A Florida teen who was attending Indian River State College was arrested on a recent Monday in May. The teen, whose arrest occurred in St. Lucie County, is now facing drug possession charges. Police say they found both illegal prescription drugs as well as marijuana after searching the teen’s residence.
The Port St. Lucie Department’s Special Investigations Division employed a search warrant to enter the house around 7:15 p.m. After conducting their search of the residence, the teen and the teen’s mother were detained. Smoking devices, a pill that was later identified as alprazolam — trade name Xanax — and, in addition, burned marijuana cigarettes were found by the police, according to their report.
The teen stated that he lived at the residence with his mother and with his younger brother and his grandfather. He claimed that he had stopped selling pot after he was arrested earlier in March, the report said. He told police he was in the process of gaining his high school diploma equivalent. He was charged with drug possession and arrested, but, after posting bail, was later released from St. Lucie County Jail.
In Florida criminal court proceedings similar to this one, the burden of proving the drug possession charges beyond a reasonable doubt lies with the prosecution. Being charged with a crime like this is nothing more than a formal accusation and the teen will remain innocent in the eyes of the law unless and until prosecutors can prove guilt. However, the seriousness of the police’s allegations requires that the defendant should focus on the specifics of the charges against him alongside experienced legal counsel.
Source: tcpalm.com, “St. Lucie County teen arrested on drug charges”, Nicole Wiesenthal, May 24, 2016
