out of the porta potty.

You really don't need all that stuff for Burningman, I got by on an ounce of sour diesel and a small food coloring jar filled with LSD.

Who needs coke when you have redbull and whatnot..

Kenny Z · Post by **Kenny Z** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:49 pm

Queenofallevil5 wrote:
If he had been read his miranda rights, he would not have answered.

Really!?!? Do you mean to tell us that your boyfriend never heard of "the right to remain silent?" I'm not buying it and I doubt no one else on this forum would be fooled. However, it seems like the right idea as the courts have to assume he didn't know until advised.

The law is tricky and varies from state to state. We all like to practice law 101 but you are probably doing yourself and your boyfriend a huge disservice if you listen to anything except "get a lawyer" on these forums.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:05 pm

Just what part of ILLEGAL do you druggies "not" understand?

He got nailed for muling drugs for his old lady.. Now she has no drugs.. But can get another mule anytime..

He's on his way to the pen..

She will be humping some other leg in no time..

mars · Post by **mars** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:14 am

Lesson to all...drive 5 miles UNDER the speed limit, not 5 miles over. Who wants to get stopped on the way into BM whether you are carrying illegal substances or not? And if you are carrying illegal substances, why in hell would you go over the speed limit?!!!!!

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:16 pm

mars wrote:Lesson to all...drive 5 miles UNDER the speed limit, not 5 miles over. Who wants to get stopped on the way into BM whether you are carrying illegal substances or not? And if you are carrying illegal substances, why in hell would you go over the speed limit?!!!!!

You don't have to actually speed to get a ticket, especially if they want to go fishing.
I got a ticket recently for an illegal lane change because the cops were mad that I honked at a drunk that swerved in front of me.
Dismissed.
The prosecutor did not want anyone to hear about their behavior when they had other cases that day.

They let the drunk keep going.

willyloafofphora · Post by **willyloafofphora** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 3:43 pm

Last year there were lawyers actually gifting their services to burners who got popped at the event I don't know if this is going on this year but you might want to look into it. Also since your friend is out on bail right now he might want to weigh the aggravation of spending X amount of time in jail against the aggravation of spending seven years hiding in another country. The bottom line is that any cop who takes you in for mere possession of drugs is A DIRTY FUCKING FASCIST! Even if the drugs were smack, crack, or PCP. You should should not feel bad about doing any thing in your power to stay out of their dirty little mitts slight of hurting other nonfascists. Someday people will look back at the DEA in the same way we now look at the SS and Gestapo and anyone here who disagrees should stop coming to the burn and try to obtain an invitation to the Bohemian Grove with Bush and the rest of the fascists.