A person I know was arrested on a drug charge and has a 5 count indictment which includes possession of weapons for furtherance of the drug crimes. My question is will the gun charge heavily impact the outcome at sentencing or is there a possibility the gun charge will be dropped? From what I've read here it sounds as if they will use the guns as a means to add more points and possible mandatory minimums... can anyone clarify this for me?

Fedhead, I think your assessment is correct. The AUSA is going to go for the maximum months they can get without having to go to trial. As you know, anything is possible, but I think there's the proverbial snowball's chance of getting the gun charges dropped.

Hi,

I am not sure because my situation is a little different than yours, but I can tell you what happened with my friend. He was in possession of 3 guns and even though it was unrelated to the actual reason for his arrest and their search. He was found guilty on 38 various fraud and other charges, but the guns (that I thought were irrelevant) added time and made up for about 1/3 of the time he will spend in prison. Let us know how it goes and my thoughts are with you.

Yes guns can play a very big role in the sentencing. My husband was aquitted of his gun charge by a jury, and at sentencing the Judge still inhanced him for an extra 4 years which is the time he is doing now. other wise he would have been home last year. My prayers are with your friend and you. I hope that you get a better Judge than we had and things go better for you.

i do know that alot of times the DA likes to add in gun charges anyway they can even if they know they wont stick. guns and drugs are a serious combination and so if they can add the guns in the beginning it's a good tool for leverage later on in plea bargains (i.e. we'll drop the gun charges if you plead guilty to....) this way it looks like they're giving you something when in reality they may not have stuck anyway. i do also know that guns in poss for furtherance carries a manditory min. 5 yrs to run consecutive(back to back)
my husband is facing similiar charges, 6ct indictment 4 of which are user of a controled substance in poss of firearms. the judge was real strict at the detention hearing and made it clear that he was not really wanting to release him at all (he is in a rehab facility for now and will be going back in front of the judge upon completion to determine bond or back to county) but since he had minimal prior criminal history(1 driving w/o proof of insurance) and the fact he'd be in a rehab that he'd let him go. it's scary!! there's a really informative book that has ALOT of answers about the fed system it's what you should know when you've been busted by the feds by Larry Fassler. i highly recommend it to anyone dealing with fed issues.

Wow. I am going to send this to him. He keeps getting double talk from his lawyer no real concrete answers about anything.

WOW,...WHAT NEWS!!!





http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200511594.pdf (http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200511594.pdf)

Just my opinion:

You guys have "hit the nail on the head". I know of several folks now doing time with gun enhancements where the gun had nothing to do with the actual offense they were charged with, but ultimately added time to their sentences irregardless. I personally feel this is Just Plain Wrong but it is the law. I believe that those charged should pay their debts to society; but to up the ante in this manner just does not seem fair. Simple gun ownership should not be used as an enhancing factor... on the other side of the coin, those who actually use guns in the commission of their misdeed get hammered even harder. Just another case of 2 steps backwards and 1 step forward when it comes to dealing with Fed Issues. :shake:

Keep the Faith

Michael :thumbsup:

My boyfriend got 87 months fed time. When they raided his house guns were there. It doesn't matter that he has hunted his whole life. In his case "the guns were there to protect the drugs." That was totally not true, but it's hard to argue with the feds and win. He got 5 years for the guns and 27 months for the drugs.

my son also was told they would drop the gun charge if he pleaded guilty. So they drop the gun charge but he still got 2 points for gun enhancement ant to top it all off he is not elligible for the drug program.RDAP

The gun enhancement will not disqualify offenders from RDAP participation... it simple disqualifies them for the accompanying sentence reduction. Sorry.

Keep the Faith

Michael :thumbsup:

Wel I Have A Case Pending And The Gun Charge Has Nothing To Do With The Other Charges And They Dropped The Gum Charges The Guns Were Registered To My Wife

my friend was busted outside his house with the drugs. then they went in and searched, found a gun in a closet in a corner, nowhere near the drugs, he had the drugs on him outside. no gun..gun was registered all legal, but again in a closet..
he got enhancement for the gun..makes absolutely no sense!

For the two point adjustment for the gun at the drug guideline there does not need to be a close link between the gun and the drugs (unlike the cross reference at the 2K guideline, which requires functional use of the firearm). In the case of the drug guideline, the mere fact that the gun was present is enough to trigger the adjustment. In the case described above, the person is outside the house with firearms inside. You've got a temporal relationship (drugs and guns at the same time) and a spatial relationship (drugs and guns in the same place). The instruction for applying the adjustment specifically states to apply the adjustment unless it is clearly improbable that the drugs and guns were unrelated. The fact that the guns were registered and legal is irrelevant. In fact, I once did a PSI on a security guard selling drugs while on duty, and he was given the adjustment for his duty weapon.

My son had drug charges with gun enhancement, but at sentencing the judge dropped the gun charges, and mentioned the Supreme Court case. This was about the same time as the Supreme Court ruling in Dec 2004.

Once again, my head is spinning - I can't even get through reading this thread.

My daughter was arrested on a drug and gun charge. They dropped the gun charge, but she has a 'gun enhancement' as she puts it.

The judge recommended her for the RDAP and that she be sent to Greenville (here in Illinois where we are) for her time, but she was told that because of the gun enhancement she was not eligible. Now I see many here saying that is wrong?

She did receive one downward departure out of this. But she ended up in Tallahassee despite the Judge's recommendation. Now, they are sending her back to Texas - probably to Carswell. That means we can only visit her, if we are lucky, once every couple to three months or so. :(

I am really beginning to wonder if I really want to know all of this. :( I understand the old 'ignorance is bliss' saying now. :(

even if it is drop if it appears in the PSI you probably will get points for it.


Hebrews 13:3

As far as I know, she can participate in the program, but may not be eligible for the reduction in her sentence for participating in the RDAP. Good Luck

i had 46-59 mnth sentence for drugs. then they found a gun in my house, bumped it to 70-87 mnths. I was sentenced 18mnths, recommeded RDAP byt the judge as well. If it was a shotgun for sport there would of been a better arguement, but it as a pistol.

Get this, a co-defedent got gun enhancement becasue i had one and it was a conspiracy. He never saw it or mentioned it, but since it was drug transaction, judge said it was implied that a gun could of been there. Just crazy. LAW IS LAW. i wish i and every drug dealer would just get rid of thheir guns! I bought mine just cause of fascination. Then ended up using then selling and the gun was just there. I HATE GUNS NOW.

my boyfriend got indicted and when they went in my house they found a riffle and it wont hurt him but they are pinning a gun he never got caught with but it was found and they have him on wire saying he got rid of it but i think they are very harsh with the sentencing and they have these ci overexajerating the situation

i got an enhancement for a gun that wasnt even on me when i was in my car, it was i my house (spatial) BS the system suck!!!!!

My husband was charged with posession w/intent to distrib. and possesion of a firearm with accordance of drugs. He was given 60 months for the gun and 37 months for the drugs. He was also ordered to the RDAP program. My question is if he attends the RDAP they will not give him any time off the drug time because of the gun?