Facing Federal Drug Charges in Connection with Firearms?

Federal Drug Charges in Connection with Firearms

Federal drug charges involving the use or possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), carry even greater significance and sentencing enhancements on top of the already severe mandatory minimums of federal drug statutes.

Indeed, 924(c) charges can encompass possessing, brandishing, or using a firearm during the commission of a drug offense. This statute alone may carry an additional five, seven, or ten year mandatory minimum to run consecutive to a federal drug conviction.  

Federal Firearm Charges in Depth - 942(c)

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), any person who uses or carries a firearm during or in furtherance of any drug trafficking offense must, in addition to the punishment provided for such offense, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of at least five years. 

This is only the floor of the federal firearms statute - indeed, if the firearm was a shotgun or semi-automatic assault weapon, the mandatory minimum sentence becomes ten years imprisonment. 

Furthermore, if the defendant has previously been convicted of a § 924(c) violation, the mandatory minimum sentence for any conviction becomes 25 years imprisonment, and if the firearm at issue was a machine gun or a destructive device, or a firearm equipped with a silencer, the sentence becomes life imprisonment. 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(C).

Specific Prosecutorial Tactics 

To secure a conviction, the government must prove that either a drug trafficking offense was related to the use or possession of the firearm. This may be even established by proving that a gun was used by a co-conspirator. In this sense, an individual who was not in direct possession of the firearm that was used may nonetheless be successfully prosecuted due to having constructive possession of the weapon.

The key takeaway is that a person does not necessarily need to have a firearm on their person while committing a violent crime or a drug trafficking offense to be charged with a violation of §924(c).

Defenses and Outcomes

A drug trafficking crime is a felony offense in New York, Florida, or elsewhere is punishable by the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 801, et seq.), or a violation of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. § 951, et seq.). Further, a crime of violence is defined as a felony that:

1. has an element of physical force – including its threatened or attempted use – against another person or his property; or
2. by its nature involves a substantial risk that physical force would be used in committing the offense. 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3).

Either of these is sufficient to support a § 924(c) conviction. 

As mentioned above, an individual convicted pursuant to 924(c) may also be convicted of the underlying drug offense. Hence, the federal sentencing guidelines may allow for a consecutive sentence of two mandatory minimums - the 924(c) offense may carry five years while a federal drug charge pursuant to 841(B) may carry an additional five or ten years.

It is critical that a federal defense lawyer find creative ways to fight back against federal drug prosecutions which include firearm charges. Sometimes, this will mean writing persuasive pretrial motions to suppress or dismiss the firearm charges as unconstitutional or unsupported by the evidence. Other times, this will mean taking a case to trial and convincing a jury to discredit a cooperating witness or a wiretap conversation. 

Your Defense Begins Now

If facing a federal drug charge in connection with firearms, it is crucial to hire a federal defense attorney who is well-versed in these charges and prepared to find creative avenues to get around the mandatory minimums. A skilled defense lawyer can employ an aggressive defense to either prevail at trial or, at the very least, negotiate a deal with the government which lessens one’s exposure at a federal sentencing. Contact The Law Offices of Jason Goldman today.