Drug trafficking is the illicit trade involving manufacturing and distributing illegal narcotics for sale. As a border state with highways that run to major U.S. cities, Arizona is a known hot spot for the drug trade. To help combat the drug trade epidemic, Arizona trains its officers to search for any potential drug trafficking behavior. As such, any person traveling in Arizona runs a large risk of being stopped and suspected of drug trafficking. Once arrested, Arizona prosecutors will then seek to prosecute suspected drug traffickers to the fullest extent of the law. Therefore, if you are charged with a drug trafficking offense under A.R.S. § 13-3407 or a federal equivalent, you could be facing serious and harsh consequences.

Arizona’s drug trafficking law is governed by A.R.S. § 13-3407(A)(7). The statute has three elements that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. These elements are:

• The person was knowingly in possession of the drug;
• The drug they possessed is a dangerous drug under A.R.S. § 13-3401(6); and
• The amount of the drug possessed exceeds the threshold amount allowed for personal use as defined in A.R.S. § 13-3401(36).

A list of all the dangerous drugs can be found in A.R.S. § 13-3401(6). The dangerous drugs designated thresholds can also be found in A.R.S. § 13-3401(36).

Penalties

If convicted, your potential punishment is highly dependent on which drug you possessed and how much of that drug was in your possession. If you possessed an amount that is above the statutory threshold, then prison is the only available sentence. For example, if you are found in possession of two or more pounds of marijuana you may receive a class 2 felony with a sentence of 3-12.5 years imprisonment and a fine up to $150,000. However, what drug and how much of that drug you possess are not the only factors the court will consider for your punishment. Another important caveat for punishment purposes is your criminal history. If you have previous felony convictions then you may find yourself in serious trouble. For instance, a person with one prior felony conviction will see their prison sentence range bumped up to between 4.5-23.25 years.

Defense

Because of how serious the penalties may be, it is extremely important to find an experienced attorney that can provide you with a defense. One possible effective defense is to attack the knowing element in the offense. For example, a common case of drug trafficking occurs when someone is arrested and subsequently found with more than 2 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle. In this case, the State must prove that the person knew the marijuana was in his car. If the State is unable to prove this, or if the attorney is able to prove that the person had no knowledge of the drugs, then the case could no longer continue.

Hiring an Experienced Criminal Attorney

Hiring a experienced and locally based criminal attorney is an important step in the criminal process. A Mesa criminal lawyer should be hired within the week following an arrest. A skilled criminal attorney should have specialized knowledge and access to the resources necessary to competently defend you and successfully fight your criminal charges.

The criminal defense attorneys at Mesa Criminal Lawyer are dedicated to providing the highest-quality defense available to our clients. It all starts with your free case review, where you can get a better idea of the legal road ahead. Contact us today to schedule your complimentary and private consultation with our superior criminal lawyers.