Law enforcement agencies in New York typically keep released, convicted criminals on their radar. This often leads to new arrests of the same people committing additional crimes. The case of a New York man shows how the system monitors released inmates.
According to Department of Corrections and Community Supervision records, the 25-year-old man had been paroled in November 2013 after serving time for shooting and wounding two women. Afterward, a parole warrant operation performed by police resulted in his arrest on drug charges.
Police reported that a search of the man’s 2000 Hyundai Elantra revealed 23 plastic bags containing a substance believed to be crack cocaine. The district attorney said he now faces felony and misdemeanor charges for possession of a controlled substance. State court records posted online stated that he was placed in jail after being arraigned in Stapleton Criminal Court. His bail was set at $5,000.
Because a criminal record can cause a person to live with increased attention from law enforcement, a person charged with a crime may have a strong interest in defending themselves from a conviction. A person charged with a crime has a right to seek legal representation. Someone confronted by drug charges in particular might benefit from a consultation with an attorney.
An attorney could help the person make decisions about how to plea in court or even assist in negotiations for a plea bargain. A deal made with a prosecutor might result in reduced charges and a lighter sentence. In some situations when evidence is open to challenge, an attorney might even get charges dropped entirely and thereby protect the person from a criminal conviction.