Criminal charges often come in multiple areas

There is a saying among lawyers, “The law is a seamless web.” What this means is that when you are involved with one part of the law, you will frequently discover that you will also touch upon one or more other areas at the same time. This is true of criminal as well as civil law in Kentucky, as an incident involving three men illustrates.

The men were among at least 14 individuals in Lexington who in September of last year were engaged in beating another man what is known among gang members as a “beat-in” ritual. Three of those involved in administering the beating were arrested for criminal gang recruitment, although two were released during their arraignment this month for time served (note the duration of time from the arrest to the arraignment: almost one year).

The third, however, was not as fortunate, for according to law enforcement he had also connected himself with other strands of the “seamless web” of criminal law. According to police, subsequent to the “beat-in” arrest he had also been caught during the execution of a search warrant of a home in which substantial quantities of drugs and three handguns were confiscated. He is currently set to be arraigned in early September on charges of:

• marijuana trafficking;
• first-degree controlled substance trafficking;
• second-degree synthetic drug trafficking; and
• being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun

Anyone who has the misfortune to be charged with criminal behavior should be prepared for police and prosecutors to level a flurry of charges, and will need a defense attorney who can handle the complexities of defending against multiple charges simultaneously as well as to make sure that the police conduct in obtaining their evidence complied with the requirements of both the Kentucky state constitution and the U.S. Constitution’s due process protections set forth in the Bill of Rights. If even some of the charges can be either thrown out or reduced, this can have a significant impact on plea negotiations as well as trial defense.

Source: Lexington Herald-Leader, “Three Lexington men are accused of participating in gang initiation,” Justin Madden, August 28, 2015