Can criminal **** charges be brought up on you at a later date if you were never arrested at the time police stopped you and found the drugs?
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Can criminal **** charges be brought up on you at a later date if you were never arrested at the time police stopped you and found the drugs?
Asked on May 9, 2009 under Criminal Law, Wyoming
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
Yes. Charges can be brought until the statute of limitations runs, and that's typically years.
Of course the more time that passes, the less the likelihood is that charges on an old offense will be brought as new crimes occur, police priorities shift, memories fade, officers get reassigned, evidence gets mishandled and misplaced, etc.
On the other hand, if something comes up where you are suspected, I've seen police and prosecutors bring up older offenses they can more easily prove to place pressure on the suspect, or get him behind bars on what they can prove rather than what they suspect. For example, in the 1930s Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion because that was easier for the prosecutors than proving he had been heading the Chicago mob.
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