does this seem wrong to anyone else? HELP!

So, let me explain. Hopefully, I can get some advice/help. I used to live with my girlfriend. We are still friends, but she can be a little high strung.. Anyways... as advised by a police officer , I called, met with a police officer to escort me to our old apartment to get a couple of appliances and tools that were mine to avoid an problems over what was hers and what was mine. I am basically trying to cover my ass. Anyways...the police officer comes in, i've got my stuff and I am ready to leave (it took about 2 minutes) and the cop notices a bowl on a table. (my ex knew the police were coming and still left it in plain sight?!? wow) so then they ask if they can search (to which i do not respond) but my girlfriend gives consent because other than a couple of pipes that are in view there is nothing else in the home.

so then the police officer told me that I had been living there over a year, which is not true. I do not have my name on the lease, i never have, the address is not on my ID, none of the bills are in my name. which even if I was on the lease, it was from September 2007, so I could not have been a year. I paid rent for October and November and have been spending most of the time since then staying with different friends since then, I just recently found a new permanent roommate. All of my clothes, personal items, etc were gone from the apartment. I was escorted by my request by a police officer so I could get my tools and appliances from the apartment without incident. He kept putting words in my mouth and would not listen and repeatedly told me to shut up when I tried to explain to him that I did not live there but he insisted that I had lived her "for a year". None of it made any sense.

in the end, i got a charge. we both did, since the officer said it was both of us. this is word for word what the ticket says.

State of North Carolina
Wake County District Court
Citation No: 6E89174

To the defendant named below: you have been charged with the misdemeanor(s) or infraction(s) specified below. Read this citation carefully.

Court Day of the Week: Tuesday
Date: 02/05/2008
Time: 09:00 AM
Court Location: Wake Courthouse
Courtroom: 001A

Name of Defendant:___________________
Address: __________________________
City: Raleigh
State: NC
Zip: 27615
State: NC
Driver's License No. ____________
State: NC
Source: DL
CDL: No
Class: C
Race: White
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: 10/28/1985
Age: 22
Social Securty No. XXX-XX-XXXX

What you are charged with:
The officer named below has probable cause to believe on or about SATURDAY , the 05 day of JANUARY . 2008, at 06:18 PM, in the county named above you did unlawfully and willfully AND KNOWINGLY POSSES WITH THE INTENT TO USE DRUG PARAPHERNALIA TO CONTAIN A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE WHICH IT WOULD BE UNLAWFUL TO POSSES, AND TO INGEST, INHALE, OR OTHERWISE INTRODUCE INTO THE BODY A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE WHICH IT WOULD BE UNLAWFUL TO POSSES ( G.S. 90-113/22(A))

Charging Officer Information:
DATE: 01/05/2008
Signature of Officer: OFFICER D C NANCE
No. 2814
Law Enforcement Agency: RALEIGH POLICE DEPARTMENT



Any thoughts / advice? This seems so wrong, because while I love marijuana, the reason I moved out in the first place was because she was so irresponsilbe and doing other drugs that I did not want to be a part of my life. The officer took 2 pipes and a bong, neither of which were mine.

Normally the officer needs to make a positive association between the paraphernalia (or drugs) and one of the suspects. That happens if one suspect has the items in question on his person or if one suspect admits "Yeah, the stuff is mine." If no one owns up to possessing the paraphernalia, he'll cite everyone involved.

Doesn't sound like your former girlfriend owned up to the pipes being hers. Doesn't sound like you did too good a job of proving your distance from them or the rental situation, either. When an officer begins putting words in your mouth like that, you need to courteously stop him, correct him with the truth, and be able to back up what you're saying. If you have lease paperwork, rental payment receipts, copies of her receipts for those pipes, some concrete proof that you were a short-timer there and that they're hers, go to court with those and prove your innocence.

If not--and I gather this is the hitch in this case--then you're both going to have to pony up the fine for that citation. Consider it a relatively easy lesson learned. Seriously, she could have had a pound of brick weed and a baggie full of white powder on that coffee table and pretended like they weren't remotely associated with her. A misdemeanor citation for a couple of pipes is a fairly benign offense. Next time you request a public assist from a police officer, make sure the coast is clear before he assists you so that you're taking responsibility for your protection.

Are you really surprised at this? Just down the road in Durham the prosecutor tried to ruin the lives of 3 Duke Lacrosse players on the word of a horrible witness with no DNA evidence, her own friend discredited her, evidence supporting the students from the ATM camera and the time stamp when their ID was used to enter a dorm, a timeline that made no sense, and a ton of other stuff. There's a saying about they can indict a ham sandwich but that doesn't mean they can convict it. That saying is really just for prosecutors as an indictment usually takes a little more compelling evidence and at this point pursuing winless and costly situations isn't what most prosecutors are into. So imagine how iffy some arrests are by police officers who usually don't have a post graduate law degree. Not all cops are bad and I really would like to think most are actually good cops but there are some like this one who would rather throw a plate of spaghetti against a wall and see what sticks, like in your case. He's/ covering his ass by giving you both a ticket and he'll try to get one of you if not both.

Since your name isn't on the lease, not on your ID, or bills, it is the burden of the state to prove that you were in control or possesion of the bowl or bowls and bongs. If the other stuff was found in other rooms a case can be made that he should have only searched the room that had the bowl in plain view. Granted you have now given him probable cause and an exception to the warrant requirement by him seeing a bowl in plain sight but if there are many rooms or its a large apartment he may still be confined to only searching what is in your immediate access so where were the other things? If he walked into a den and found the bowl on the coffee table right when you walked in the door, some judges might not allow the extent of his search to cover the whole apartment, some may. Ok, back to in control of the bowl and burden of proof, it seems that you have a good case to show that you were not in control of the bowl or in possesion of it as you had moved out and were getting a cop to escort you back to the place to get the rest of your things. Did you meet him at the door or the parking lot, did you use a key, when was the last time you were there, etc etc? It's the state's burden to prove that even though you moved out it is your bowl. If money is tight I would get a public defender and ask for a jury trial. While the cop might have been eager to give you a ticket a prosecutor or judge might not be so eager to take this one to trial, at least in your case. Then if they proceed further and what you say about moving out can be proven, you stand a good chance of beating this BS.

let's see

to birdgirl73-
no, my former girlfriend did not claim that they were hers, she did not say anything.
i did my best to describe the situation. i even said "please stop putting words in my mouth" but he had already made his mind up. i was very polite the entire time and did attempt to explain the situation to him. i spoke to my ex and she said i could get a copy of the lease agreement and the checks that i gave her for the 2 months i did stay there (october and november), so i suppose that will help, but no luck with receipts for the pipes.

fakesboobsrule-
yeah, i must say i can't be too shocked. i stopped by the apartment earlier that day, got in an argument with her over what was mine/what was hers so i left and did not attempt to enter forcefully or start any trouble. i finally came back and met with a police officer outside in the parking lot, about 4 hours later. he entered the apartment before me, spoke to my ex, and then allowed me to enter. all of my things were in the kitchen, which is connected to the living room where he found the pipes on the table. he did a pretty bad search after my girlfriend agreed. there was pot there and a bubbler he did not find, everything he took was in plain view when he walked in the door , i guess he was content that he had enough to bust us for and we were polite, so i guess that is why he left it at that. i did not use a key, i did not have one anymore.

i think the reason he wouldn't hear me out is because i told him that one of the things that i wanted to retrieve was the toaster oven i wanted to get for my new place. i said she had it for over a year, but it was from when i lived at a former residence, which i think i can prove, as my father bought it as a gift for me. but from then on he insisted that i had lived at this residence for over a year and would not listen otherwise


thank you both so much for the responses any other help would be greatly appreciated.

If I understand you correctly.
You had the police escort you to a previous residence.
Where you no longer reside.
You picked up your possessions that you wanted.
The paraphernalia was not in those possessions, but on the table.

Well I would just assume they were put there after you moved out, and flat out state they are not yours.

Let them prove they are.

Good Luck

On the face of it, it sounds like you have a legit argument for innocence, however you say your ex is "high strung" so she might act as a wild card at your hearing. That said,
my advice is if you find yourself in a similar situation in the future, if you can't take your stuff when you bail, cut your losses and get on with your life. To paraphrase: hell hath no fury like a "high strung" lover scorned." Best of luck!