One of my friends came down from New Hampshire a few days ago and told me something that bothered me. He and a friend went down to an old abandoned building to toke up for a bit. He had a rolled j and about 40 seeds on him (bagseeds he hadn't throw out). They were just walking around when a cop comes up behind them and straight up puts them in cuffs right then. The cop then proceeded to search both of them without asking or anything. He has a court date on August 20th and I was wondering if there is anything he can do. I though that cops needed probable cause to search you. Is being in an abandoned building probable cause? Also one of my friends told me that in SC if you got pulled over at night it was mandatory for a cop to search you. Doesn't matter if there is no smell or anything laying out, they can just search you because it is night. Is this true? I highly doubt it. -nick
He might have been on private property, but I'm not sure. There wasn't any "No trespassing" sign and the building had been abandoned for at least 40 years. He hadn't even started smoking yet. The j was still is in little case with the seeds. All they were doing was walking around.
Greetings, It was probably trespassing, but there are a number of other offenses he could have been charged with. Anyways, the lack of a "No Trespassing" sign is irrelevant. Western law still convicts even if ignorance of the law is professed. Anyways, by the sounds of it, it was a totally legal search because he was under arrest before the search commenced. All arrested individuals are searched for weapons and contraband upon arrest. Actual guidelines vary, especially in the U.S. Anything that was found during the search if fully admissible in court. Looks like your friend was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I hope the penalty is not too harsh. Yours Truly, Sam_Spade
if the cop smelled it then that is probable cause. if he gets a good lawyer then they could possibly turn the the charge around, but unless that happens he's fucked.
This sounds about right... but damn that sucks. The officer said that he was going to try to fuck him over about the seeds and make it seem like it was trying to get a big grow op going. I hope that doesn't happen.
Your friend is an idiot. Sorry. An abandoned building is still owned by someone. Therefore its always trespassing. I learned long ago. Good luck trying to prove that he wasn't trying to get a grow op going.
First off a cop cant come out of nowhere and put cuffs on him unless it wuz private property, and b4 he can cuff u he must tell u wut u did wrong as well as search u
Greetings Actually you can. This is how most tactical arrest warrants are executed. It varies, but the most common regulation is that you have to be told what you're being charged with before you are processed. I'm not familiar with various state laws, but chances are he doesn't. Yours Truly, Sam_Spade
Not sure about the different laws but if the officer has probably cause to search them like if he saw him smoking or or could smell it but besides that there shouldnt be any other reason unless they were on private property