One of the more serious drug charges in Philadelphia is Possession with Intent to Deliver (PWID), a felony offense.  This means that you intended to manufacture and/or sell illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin.

Sometimes, individuals may be charged with PWID because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.  Consider the following scenario: College Student A is very good friends with College Student B who lives in West Philadelphia.  They often hang out at Student B’s house.  Unbeknownst to Student A, his friend’s brother is a drug dealer and often sells marijuana from the basement in the house.  Student A never suspected anything because he never went down to the basement because he was told that the basement was off limits.  For some time, the police suspect that there is illegal drug activity in the house, which is under surveillance.  On a particular day when Student A was in the house, the police raided and searched the house.  As a result, the police found large amounts of marijuana and cocaine in the basement and arrest everybody in the house, including Student A, who is charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver.  If convicted, Student A faces substantial penalties.

In this scenario, Student A was charged with PWID because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.  What are his defenses?

Defenses to Possession with Intent to Deliver Drugs in Philadelphia

One possible defense is that the drugs were illegally obtained by the police, therefore, the drugs cannot be admitted into evidence and used against Student A.  This is done by filing a motion to suppress the drugs found during the search.

The drugs may have been illegally obtained, even if there was a search warrant.  There may not have been enough information to support the search warrant, which led to the illegal search and seizure.  Everything found during the illegal search would not be admissible.  In such a case, the court will grant the motion to suppress and the case would be dismissed because there is no drug evidence that can used at trial against Student A.

Related: Prosecution withdraws Philadelphia drug case after top rated Philadelphia criminal lawyer files a Motion to Suppress.  Read more about this recent Philadelphia drug case.

Help after Charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver in Philadelphia

David Nenner has been a criminal defense lawyer in Philadelphia for over 30 years, and has been rated as a Top Philadelphia Criminal Defense lawyer.  Unlike many criminal defense lawyers, Mr. Nenner offers FREE consultations.  215.564.0644