On Aug. 3, a federal grand jury indicted three men and one woman on a variety of charges connected to the murder of a man in Oakland in March 2016. Authorities say that the defendants were part of a criminal enterprise that ran marijuana from California to Texas and Louisiana where two of the defendants were from. It is alleged that the three men worked together to commit the murder. Two of the defendants had been indicted on a charge of conspiracy to distribute marijuana in February 2017.
According to the superseding indictment, all four were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. The three men were charged with murder in connection with a continuing criminal enterprise. The woman was charged with VICAR conspiracy to murder while the men were charged with VICAR murder. Furthermore, all of the males indicted by the jury were charged with racketeering conspiracy and use of a firearm to commit murder.
Those who are charged with drug trafficking or other drug crimes may spend many years in prison. It may also be possible to pay a fine or spend time on probation. An attorney may help an individual charged with such a crime create a defense that may help that person obtain a favorable outcome in his or her case.
It may be possible to argue that an individual did not want to sell or distribute the controlled substance. In fact, it may be possible to assert that a person was forced to do so against his or her will.