Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies and prosecutors aggressively prosecute drug offenses, which carry very serious penalties.  These penalties are even more severe if you are in possession of a firearm when you engage in a Pennsylvania drug offense.  Those arrested for drug crimes, who are in possession of a firearm, may face severe mandatory minimum sentences.  Whether you are under investigation or are facing pending charges for a drug offense in Pennsylvania while you were in possession of a gun, you should immediately seek legal advice from an experienced Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer.  Our criminal defense attorneys routinely handle drug and firearm charges throughout Allegheny County and the entire State of Pennsylvania.  We will carefully investigate the evidence against you and analyze your case so that we can provide a zealous defense designed to result in a dismissal of the charges or negotiated plea with less harsh sentencing.

Pennsylvania judges are imposing a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in state prison in cases where a person is convicted of a drug crime and found in possession of a firearm.  The firearm does not even need to be on your person, the judge may apply the mandatory minimum if you are arrested for a drug crime in your home or vehicle where a firearm is located.  It is even possible that you may be charged for the mandatory minimum if you are with a friend when you are arrested on a Pennsylvania drug charge if the friend is in possession of a firearm.

Section 9712.1 of the Pennsylvania sentencing law provides in pertinent part that “at the time of the offense, the person or the person’s accomplice is in physical possession or control of a firearm, whether visible… concealed… within reach, or in close proximity to the controlled substance … [the defendant] shall be sentenced to a minimum sentence of at least 5 years” imprisonment.  This broad and expansive sentencing provision means that even relatively minor drug offenses can result in extremely harsh sentences.

This sentencing statute is particularly concerning because it does not distinguish between types of illegal drugs.  In theory, this means that a judge could conceivably apply the mandatory minimum even if you are simply using marijuana.  While the mandatory minimum may not necessarily be applied, the potential exposure to such a serious sentence makes it imperative that a person arrested for a drug offense while he or she or someone else arrested with the accused is in possession of a gun seek immediate legal advice.  The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office aggressively pursues application of the five-year mandatory minimum punishment in these cases.  Michael V. Worgul is a Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney who has represented hundreds of people charged with serious criminal offenses in Pittsburgh and throughout Allegheny County.  If you are arrested for the possession of a drug like marijuana, cocaine, heroin, PCP, crack, methamphetamine or any other illegal drug while in possession of a firearm, call us today at 412-475-9217 for a free no obligation consultation.