Are you or a loved one facing criminal charges for drug possession with intent to sell in Florida? If so, contact a Florida defense attorney for intent to sell charges today. Head of the criminal defense division and partner at Weinstein Legal Team, attorney Matt Shafran, is ready to fight your case. Mr. Shafran has helped countless individuals facing charges for drug possession with intent to sell in Florida, helping them gain favorable outcomes in a court of law.
However, you must act swiftly. Each day that passes is a day that the prosecutor’s office is working to prove your guilt. You deserve to have the same aggressive legal representation on your side fighting to hold the State to its burden of proof.
The penalties for selling drugs and intent to sell charges in the state of Florida can be steep. In fact, they can cost you quite a few of your freedoms and constitutional rights upon a conviction. Additionally, a conviction may pose custody issues if you have children, can exempt you from holding certain jobs and professional licenses in Florida, and more.
Whether this is your first possession with intent to sell charge or you are a repeat offender, drug attorney Matt Shafran at Weinstein Legal Team can help. For experienced and diligent legal representation, contact the law firm today. The team at Weinstein Legal Team will provide you with a free case evaluation to review the facts surrounding your intent to sell charge, with absolutely no obligation.
The phones at Weinstein Legal Team are open 24-hours a day, 365-days a year. There will never be a time when you cannot access your legal team, and no call for help ever goes unanswered. To receive your free case evaluation, please call us at any time and request to speak with Mr. Shafran. Call 954-845-0505 now.
Areas in Florida We Represent
When you facing a criminal charge for possession with intent to sell, seek the legal assistance of a Florida criminal defense attorney immediately. We represent individuals in Broward County, Miami-Dade County, and Palm Beach County including the following areas:
- Boca Raton
- Boynton Beach
- Coral Springs
- Delray Beach
- Fort Lauderdale
- Hollywood
- Lake Worth
- Palm Beach Gardens
- Pembroke Pines
- Plantation
- Pompano Beach
- Wellington
- West Palm Beach
What Does Possession with Intent to Sell Mean?
Many individuals are surprised to learn that they are facing charges for possession with intent to sell, particularly because often the person does not plan to sell an illegal substance at all. Instead, possession with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver an illegal substance in the state of Florida refers to the amount of an illicit drug a person is in possession of according to weight when arrested by law enforcement.
Unfortunately, this means that even if an individual has drugs in their control for personal use only, they may still incur intent to sell charges based on the weight of a substance alone. Other determining factors in the charge can include how a drug is packaged when found in a person’s possession (for example, broken out into many smaller servings), as well as what paraphernalia law enforcement finds nearby. For example, having a significant quantity of drugs in addition to items such as a scale, plastic baggies, or other materials that imply a person may be packaging a narcotic for distribution can lead to the charge of drug possession with intent to sell.
Additionally, there are several other circumstances that may lead to drug possession with intent to sell charges in Florida. These include:
- Large amounts of cash in close proximity to the drugs.
- Testimony of the individual law enforcement arrests, or eyewitnesses that incriminate the person of having the intent to sell.
- The location where a person is arrested.
- Any record of drug-related activity, such as written ledgers that detail sales or prices, text messages, and more.
- Having guns or weapons in the vicinity of the narcotics.
Penalties for Intent to Sell Charges in Florida
In the state of Florida, drug possession with intent to sell charges are a felony offense (Fla. Stat. § 893.13(1)(a)). The degree depends on how the drug is scheduled. Possession of marijuana with intent to sell is a third-degree felony, and so are most Schedule III and IV drugs. Cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and the other substances the statute lists in its second-degree paragraph are second-degree felonies, while a few Schedule V drugs are only a first-degree misdemeanor. Unfortunately, felony convictions carry long-lasting and far-reaching consequences.
Penalties for intent to sell charges include:
- Up to five years in prison or on probation for a third-degree felony and up to fifteen years in prison or on probation for a second-degree felony.
- Up to $5,000 in fines for a third-degree felony and up to $10,000 in fines for a second-degree felony.
- A mandate to complete a drug rehabilitation program or counseling.
- The revocation or suspension of your driver’s license.
- The requirement to turn over guns and weapons to law enforcement, even if you own and control them legally.
- The loss of your voting rights for a specified period of time.
- The loss of custody of your children.
- And more.
Additionally, being a convicted felon comes with serious social ramifications as well. For example, many landlords will not rent housing to convicted felons, and HOAs may deny residency even to individuals who wish to purchase their own homes if you have a felony mark on your record. You may be excluded from holding certain professions such as those working with children or other vulnerable populations. You may lose professional licensure in the state, such as a medical license or a license to practice law. Anyone who runs a background check on you will see a felony drug conviction which can significantly damage your reputation.
For this reason, hire a drug attorney to build a defense on your behalf when fighting intent to sell charges. It may be possible to avoid a conviction, either getting your charges reduced or dismissed entirely. Mr. Shafran at Weinstein Legal Team is ready to fight your case.
How the State Proves Intent, and How We Attack It
Nothing turns a possession charge into an intent-to-sell felony except inference. Prosecutors point to a quantity beyond personal use, baggies and scales, cash in small bills, text messages, and the arresting officer’s training and experience. Every one of those can be attacked. Heavy users carry quantity, baggies and scales are household items, and an officer’s opinion about what your belongings mean can be limited or excluded. The charge itself is also negotiable. Reducing intent to sell to simple possession changes the felony tier and opens diversion options that an intent charge closes.
Two other rules shape these cases. Where the weight crosses statutory thresholds, the State may charge trafficking instead, which carries mandatory minimum prison terms and is a different fight entirely. And when the alleged sale or possession with intent happens within 1,000 feet of a school, park, place of worship, or another location listed in the statute, one of Florida’s drug-free zone enhancements (Fla. Stat. § 893.13(1)(c)-(h)) can raise the felony degree and, for some drugs and locations, add a mandatory minimum prison term. Which rule applies depends on the drug, the location, the distance, and sometimes the time of day.
Hiring a Florida Attorney for a Possession with Intent to Sell Charge
If you are facing charges for drug possession with intent to sell in Florida, contact criminal defense attorney Matt Shafran at Weinstein Legal Team today. Do not face the courts alone when your constitutional rights are at stake. A conviction for intent to sell charges in Florida can result in a lengthy prison sentence, hefty fines, and more. However, with an experienced lawyer fighting on your side, there is hope.
The team at Weinstein Legal Team has years of experience fighting cases just like yours. But it is important that you act quickly so that the team can begin attacking the State’s evidence and negotiating with the prosecutor. The sooner you act, the better your chances will fare in a court of law. Do not let charges for drug possession with intent to sell in Florida ruin your life, there is help available to you today.
