NJ Heroin Possession Defense Lawyers Will Fight For You
Due to more and more heroin finding its way into New Jersey, the state is mobilizing its resources in an attempt to diminish the influx. Heroin possession and distribution are both severe infractions with significant punishments.
With sizable quantities of heroin entering the NJ supply, heroin has become less expensive and more deadly. Heroin in New Jersey even tends to be a higher grade than normal heroin supplies across the US. The combination of purity and price leads to a dangerous mix that is creating heroin usage.
Defeating a heroin charge requires a smart legal strategy so you can minimize heroin possession or distribution charges. Your rights are protected, despite the fact that you have been picked up for alleged heroin distribution or possession.
Charged for a heroin drug related crime in Point Pleasant, New Jersey? Get a hold of Villani & DeLuca today to understand how to best defend yourself.
Heroin Arrests Under New Jersey Law (N.J.S.A 2C:35-10)
Treated as a Schedule 1 CDS according to New Jersey law, possession of heroin is by law a third degree transgression. If convicted of heroin possession, you may face up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $35,000.
Heroin usage has gone up extremely fast in New Jersey within a very small time frame. A report from the Task Force on Heroin and Other Opiate Use by New Jersey Youths and Young Adults named heroin “the number one health care crisis” in New Jersey. Your NJ drug lawyer needs to have past experience dealing with heroin charges.
NJ Drug Possession Lawyers with Extensive Experience
Since Villani & DeLuca was founded in 1996, partner and founding member Carmine Villani, Esq. has represented individuals arrested for drug crimes in NJ. As a past criminal prosecutor, Mr. Villani has worked on both sides of the court (defense and prosecution), which can be a huge benefit for your defense.
Protect Yourself from These Serious Heroin Charges
You can't risk facing heroin charges and the resulting sentence without support from an experienced attorney. Your chances of obtaining employment will also be significantly hampered if you are convicted of a drug crime. The rest of your life can be much brighter if you can decrease the charges.
The individual variables of your arrest can impact the final result of your court case. The volume of heroin found on you during your arrest will factor into whether you receive a possession or distribution charge. You may also have an issue if you were arrested in an official school zone.
Simple Heroin Possession in NJ
Time in jail is not an inevitability. A first offense may be eligible for Pretrial Intervention (PTI) if your defense attorney thinks you qualify. There are other defensible charges as well, including possibly unlawful search and seizure, which an educated heroin attorney can help determine.
Even a relatively small amount of heroin can justify the intent to distribute. Convictions for intent to sell heroin can face five years in prison with a max fine of $75,000 and a withdrawn driver's license.
Heroin Distribution and Intent to Distribute Laws in New Jersey
Possession is not traditionally as serious as distribution. Just 0.5 ounces of heroin can bring about a charge for the intent to sell. The intent to sell is legally identical to actually distributing in regard to repercussions. You could get up to a five-year sentence and face a $75,000 fine for the intent to distribute just 0.5 ounces of heroin. If you are convicted of attempting to sell more than five ounces of heroin, you will be charged with a first degree crime. There is a fixed prison term of 10 to 20 years, and a fine of up to half a million dollars upon conviction.
Heroin Distribution and Possession in or Near a School Zone
School zones will make fines and other consequences of a drug conviction more severe than they would be under normal circumstances. If you are picked up in a designated school zone, there is a fixed imprisonment sentence with fines of up to $150,000 if convicted. Your attorney should be experienced in drug crimes so that your heroin sentence is the best case scenario if sentenced.
Safeguard Your Future from a Heroin Conviction
Numerous paths are available to you with the help of a lawyer who has fought cases similar to yours in the past. A practiced New Jersey heroin attorney may be able to get your case thrown out, have the charges significantly reduced or kept off your criminal record.
If an unlawful search and seizure of your property happened prior to an arrest, you may have grounds to have charges reduced. Confer with your drug defense lawyer if you have special circumstances based on your arrest.
Conditional discharge is a beneficial solution for many first-time offenders of heroin possession. You will be placed on probation and your criminal record will remain unchanged.
Pretrial Intervention (PTI). PTI places heroin users in a rehabilitation center rather than jail.
Villani & DeLuca Heroin Possession Lawyers are Ready For Your Call
If you have been charged with heroin infractions, distribution or possession with intent to sell, get in touch with Villani & DeLuca today for legal advice and to set up a no cost consultation. We will speak to you any time of day and any day of the year. Call (732) 709-7757 today to initiate your defense in Point Pleasant.