Philadelphia PA Gun Charges and Drug Defense Lawyers
Drugs and Weapons Charges ▪ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
At Hark & Hark, we understand the gravity of drug and gun charges. Our experienced attorneys are dedicated to providing clients with an aggressive criminal defense that protects their rights, their reputation and their freedom.
We defend clients facing all manner of drug crimes or gun crimes, including:
- Possession of illegal drugs
- Possession with intent to distribute
- Drug trafficking, manufacturing and distribution
- Carrying a concealed weapon without a license
- Felon in possession of a weapon
- Use of a gun while committing a crime
Stop Searching. Start Calling. Are you facing firearm charges and/or drug charges? Call our 24-Hour Drug and Gun Law Hotline at 1-877-4-HARK-LAW (1-877-442-7552).
Mandatory Minimum Sentencing for Drug and Gun Crimes in Pennsylvania
If you were arrested for a drug crime and the officers found a weapon on you, your friend, or in your car or home, you're facing a new, harsher mandatory minimum sentence for committing a drug crime with a gun. Pennsylvania judges are invoking this mandatory 5-year minimum jail sentence in relation to drug crimes, so you will need an experienced weapons charge attorney by your side.
Under section 9712.1 of the Pennsylvania sentencing law, if "at the time of the [drug] offense, the person or the person's accomplice is in physical possession or control of a firearm, whether visible... concealed... within reach, or in close proximity to the controlled substance ... [the offender] shall be sentenced to a minimum sentence of at least 5 years" of jail time.
This new mandatory minimum law is extreme, excessive, and could be devastating to any person who is caught hanging around with friends who are selling drugs in their houses, on the streets, or in cars. This law may have an especially severe impact in marijuana offenses: no matter the type of illegal drug, the mandatory minimum sentence applies. Exposure to a mandatory minimum does not automatically mean that it will be applied; however, obtaining aggressive representation of your rights at the beginning of your case is the only way you can truly take charge of your situation.
Serious Prosecution Calls for a Serious Defense
In Philadelphia, the District Attorney's Office will work hard to ensure that judges use the 5-year minimum punishment for firearm charges in drug cases. As a matter of policy, the prosecution will no longer give defendants a guilty plea offer of probation if a weapon was possessed at the time of arrest. If you were armed with a firearm while selling marijuana, crack, cocaine, heroin, or PCP, you need an aggressive, experienced attorney to fight against a potential jail sentence.
At Hark & Hark, our attorneys provide skilled drug and gun crimes defense designed to protect and enforce your rights. In cases where the prosecution does not prove that you possessed a weapon in an unlawful and contemporaneous manner by a "preponderance of evidence," we will ask a judge not to invoke the 5-year mandatory minimum sentence.
Defenses to Your Drug and Gun Charges
If you were arrested for drug possession, possession with the intent to deliver (PWID), drug trafficking or any other drug crime, and the officers found a firearm, we can help you find answers to the following important questions:
- Did an officer search your home or car after your arrest and find drugs, a handgun or other firearm?
- Were the narcotics found near a gun in the car?
- Were you safely secured in the officer's police car when he searched your car?
- Did anyone make any furtive movements in the car while the police officers walked up to the car windows?
- Did you know there were drugs or guns in your home when they were found?
- Do you face more serious drug charges because you allegedly used a gun when you committed the drug crime?
- Did you own the drugs and/or guns or did they belong to a family member or roommate?
- Were the drugs and/or guns found in an illegal search of your home or car?
Depending on the facts of your case, we file motions to suppress illegally seized evidence of drugs and guns found in illegal traffic stops and illegal searches. We also defend your rights and use thorough investigation techniques to determine whether you could have known about the drugs or guns.
Contact Hark & Hark, Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyers
Contact us immediately so that we can begin preparing your defense. Call 1-877-4-HARK-LAW (1-877-442-7552) today for a free initial consultation. We offer reasonable rates and payment plans, and accept major credit cards.
Always Ask 4-HARK-LAW ▪ Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Lawyers
