Cops

[flareside]

Hi so tonight me and my friends were parked at a little field like thing off a road, the cops came up and pulled infront of us and started talking to us then looked around the truck... Officer found a pipe in the truck bed but it was homemade, he then continued to look around and didn't find anything else, then he told me that I'm responsible for anything in my vehicle and so on, and I told him it wasn't mine and he was just like alright tell me if you hear anything about the graffiti around the schools blah blah blah

Then he just said have a good night and he's like "remember I have 6 months to lay charges" got in his cruiser and drove away.

But the thing is.. He only asked me my last name, didn't ask for my first name, date of birth, didn't write anything down, absolutely nothing, just took the pipe.

Is there any possible way he could charge me?? Or am I in the clear??

[JellyBean4986]

he could have gotten your license plate number before he got out of the car. Most likely he won't charge you with anything, if you stay out of trouble. If somthing else does happen in the next six months tho he can make things difficult for you. It almost seems like he is more concerned with the graffiti then anything else. If I was you, I'd stay out of trouble for a while, just in case.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Your first name doesn't matter, it's easy to find out as he has your last name plus the license plate number. He could charge you if he wants to, not necessarily with just possession of drug paraphernalia but also with obstructing justice and possession of illicit drugs. However, that seems rather unlikely as he was more concerned with the graffiti and they cannot just take the pipe and toss it in the car randomly, it has to be filed and documented on scene. Police cruisers usually have visual-audio equipment built in but police are still meant to take notes on site. Since he didn't take notes on site, if he did charge you, then you may be able to defend by stating he improperly conducted himself. Many cases, particularly for more severe crimes, have been dismissed by judges once revealed the officers didn't take notes on scene but collaborated together after-the-fact to ensure their notes coincided.

[david2357]

sounds like the cop was lenient. The "remember I have 6 months to charge you" basically was a warning. If you are caught doing anything else wrong that has anything to do with drugs, then prosecuters would probably charge you for the pipe. I bet they CAN still charge you, but they most likely won't. the cop seemed very lenient. If you are caught with anything else drug related, the pipe would be supporting evidence that you are a drug user, and the drug use would be evidence that it was your pipe (by the way, i dont know much about law, so dont take any of this as fact).

Sounds like a warning to me.

[flareside]

Ok well it was in the box of my truck and I didn't even know it was there honestly, and I told him that and he didn't even ask for my license or registration or anything like that.. I let him search the whole truck, willingly offered, then he closed my door for me and was just saying "I'm a fair guy" and said have a good night and I said thanks officer you too

But if he was even considering pressing charges or anything of that sort, anything other then a warning, he would've taken down my name, or asked for my date of birth, or phone number, or something and would've said "I'll be in-touch"... I live an hour away from where it was too.

[Sircheese]

He had no probable cause to search, if anything you could get him in trouble

[Guile]

Originally Posted by Sircheese

He had no probable cause to search, if anything you could get him in trouble

Incorrect, it was in view in the bed of the truck, and along with the local graffiti, it would rule in his favour. In the end though, he most likely was just giving you a light warning and was going to throw the pipe away or dispose of it. You really have nothing to worry about.

[.TJ.]

Originally Posted by Sircheese

He had no probable cause to search, if anything you could get him in trouble

No PC is needed in plain sight.