i think i like this sheriff

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/112010/11022010/585651

his kids caught with drugs and treated like everyone else

i really like his statement

[BrokenPaw]

Good for the sheriff.

There was one thing in the article that made my eyebrows thunk together; it said that they took Panos to the detention center and searched her there, and found MJ, so they charged her with "possession of marijuana by an inmate".

Am I reading it wrong, or did they hit her with a charge that's steeper, by taking her into custody as an inmate, and then searching her?

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

yea  if you bring pot into a correctional facility its a felony, i'd rather not discuss who i learned that legal tidbit. it hurt so bad its still scabbed

[HankB]

Yeah, I've read about that nice little trick.

The LEO misses something on a search, and if you don't waive your 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination and 'fess up to any contraband, when a jailer finds it, you face stiffer charges as punishment for exercising your right to remain silent.

Personally, IMHO, it's the LEO who ought to face charges - after all he brought YOU in, along with everything on & about your person . . . but that's not the way it works.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

in my experience, not to be confused with speculation, everyone except one of the dozens of folks who got that charge were involved in deliberately trying to get a lil stash inside.  either for personal use or for the incredible resale value. that one exception was a poor deluded moron who went to court with a prearranged deal to get "weekend warriors" picking up trash in the parks. he assumed, wrongly, that it was a done deal plead and go home so he was all dressed up in his suit with a fat doobie of some of maui's best. Unbeknown-st to our moron when they give you weekend warriors they take you downtown and process you just like the original arrest and they do NOT give you a chance to ditch the stash. The look on my his face was likely priceless when they searched him founf the joint and told him about the felony. they let him sit the rest of the day in a cell by himself to ponder and marinate in his misery before kicking him loose with a "go forth and sin no more"

it is a mistake only made once

[BrokenPaw]

Wow.  That's seriously not right.  That's "hauling someone with a carry permit onto school grounds against his will so we can hit him with a felony for having a gun on school property" not right.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

the cops always ask if you wanna tell em about any contraband now.  your choice how you answer
LIBERTY!!! has consequences as well as rights.  they aren't required to tell you the law or play lawyer for you.  i have seen em warn folks but only if the people weren't acting out a randy balko fantasy.

[vaskidmark]

Sheriff is a stand-up guy.  Admits his family is hurting, and says his employees did their job without favoritism.

The comments make me wonder just how much the folks who shared their "thoughts" know about how the system works.  The deputies involved will not get shafted - if anything they are shielded from being held to account for any screw-ups not related to this case.  The Commonwealth's Attorney knows better than to do anything but recuse himself.  Watch for announcements that the judges in the county will also recuse themselves.  My money is on the case being moved one county over to avoid any indica of favoritism.

And yes, as first-time offenders (if in fact they are one) the kids will get drug court and a deferred judgement that avoids a sentence.

As for the young lady, I am pretty sure (based on procedure) she was asked if she had anything on her before they searched her during the booking procedure.  It is easy for cops to miss stuff during a field pat-down - especially with a female suspect and no female officer available in the field.  Think about the sexual abuse charges if a male deputy did a palms-in full-body pat-down.  It was not "hauling her to the jail so they could search her there & find it just add another charge".  By not admitting it she holds full responsibility for the charge.  If she had admitted to the stash all that would have happened is the the amount would have been added to whatever else they found to determine what level (simple possession or possession with intent to distribute) she got charged with.  It does not sound as if it would have upped the charge if she admitted she had it, but now she's facing a major felony.  It sucks to be stupid.

stay safe.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

statist!
expect a nasty message from balko or one of his bois

[BrokenPaw]

As for the young lady, I am pretty sure (based on procedure) she was asked if she had anything on her before they searched her during the booking procedure.  [...] By not admitting it she holds full responsibility for the charge.  

I get this.  But at the same time, if she exercises her right to remain silent, that should not lead to charges that are more serious than they would have been outside custody; for such a situation to occur de facto removes the "right" to remain silent, because it increases a penalty as a result of standing mute.

If she denied having anything, thus waiving her right to shut her cake hole, and then was found with stuff, that's another story entirely.  Then I would agree with you that she bears full responsibility.

But if she stood mute, then the only charge she should be subject to is the charge she'd have been hit with if they'd found it on her in the initial search.

[roo_ster]

What BP wrote.

Also, did you gawk at the photos?

Eeeyah <shudder>, the sheriff's son sure got mixed up with some fugly folk.  Been beat with eh ugly stick to within an inch of their lives.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

actions carry consequences

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i am reminded of a kid in dc who hit a car going across the sousa bridge.  he was drinking. cops show up  determine hes drunk.  also find hes the son af an african ambassador, i forget what country, so they have to kick him lose, diplomatic immunity. sucks.
in the morning his dad marched him down to the precinct, waived his sons immunity, and announced he wanted him to face the full consequences of his actions. was 20 plus years ago but i thought then, as now, that that is good parenting.

[roo_ster]

Son


Associate #1


Associate #2

actions carry consequences

Meh, it's administrative and prosecutorial piling-on, in the case of the Rhodes scholar gal nailed with the "inmate in possession" horse manure.

Unless they can show she somehow acquired it after arrest, it is LEO dishonesty(1).  After arrest, she's their piece of meat, in their custody, and their responsibility.  If they don't do a thorough search, it is on them.


(1) I know we have warped "LEO Integrity" to mean "anything I say or lie about is good-to-go," but is doesn't mean those with any honor have to abide by the twisted values of the degenerates.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

her actions  her responsibility
the high cost of liberty is responsibility

sides its all moot   unless they are long term screwups, a possibility not to be disregarded, its drug court and pbj

[BridgeRunner]

Right, but the contraband was a plastic bag with mj residue.  In my book, that garbage.  I'm not convinced it's reasonable to expect someone to declare what is literally a scrap of garbage. It's only a technicality that makes it something else.  A bong with residue? Fine, she's playing games. A baggie? I don't think so.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

at that point its all a game  without something actually on her person when she went to court it would be in her sunday best on her way to volunteering at the orphanage and she'd claim it was those evil boys dope and skate.  this could work well fot them i likely will find out i work with kids from that area and the other drug courts. against all odds ita a program with some success, largely because the gov stays out as much as possible

[T.O.M.]

Back in my prosecutor days, there were a group of dopers who were hiding grass, papers, and matches "where the sun don't shine" and deliberately getting arrested on low level misdemeanor charges.  Booked into jail, and deliver the goods to an inmate who placed the order. 

How did they get caught?  One guy got himself arrested on a Saturday night after a big dinner at White Castles.  Took too long processing him in, and, well, nature took its course, and the evidence got pushed out by Mother Nature.   

Anyone want to argue that felony???   

[MicroBalrog]

A Pavlik Morozov story in reverse. Hopefully with a better ending for all involved.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

A Pavlik Morozov story in reverse. Hopefully with a better ending for all involved.

?

up to the folks whether its a good ending, they will be offered a chance to make that happen. may god have mercy on them if they show up and try to bs. the other kids will eat them alive

[Perd Hapley]

http://whosarat.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=692512&goto=nextoldest

[Regolith]

Better than my county's current sheriff.  They had to bring in state investigators because his daughter was dealing, and he didn't appear to be doing anything about it.  Not sure if he simply didn't know, or was turning a blind eye, or what.

I guess he's still somewhat better than the last guy, though that's not saying much.  He went down for embezzling $40k from the county. I think he may still be in prison...