The Challenge
Our client and several others arranged to buy about $500,000 worth of cocaine. The seller was an undercover police officer. It was a reverse sting: there were never any drugs, only the cash and the agreement. Our client was arrested and the money was seized. He never possessed any cocaine, and he was not charged with possessing any. The charge was conspiracy to sell cocaine under Penal Code 182, which requires only an agreement and a step taken toward it. Even without drugs, the weight enhancement under Health and Safety Code 11370.4 applies to a conspiracy based on the quantity the parties agreed to buy. That enhancement alone added many years to the exposure.
Our Strategy
A reverse sting raises a specific question: how much of the deal came from the defendants, and how much came from the officer. We examined every recorded conversation and every step of how the transaction was arranged. We challenged the weight enhancement, since the quantity was negotiated rather than delivered, and we presented our client’s background and circumstances. Through extended negotiation with the prosecution, the case resolved at 2 years, eight years below the original offer.
The Result
SENTENCE REDUCED BY 8 YEARS
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.
