Decatur, Illinois Drug Conspiracy Lawyer
Drug laws are enforced at both the state and federal levels. When the feds prosecute drug cases, however, they are usually not looking to go after someone for simple possession. Federal drug cases tend to allege broader agreements or “conspiracies” to manufacture and distribute controlled substances across state lines.
If you have been caught up in such a federal investigation, you need legal advice on what steps to take next. A skilled Decatur, Illinois drug conspiracy lawyer can help. At Patel Law, PC, criminal defense attorney Baku N. Patel and his team have represented clients in hundreds of drug cases and understand the unique challenges posed by these types of prosecutions.
What Constitutes a “Drug Conspiracy”?
In its simplest terms, a “conspiracy” is an agreement between two or more people to commit a particular crime. The agreement itself is a crime, regardless of whether the agreement is ever successfully carried out. In other words, if you and another person agree to sell heroin, you can be arrested and charged with a drug conspiracy offense even if you never actually managed to sell any drugs.
There are essentially three things that a prosecutor must prove–beyond a reasonable doubt–to obtain a drug conspiracy conviction:
- The defendant agreed to commit a drug-related crime with at least one other person;
- The defendant had “intent” to commit said crime; and
- At least one member of the conspiracy committed an “overt act” to further the illegal objective.
The critical thing to understand is that drug conspiracy does not require you personally engage in a specific illegal act, such as selling or manufacturing drugs, other than agreeing to participate in the conspiracy itself. You do not even need to know the identities of all the other alleged co-conspirators. And in fact, you can still be charged with conspiracy even if one of the “conspirators” was actually an undercover member of law enforcement.
While prosecutors may believe you only played a small role in a possible drug conspiracy, they will not hesitate to threaten you with severe criminal sanctions. Federal law imposes a mandatory 10-year prison sentence on most drug conspiracy offenses. That is often a powerful stick that the government will use to obtain cooperation from one member of an alleged conspiracy against the other co-conspirators.
Contact Attorney Baku N. Patel Today
Drug conspiracy cases are often quite complicated. And the more people who were allegedly involved in the conspiracy, the more complicated it can be for prosecutors to sort out who was actually responsible. This is why if you are one of the people caught up in the conspiracy allegations, you need to look out for yourself and make sure you work with an experienced Decatur, Illinois drug conspiracy lawyer who will only represent your best interests.
Contact criminal defense attorney Baku N. Patel today to schedule a free case evaluation with him and the rest of the team at Patel Law, PC.
