Free in Kentucky: Heroin Possession in Kentucky: Penalties, etc.

Free in Kentucky: Heroin Possession in Kentucky: Penalties, etc.: Heroin is back. I’m not sure why, but it’s back.  In a big way.  I wish I could give you some statistics regarding how many more cases...

Heroin Possession in Kentucky: Penalties, etc.

Heroin is back.

I’m not sure why, but it’s back.  In a big way.  I wish I could give you some statistics regarding how many more cases of heroin possession have made their way through Kentucky courthouses than, say, five years ago – but I don’t have that information.  All I can tell you is that five years ago I saw very few heroin cases, and over the past 12 months, heroin possession has become a lot more prevalent.

Heroin is a Schedule I narcotic, pursuant to KRS 218A.050(2), which defines all Opium derivatives as such.  Schedule I is the classification for the most dangerous drugs, those which are considered to have a high potential for abuse and are generally without medicinal value.  This criteria for classification is enumerated in KRS 218A.040 (and, if I can recall correctly, it is borrowed from the language in federal statutes for drug classification).

Possession of a Schedule I narcotic, like heroin, is a pretty serious deal in Kentucky.  The name of the crime is Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree (known in the legal community as POCS 1– pronounced “pocks first”).  It is a class D felony, carrying a penalty of 1-3 years.

Typically, a class D felony carries a penalty of 1-5 years, but fortunately for everyone who likes a hit of laudanum when the headaches start, house bill 463 (HB 463) came through Kentucky like a tornado of common sense and eased some of the penalties for non-violent, victimless drug possession.

Guess what else is a Schedule I narcotic.

Ok, seriously, we’re not going to play this game if you’re not going to guess.

It’s marijuana.  Marijuana is a schedule I narcotic in Kentucky (and in many other places).  “But Greg!?” you ask, “Didn’t you say that the criteria for schedule I narcotics includes 1) the high potential for abuse and 2) a lack of medicinal value?”  That’s a phenomenal question and I’m glad you asked it.  The answer is yes, and it appears that Kentucky legislators are completely ignoring the AMA, and countless doctors that have unequivocally stated that marijuana does have medicinal value.  Further, the fact that marijuana is not physically addictive seems to be ignored, regarding the “high potential for abuse” issue.

That does NOT mean that possession of marijuana counts as POCS 1.  There is a more specific statute governing marijuana possession, and whenever a general statute and a more specific statute conflict, you are supposed to rely on the more specific statute.  For more on marijuana, see my post “How Much Marijuana is Too Much Marijuana?”

We got a little off track today, because today’s post was supposed to be about heroin.  Sorry about that.  I just wanted to show you that your government thinks heroin and marijuana should be classified in the same category.  Which is asinine.

Long story short – heroin is back and possession of heroin can get you in a lot of trouble.

If you have been charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, you should have a lawyer that knows the law and fights for your rights.  Don’t get a lawyer who “dabbles” in drug possession law.  Get an experienced Louisville drug possession lawyer.  Call 502.618.4949 for a free consultation.  Ask for Greg Simms.

Simms & Reed, PLLC.  Individual Attention.  Extraordinary Results.

Free in Kentucky: Louisville Detective Shoots Unarmed Man in Street

Free in Kentucky: Louisville Detective Shoots Unarmed Man in Street: Not all police officers are bad.  I promise.  Most are upstanding servants of the community, actually.  I see a lot of cops and I cross ex...

Louisville Detective Shoots Unarmed Man in Street

Not all police officers are bad.  I promise.  Most are upstanding servants of the community, actually.  I see a lot of cops and I cross examine the best and the worst of them.  

Then I sue the worst of them for false arrest and police brutality.

Speaking of which, a Louisville Metro Police Detective shot an unarmed man Tuesday night right in the middle of the damn street.  Everybody take a guess now as to whether the Detective has been arrested for Attempted Murder.  Also guess whether the Louisville Metro Police Department is taking any responsibility.  Let’s see how you do…

Per WLKY:  “A veteran police officer is on administrative leave (which happens after every officer shooting, justified or not) after shooting an unarmed man in the street.  WLKY has learned the officer has been disciplined by the department before. 

The shooting happened near 24th and Chestnut streets late Tuesday night. 

A neighbor heard the single shot fired and ran outside. 

"I looked again and I saw this guy standing there with a gun on him," said a neighbor.  The man with the gun was Detective Chauncey Carthan, who has worked for LMPD since 2001. 

Police say Carthan was off duty when he got into an argument with another man and it quickly escalated. 

‘At some point, both the officer as well as the individual exited their vehicles, at which time the officer did identify himself. However, the subject, or rather the individual, did not comply with the officer, leaving him to draw his weapon and discharge it one time,’ said LMPD spokewoman Alicia Smiley. 

Other officers arrived on the scene, surrounded Carthan and surrendered his weapon.  The man he shot was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive.”

Apparently there are no charges yet against Carthan.  So if you guessed “No.” to the first question posed, congratulations!

Let’s see if LMPD is taking any responsibility…

LMPD seems to know something is wrong with this situation because they seem to be distancing themselves from Detective Carthan.  Specifically, they made it a point to say that he was “off duty.”  I would guess they’re doing this to set themselves up for a defense in any law suit that will follow (and if the gunshot victim calls me, that law suit will happen very quickly).  What they want everyone to know is: Detective Carthan shot that guy outside the scope of his employment.

But that might not work very well.  Because LMPD wants the best of both worlds here.  Instead of just distancing themselves from Carthan, they also made the statement that the “subject, or rather the individual, did not comply with the officer” which I laughed out loud at.  First, the spokeswoman for LMPD accidentally called the gunshot victim a “subject” which is akin to “person we suspected of committing some sort of crime.” and then she stated that the gunshot victim did not “comply” with the Detective.  That means that the Detective would have been acting as a police officer and giving some sort of official instruction that the gunshot victim would have to follow – but didn’t follow.

I'm not saying the gunshot victim didn't do anything wrong, but we certainly don't have any evidence of any wrongdoing at this time.  And he was UNARMED.  So whatever he may be accused of doing, it probably didn't justify a gun shot.

If this off duty Detective really did shoot an unarmed man in the street, there needs to be an investigation into the possible CRIMINAL CONDUCT of the Detective.  Make no mistake about it, blog reader – if you or I had shot an unarmed man in the street, we would be in handcuffs right now.  By not taking responsibility and not arresting Carthan, LMPD may only be increasing the damages in the subsequent law suit.

As I hear more on this story, I will keep you updated.

If you or someone you know has been shot by the police in the street, and you were unarmed, you should call a lawyer immediately.  It isn’t easy to find a Louisville police brutality lawyer.  A lot of attorneys will not take these kind of cases because they are difficult, and require a lot of work.  You deserve to have a lawyer on your side who cares about your case.  You deserve a lawyer who isn’t afraid of the work that needs to be put into your case.  Call 502.618.4949 and ask for Greg Simms.

Simms & Reed, PLLC.

Individual Attention.  Extraordinary Results.

Free in Kentucky: Man Steals TV, Attempts Getaway on Bike, Slams int...

Free in Kentucky: Man Steals TV, Attempts Getaway on Bike, Slams int...: Per WWSB channel 7 in Florida:  “Charlotte County Sheriff's deputies arrested a man who stole a television in a box from Wal-Mart and fled...

Man Steals TV, Attempts Getaway on Bike, Slams into Police Cruiser - Theft Law in Kentucky

Per WWSB channel 7 in Florida:  “Charlotte County Sheriff's deputies arrested a man who stole a television in a box from Wal-Mart and fled with it on his bicycle. He was arrested when he crashed into the back of a detective’s vehicle. 

Arrested for Retail Theft and Resisting an Officer was 32-year-old Jonathan Ryan Fontaine of Port Charlotte.

According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, Wal-Mart security called CCSO at 3 p.m. Tuesday after a man stole the 32-inch TV, exited the store, and drove off with it on his bicycle. 

Two detectives responding to another incident spotted Fontaine with the TV on his bicycle at U.S. 41 and Midway Boulevard. One detective drove ahead of Fontaine and the other got out of his car and on foot tried to stop Fontaine. When Fontaine turned around to look at the detective chasing him, he was not paying attention, and slammed into the rear of the other detective’s vehicle.”

That’s why it’s a bad idea to steal a TV that is so big it obstructs your vision as you drive it home on your Huffy.  Maybe a 27 inch TV, but not a 32.  That’s just stupid.

The story above is regarding a Florida case.  So I’m going to ignore it.  I don’t know Florida law.

Today we’re going to talk about theft by unlawful taking charges in Kentucky.  Louisville criminal defense lawyers always like to use shortened nicknames for criminal charges (like POCS, pronounced “pocks,” for Possession of Controlled Substance).  The shortened, cute little nickname for Theft By Unlawful Taking is TBUT, pronounced “Tee-butt.”

The Kentucky TBUT statute can be found, inconspicuously, in the “Theft and Related Charges” section of the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS).  Specifically, we’re going to be looking at KRS 514.030, Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition, which states:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in KRS 217.181 or 218A.1418, a person is guilty of theft by unlawful taking or disposition when he unlawfully:

(a) Takes or exercises control over movable property of another with intent to deprive him thereof; or

(b) Obtains immovable property of another or any interest therein with intent to benefit himself or another not entitled thereto.

(2) Theft by unlawful taking or disposition is a Class A misdemeanor unless the value of the property is five hundred dollars ($500) or more, in which case it is a Class D felony; or unless:

(a) The property is a firearm (regardless of the value of the firearm), in which case it is a Class D felony;

(b) The property is anhydrous ammonia (regardless of the value of the ammonia), in which case it is a Class D felony unless it is proven that the person violated this section with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine in violation of KRS 218A.1432, in which case it is a Class B felony for the first offense and a Class A felony for each subsequent offense; or

(c) The value of the property is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more, in which case it is a Class C felony.

As you can tell, the definition for TBUT is pretty simple.  Basically, it covers any time someone steals something.  The complicated part of the statute is the penalty section.  The penalty for TBUT depends not only on the value of the item(s) allegedly taken, but also the type of item(s).  The general rule is that stealing something worth less than five hundred dollars is a Class A misdemeanor.  However, stealing a gun is always a class D felony. 

The punishment for stealing a $200 gun is harsher than stealing $400 worth of electronics.

For those of you who have jobs that don’t require you to learn weird things like how to make methamphetamine, anhydrous ammonia is used for fertilizer.  Some farmers will keep tanks of anhydrous ammonia on their farms.  The compound is also used to make methamphetamine, so some manufacturers thereof have taken to stealing it from the tanks that farmers keep.  This is a dangerous process that involves converting a propane tank for proper fitting, and also involves the possibility of burning your fingers off (anhydrous ammonia is stored in liquid form under pressure and has a boiling point of -28F).

Stealing anhydrous ammonia, in and of itself, is a Class D felony.  If they can prove that the person stealing it intended to make meth (which is likely), the crime is a Class B felony (carrying a penalty of 10-20 years in prison, and a Class A felony (carrying a penalty of 20-life in prison) for subsequent offenses.

Stealing anything worth $10,000 or more is a Class C felony.  However, from a plain reading of the statute, I believe that if someone stole a gun worth $10,000 or more, the Commonwealth would not be able to charge the thief with a Class C felony.  Strictly read, subsection (2)(a) dictates that the theft of ANY firearm, REGARDLESS OF VALUE, is a Class D felony.  Obviously the statute was meant to bump the theft of lesser valued firearms UP a class, but I believe the statute could be used in a criminal defendant’s favor for stealing ultra-high value antique firearms.

If you are charged with Theft by Unlawful Taking or Shoplifting, and you do not know what the penalty is for the offense, you should contact a Louisville theft or shoplifting attorney today.  Obviously, the law in this area is a little complicated, but a good criminal defense attorney should be able to give you an idea of what you are facing.

Call 502.618.4949 for a free consultation with a Louisville theft or shoplifting attorney today.  Theft charges in Kentucky are serious.  You should have a lawyer on your side to protect your constitutional rights. 

Simms & Reed, PLLC.

Individual Attention.  Extraordinary Results.

Free in Kentucky: The "Entrapment" Defense: You Probably Can't Use I...

Free in Kentucky: The "Entrapment" Defense: You Probably Can't Use I...: So, apparently there is a television show where police set up a camera in a car and leave the car out in the street unlocked, with the win...