You can be charged under California Health and Safety Code 11352 if you transport a controlled substance with the intention to sell it. Under this statute, a controlled substance could be anything from illegal narcotics to addictive prescription medication obtained without a license. If you are charged with this offense, the prosecuting attorney must prove the elements of transportation and intent to sell to obtain a conviction against you.

A conviction for transportation or sale of a controlled substance attracts severe consequences. After spending time behind bars and paying hefty fines, the conviction will leave a permanent mark on your criminal record and can impact multiple aspects of your life. For this reason, you must be aggressive to fight the charges.

Seeking legal guidance is crucial to understanding your charges and building a strong defense. At California Criminal Lawyer Group, we offer expert legal guidance to all our clients battling drug crime charges in Bakersfield, CA.

Understanding California HSC 11352

Under California law, it is unlawful to administer, furnish, give away, or transport a controlled substance. In this case, a controlled substance is any drug whose manufacture, possession, transportation, and use are controlled by the government. Controlled substances could range from illegal narcotics like heroin and cocaine to prescription medications like sleeping pills.

Transportation of a controlled substance for sale is a serious felony. Therefore, law enforcement officers will conduct thorough investigations before the prosecution files the charges. This helps uncover the necessary evidence to strengthen their case. Some of how law enforcement officers may learn of your crime include:

Through Informants

Sometimes, law enforcement officers rely on informants to provide information about drug crimes in society. After receiving a tip from an informant, the officers will perform further investigation to establish probable cause and arrest you for the offense. However, not all tips presented to law enforcement officers are substantial. Therefore, you cannot be arrested solely on tips from an informant.

Undercover Investigations

When law enforcement officers suspect you of engaging in drug transportation for sale, they could perform an undercover operation to catch you in the act. An officer could pretend to be a friend or a person who wants to purchase drugs from you. Law enforcement officers carefully avoid incidents that could result in entrapment when engaging in undercover operations.

Surveillance Posts

Most people transport drugs in their cars. When law enforcement officers set up surveillance posts, they can search your vehicle and obtain the evidence necessary to file charges for drug transportation against you.

The consequences of a conviction for transporting a controlled substance to sell it attract severe legal and collateral consequences. Therefore, it is critical to have the insight of a competent criminal defense lawyer.

Elements of Transportation for Sale of a Controlled Substance

Before the court finds you guilty of the offense, the prosecuting attorney must establish these elements of the crime:

You Gave Away, Administered, Furnished, or Transported a Controlled Substance

The initial element the prosecutor must prove when establishing your liability under HSC11352 is your possession or control over a substance you transported. Transporting a controlled substance involves moving it a substantial distance. Transportation could be on foot, through a vehicle, or on a plane across the border. For example, moving cocaine from your house to the streets to sell it could suffice as transportation under this statute.

You knew or Should have Known You Were Transporting a Controlled Substance

You cannot be convicted of transporting a controlled substance without knowing its presence or nature. Proving this factor helps avoid a conviction of an individual who is unknowingly set up or victims of entrapment. The prosecution will determine your knowledge of the presence of the controlled substance by considering your knowledge of the name, composition, and effects of the drug.

If you were unaware of the specific type of substance you transported, you can convince the court that you did not know of its presence.

You Transported a Usable Amount of the Substance

For most drug crimes, you will be convicted if the amount of the controlled instance you possess or transported was usable. A substance is considered usable if it is enough to produce physical and psychological effects on the user. Having traces of a controlled substance while on the move may not be enough to secure a conviction under HSC 11352.

You Acted with the Intent to Sell the Substance

The intention to sell differentiates transportation of a controlled substance for sale from basic drug transportation. This is the most critical and challenging element for the prosecution to prove. Swelling a controlled substance involves exchanging it for cash or another valuable item.

Some of the factors that could help the prosecution prove your intention with the drug include:

  • Quantity of the substance you transported
  • The presence of certain drug paraphernalia
  • Evidence of price negotiations for the drugs

Sentencing and Punishment for Transportation for Sale of a Controlled Substance

You will face felony charges for transporting a controlled substance for sale. You will face a prison sentence of three, four, or five years if you are convicted of this crime. Your sentence could be increased if the following aggravating circumstances exist in your case:

You Transported the Controlled Substance across County Lines

If you face HSC 11352 charges for transporting drugs from one county to another, your prison sentence could be increased up to nine years. Additionally, the court can impose fines of up to $20,000 for the offense.

Transportation for Sale of Large Quantities of a Controlled Substance

Another factor that could aggravate the case when you are charged under California HSC 11352 is the transportation of large quantities of drugs. The sentence enhancements in this case could include:

  • Up to three years in prison when the weight of the controlled substance is more than one kilogram.
  • Five years of imprisonment for a controlled substance that exceeds four kilograms
  • Ten years if you transport a controlled substance weighing more than ten kilograms.
  • Up to twenty years in prison for drugs that exceed forty kilograms

Besides the increased prison time, aggravating factors in your case could result in fines ranging from $1,000,000 to $8,000,000.

Selling Drugs to Specific Individuals

A conviction for transportation for the sale of a controlled substance requires the prosecution to establish your intentions to sell the substances you transported. If you intend to sell drugs to homeless people or individuals with a prior felony conviction, you risk facing a harsh sentence.

Transportation and Sale of Drugs to Minors

Transporting controlled substances for sale will result in severe legal penalties. However, your punishment could be harsher if you involve a child under eighteen years old in the transportation or sale of the drugs. The age difference between you and the minor is one of the factors that will dictate the severity of your enhancement.

Collateral Consequences of your HSC 11352 Conviction

Even after incarceration, fines, and probation, a conviction for the transportation of drugs with the intent to sell can have the following collateral consequences for your life:

Felony Record

After a conviction for drug transportation for sale, the conviction will enter your criminal record. Being labeled a felon could impact how people view and interact with you. Additionally, criminal records in California are accessible to the public.

Therefore, the record can be revealed to employers who check your background. This could cause you to miss out on good opportunities since some employers do not like working with felons.

Immigration Consequences

For immigrants living in California, there is an added risk associated with a conviction for transportation for the sale of a controlled substance. After a felony conviction, you could face deportation.

Alternatively, you can face inadmissibility, meaning you cannot re-enter the country after leaving. Deportation or inadmissibility can impact your livelihood in the United States and keep you away from your family.

Difficulty Obtaining and Keeping Your Professional License

If you work in a profession that requires a license to practice, your years of study and work experience could be lost due to a drug conviction. Before obtaining a license, the licensing board will perform background checks on you and can deny you a license due to the conviction. Additionally, you could lose a license to revocation when the board learns of your conviction. Therefore, fighting your charges to avoid a conviction may be critical to your career.

College Admission

If you are a student in college or want to enroll in school, a felony conviction for drug transportation for sale can impact your ability to receive federal financial aid. Additionally, you must disclose the conviction during your college application, based on which the school can choose to reject your application.

Gun Ownership

When you face an arrest for transportation of a controlled substance for sale, you will be required to surrender your firearms to law enforcement officers. If your charges end in a conviction, you will lose your firearm ownership rights for ten years.

Child Custody

When you undergo a divorce and child custody battle, a conviction for a drug crime can have a devastating impact on your ability to receive child custody. The family court in California often acts in the child's best interests. Therefore, a parent with a felony conviction on their record could be considered unsuitable to care for the child.

Defenses Against HSC 11352 Charges

Fighting against your HSC 11352 charge is critical to avoiding the repercussions of a conviction for drug transportation for sale. With the guidance of a skilled drug-crime defense attorney, you can establish the following defenses:

Lack of Knowledge of the Nature of the Alleged Substance

You must have known about the nature of the substance you transported for you to be charged with transportation for the sale of a controlled substance in California. If you prove that you did not know the alleged substance was illegal on the date, the court may offer you a reduced charge or lessen your sentence for the offense.

You Did not Know of the Presence of the Drugs

Before you face a conviction for transportation of an illegal substance with the intention to sell, the prosecuting attorney must establish your knowledge of the presence of the controlled substance. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for an unsuspecting person to be tricked into transporting drugs.

For example, if a person intentionally or mistakenly leaves a bag containing cocaine in your vehicle and you run into a police checkpoint, you can be arrested and charged under HSC 11352. Proving a lack of knowledge of the presence of the drugs could help you avoid a conviction.

Valid Prescription

With the legalization of pot for personal use and medical purposes, the transportation of small quantities of the drug for personal use may not attract significant charges. Other controlled substances, like prescription medications, can be transported and sold by licensed individuals. Therefore, you can beat your criminal charges by arguing that you have the necessary permits to transport a particular drug.

Unlawful Search and Seizure

California law protects all individuals from unlawful searches by law police officers. You may be a victim of an illegal search under the following circumstances:

  • Search without a warrant. Even when you are suspected of engaging in criminal acts, law enforcement officers must obtain a valid warrant from the judge before searching your home or person. Unfortunately, some officers want to be quick to obtain evidence, which drives them to search for evidence of drug transportation without a warrant. The evidence collected in the unlawful search could be inadmissible in your case by proving that the officers lacked a search warrant.
  • Search beyond the scope of the warrant. When police officers obtain a search warrant from the court, they must search within its scope. Searching beyond the accepted scope could be considered unlawful.

Police Misconduct

Law enforcement officers safeguard society from crimes and uphold the necessary ethical standards. Unfortunately, some officers may go against these ethics by engaging in different forms of misconduct, including:

  • Failure to read your Miranda Rights. Before police officers interrogate you after an arrest for transportation of an illegal substance, they must read your Miranda rights. The Miranda rights inform you of your rights to seek legal guidance and remain silent. Any information you provide before reading Miranda rights will not be used against you in the case.
  • Coerced confessions. Sometimes, police officers have societal pressure to capture individuals suspected of transportation for the sale of drugs. Therefore, they can use unlawful tactics, including forcing you to confess to the crimes. If there is evidence of police misconduct in your case, you can fight your charges.

Entrapment

Many arrests for transportation for the sale of drugs are a result of sting and undercover operations by law enforcement officers. For this reason, it is not uncommon for a person suspected of these crimes to be a victim of police entrapment. Entrapment occurs when a law enforcement officer entices you to commit a crime that you would not engage in under normal circumstances.

When proving entrapment, you must show that the officer’s insight significantly contributed to your criminal violations.

Lack of Intent to Sell the Drugs

One of the most critical elements of HSC 11352 that the prosecution must prove is your intention to sell the drugs. Proving an intent is challenging and is determined by the quantity of the substance you transported. Additionally, the presence of drug paraphernalia linked to drug sales could help establish this element. By arguing that you did not have the intention to sell the drugs, you can avoid the consequences of a conviction.

Transportation of a controlled substance without the intention to sell is still an offense with which you can be charged when the evidence of transportation is clear. However, drug transportation is a lesser offense.

Crimes Related to Transportation for Sale of a Controlled Substance

A violation of California Health and Safety Code 11352 is one of the most severe drug crimes with which you can be charged. In your case, the prosecution can introduce the following offenses to replace or accompany transportation for the sale of a controlled substance:

Possession of a Controlled Substance

You can be arrested and charged under California Health and Safety Code 11350 if you possess a controlled substance. Under California law, controlled substances could be anything from illegal narcotics to prescription medication obtained with a prescription. A violation of HSC 11350 is the least severe drug crime with which you could be charged. Before your conviction for this offense, the prosecution must prove these factors:

  • You possess a controlled substance. Possession is classified as actual or constructive, depending on the nature of the circumstances. You are in actual possession of a controlled substance if the drug is in your person or bag. Constructive possession, on the other hand, involves control of the substance.
  • You knew of the presence of the substance. You cannot be found guilty of possessing a controlled substance if you do not know of the presence of the controlled substance.
  • You knew the nature of the substance. Another factor that the prosecution must prove to establish your liability under HSC 11350 is that you knew that the substance was classified under one of the schedules of controlled substances in California.
  • You possessed a usable amount of the substance. The amount of drug you possess should be enough to produce an effect on the user for you to be found guilty of possession of a controlled substance.

Possession of a controlled substance is charged as a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. Sometimes, the court will sentence you to probation or allow you to enter a diversion program instead of incarcerating you.

Transportation and sale of Marijuana

Although the recreational use of marijuana in California is legal, the sale of this controlled substance is regulated. Transporting and selling large quantities of marijuana without a license will attract an arrest and charges under California HSC 11360. You would be charged under this statute instead of HSC 11352 if the substance you transported was marijuana.

A conviction for possession and sale of marijuana arises when the prosecution proves these elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt:

  • You sold, administered, furnished, or transported the marijuana for sale.
  • You did not have a license or certification to transport the substance.
  • You knew about the presence of marijuana and its nature.

Transportation and sale of marijuana can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on your criminal record and the quantity of marijuana involved. A misdemeanor violation of HSC 11360 results in a sentence of up to six months in jail and fines not exceeding $500.

You will face felony charges for this crime if you are a repeat offender, you transported large quantities of marijuana, or you sold the substance to minors. As a felony, transportation and sale of marijuana are punishable by a prison sentence of two, three, or four years.

Find a Competent Drug Crime Defense Lawyer Near Me

Due to the negative impact that drug use can have on society, California has strict drug laws. If you transport a controlled drug and your intentions to sell the substance are clear, you will be arrested for violating HSC 11352. Most people think of large-scale drug-trafficking schemes when the thought of drug transportation comes to mind. However, you can still face criminal charges if you transport a usable amount of controlled substances.

The effects of your conviction for transportation for the sale of a controlled substance go beyond incarceration and fines. With a drug conviction on your record, you can miss out on employment opportunities and have a tainted reputation. Therefore, criminal charges for transporting controlled substances should not be taken lightly.

With the insight of a knowledgeable drug crime defense lawyer, you could battle the charges to secure a favorable outcome. If you or a loved one faces charges for drug transportation in Bakersfield, CA, you will benefit from the legal insight we offer at California Criminal Lawyer Group. Contact us at 661-750-8230 to discuss your case.