Will my 17 year old son be charged as a juvenile or adult for possession of marijuana?

Charged as a juvenile or adult for possession of marijuana

Question:  Will my 17 year old son be charged as a juvenile or adult for possession of marijuana in San Fernando, CA?  He was caught with a bunch of friends with a some pills that he didn’t have a description for and marijuana.  A couple of the kids tried to run but were caught by the police.  My son said he didn’t move and complied with the officers, which included giving them the pills he had in his pocket.

What can we expect from the court on this?  My son is a good kid that just made a dumb mistake like we all have.  I don’t want him to be labeled a criminal for the rest of his life because he got caught doing something that most of us have done at some point in our life.  Please help!

Arrested for drugs sales?

Answer:  He is under the age of 18, so he is classified as a Juvenile. Without more details that may alter my answer, he would likely be charged as a juvenile.   Particularly where this is a non-violent offense.  Why did the officers approach your son in the first place?  And where was he approached?  At a park, on the street, inside someone’s house?

There are a lot of variable to consider when defending against marijuana and drug possession charges.  Depending on the amount he had on him and some other factors, they may try to increase the penalty to include something along the lines of a “possession with intent to sell.”

Feel free to call me at 818-336-1384 to discuss your sons situation in more detail.  I am assuming he is home with you at this point and not in custody.  It will be helpful to speak to him in more detail as well as he may have answers for me that will better allow me to assess these charges as they pertain to his case.

To prepare for our meeting, some other questions include what his criminal history is.  Is this a first offense?  Has he had any other run-ins with the law?   I have been successful in getting very favorable outcomes for my clients charged with possession of drugs and even intent to sell drug charges.