The Challenge
Authorities found about 2,000 pounds of marijuana, one ton, packaged for transport at two homes in Temecula and Murrieta. Our client and her boyfriend were both arrested. She was charged with possession of marijuana for sale (Health and Safety Code 11359) and child endangerment (Penal Code 273a). The sales count was a felony, and a conviction would have followed her for life. Her case turned on one question: not whether the marijuana was in the house, but whether she possessed it.
Our Strategy
Possession means knowledge and control. Living with someone who runs an operation is not the same as running it. We challenged the evidence the prosecution used to tie our client to the sales operation, and we kept challenging it through lengthy court proceedings. Combined with mitigation about her circumstances, that pressure produced a negotiated resolution. The felony possession for sale charge was dismissed. She resolved the case on a misdemeanor, with probation, and house arrest. No felony conviction, and no prison.
The Result
FELONY DRUG SALES CHARGE DISMISSED — PROBATION WITH HOUSE ARREST
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.
