Illinois fans of rapper Ty Dolla $ign may have heard that he could be sentenced to 15 years in prison. On Dec. 10, he was indicted by a grand jury on charges of misdemeanor possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana, felony possession of THC and felony possession of cocaine.
The charges are related to an incident that occurred on Sept. 5. Ty Dolla was taken into custody in Atlanta after his limousine van was searched by police. He was handcuffed during the search along with Skrillex and several other people. In the video of the incident, dogs are barking, and an officer says that marijuana has been found. Ty Dolla did not speak when an officer asked if anyone wanted to claim it, but he and one other person were led away.
According to his attorney, Ty Dolla had no drugs on his person. His bond was set at $6,000 since he did not have a criminal history, and he was subsequently released.
As this situation illustrates, there can be serious consequences for a conviction for drug possession. Even misdemeanor charges can be serious and might affect things such as a person’s career, financial aid for education or housing. People who are facing these types of charges might want to discuss possibilities for defense with an attorney. For example, in a case like this, it could be argued that the drugs belonged to someone else. Another possibility is a plea bargain. A plea bargain is a deal with the prosecution that usually allows a person to plead guilty to lesser charges. It also generally means a lighter sentence. A person might also be offered a deal by the prosecution to give evidence in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Source: XXL Mag, “Ty Dolla faces 15 years in prison for felony drug possession,” Trent Fitzgerald, 12/10/2018