Defenses To Use Following A Charge Of Introduction Of Contraband To A Jail Facility
Regardless of the reason for your arrest and transfer to a local jail facility, it's possible to receive an additional charge upon entering the building. Although different jurisdictions have different names for this charge, it's often called "introduction of contraband." In other words, you've taken something prohibited into the facility, and are being charged with it. Often, this type of charge results from having drugs on or even in your person. For example, if the police officer who arrested you seized some drugs at the time of your arrest, but you had some hidden, you could be charged upon a jail official discovering the drugs at the time of your intake. This charge can be challenging to fight, but a good criminal defense attorney and an intelligent defense are your best bet.
Another Party's Clothing
It may be possible that the contraband was hidden inside clothing that wasn't yours. For example, you may have been arrested without a coat on, and the arresting officer could have grabbed a coat from inside your vehicle. In some instances, this coat may have belonged to one of your passengers, not you. You may have told the officer this fact, but he or she could have ignored you—resulting in you entering the jail with the coat containing someone else's contraband.
Lack Of Warning
It's common for police officers to warn arrestees to turn over any contraband that they have before traveling to the jail. For example, you may have had a small amount of drugs in your pants pocket but had another amount in your underwear. In this scenario, the officer may have seized the drugs from your pants but failed to check your underwear—and not given you a warning to turn over anything else on your person. You may want to build your defense around forgetting that you had the additional drugs hidden and that the officer didn't advise you to remove anything you had.
Drugs Were Planted
Accusing a police officer of planting contraband on your person is serious, but it can occasionally be something that arrestees face. It's possible that you were arrested for an offense that didn't relate to drugs, and then had drugs found in your clothing upon arriving at the jail. If you aren't a drug user, it may be possible that the officer planted this evidence to get another charge against you. Your criminal defense attorney will weigh your defense, determine how legitimate it is, and then proceed accordingly on your behalf.
To learn more about this process, contact a criminal defense attorney in your area.