The Challenge
The Sheriff’s Department and the DEA served a search warrant at a Lake Elsinore home. They found 45 pounds of methamphetamine, 6 pounds of fentanyl, 5 pounds of heroin, and 29 pounds of marijuana. Our client and one other person were arrested at the scene. Prosecutors alleged that our client ran the entire operation. The charges were possession for sale under Health and Safety Code 11378 and 11351. The real exposure came from the drug weight enhancement under Health and Safety Code 11370.4, which adds years to a sentence based on quantity. Combined, the exposure was about 29 years in state prison. At those quantities, probation is normally off the table.
Our Strategy
We took a hard look at the evidence and challenged the prosecution’s central claim: that our client was the person running the operation. What the evidence actually showed was a much smaller role. We put that in front of the prosecutors, along with his personal circumstances and his willingness to accept responsibility. The negotiation came down to the weight enhancements. Those enhancements were what turned a possession-for-sale case into a 29-year exposure, and they are what normally rule out probation. We negotiated a resolution that set them aside. The case ended with probation and a period in county jail.
The Result
PROBATION AND COUNTY JAIL; STATE PRISON AVOIDED
Your Case Belongs at the Southwest Justice Center.
Your Defense Belongs Here.
If you were arrested in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar, Lake Elsinore, Winchester, or French Valley, your future will likely be decided at the Southwest Justice Center (SWJC) on Auld Road. In these courtrooms, local knowledge is the ultimate advantage. Since 1999, Nic Cocis has been a weekly fixture in the SWJC, appearing before the same judges and negotiating with the same Riverside County prosecutors for over 25 years. We don’t just know the law — we know the specific nuances, procedural quirks, and judicial tendencies of the Southwest District. Whether you are facing a felony or a misdemeanor, you need a firm that treats the Southwest Justice Center as its home turf.
