On Oct. 20, Florida authorities arrested a 24-year-old man after they allegedly found him in possession of more than 5 ounces of heroin. According to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, deputies pulled over the defendant in Jensen Beach near the intersection of Northeast Indian River Driver and Northeast Palmer Street at approximately 11:50 p.m. The man was allegedly driving with an expired license.
When deputies approached the car, they claimed they detected the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. As a result, they performed a search of the car and allegedly located a laundry detergent bag filled with white and blue powder. The defendant claimed the bag was filled with boat shavings and fiberglass, but a field test determined that it actually contained heroin.
The defendant, who is from Pennsylvania, was arrested and transported to the Martin County jail. He was charged with planning the sale, manufacture, delivery or trafficking of heroin, which is a felony. He was held on a $500,000 bond. A male passenger who was riding in the car was not arrested.
If convicted, defendants facing drug charges like the sale of heroin or marijuana could be sentenced to years in prison and assessed thousands of dollars in fines. However, some defendants are able to avoid conviction by retaining legal counsel and fighting the charges in court. An attorney could scrutinize the evidence and work to poke holes in the prosecution’s case. This may lead to the charges being dropped. The attorney could also attempt to get the charges reduced by negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors. In some circumstances, this could help the defendant obtain a lighter sentence.
