Information on the crime of smuggling drugs into a jail is found at California penal code section 4573.

 

In short, it is a crime to bring a controlled substance into a jail or prison without permission (PC 4573(a) [Abbrev.].

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Controlled Substance: A controlled substance is a prescribed narcotic, regulated by the government, and which is commonly known to be addictive, such as Norco, Vicodin, Codeine, OxyContin, etc.

 

Note: PC 4573(a) law covers controlled substances, but smuggling illegal drugs into a jail or prison is also a crime. Illegal drugs include Meth, Cocaine, LSD, Molly, etc.

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Smuggling means to sneak the controlled substance into the jail or prison without permission.

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Penalties

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Jail: Smuggling controlled substances into a jail or prison is classified as a felony. If found guilty of PC 4573, the defendant could face up to 2, 3, or 4 years in jail. The exact sentence depends on the defendant's criminal history, the terms of any plea agreement, the facts of the case, and more.

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Probation Sentence: A probation sentence is a period of supervision instead of jail. Probation sentences are allowed in PC 4573 cases, but they are not guaranteed.

 

Whether or not the defendant will receive a probation sentence after a conviction for smuggling drugs into a jail or prison depends on many factors, including the defendant's criminal history.

 

Sometimes probation sentences have terms and conditions of probation that include a sentence for work release or house arrest, which is intended to serve as an alternative to an actual jail sentence.

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Note: A probation sentence for smuggling drugs into jail case are classified as formal probation, which means the defendant is monitored by a probation officer.

 

PC 1170(h): If the defendant is not granted a probation sentence, then he or she may serve his or her incarceration in a local county jail, as opposed to a state prison.

 

In addition, jail sentences related to PC 4573 crimes may be split (served partially out of custody on house arrest or work release) or suspended (also called joint suspension).

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Three Strikes Law: PC 4573 is not a strike offense under CA Three Strikes Law.

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In addition to the penalties listed above, if found guilty of smuggling drugs into a jail or prison, the defendant could suffer any of the additional punishments: fines and fees, denial of permission to enter the jail or prison in the future (denial of visitation), denial of entry into the US military (or discharge), professional license suspension, immigration consequences, firearm prohibition and more.

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Note: A criminal protective order that keeps the defendant from visiting all jails or prisons for up to five years is a possible punishment after a PC 4573 conviction.

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Defenses

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Common defenses to a charge of PC 4573 include: insufficient evidence, mistake of fact, duress, statute of limitations, and more.

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Unwitting Drug Mule: An unwitting drug mule is a person that transport drugs for someone else, but the person transporting the drugs is unaware that he is transporting the drugs. This happens in smuggling drugs into jail cases when third parties are trying to sneak drugs into the jail through a valid visitor.

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For example: David wants to smuggle drugs to Goliath, who is in jail. To accomplish his drug smuggling, David goes to visit Goliath, and he secretly puts drugs in Sarah's purse as Sarah is waiting to go through the visiting personal search area. After both David and Sarah have passed through the jail's search area, David intends to secretly retrieve the drugs from Sarah's purse so that he can give them to Goliath. However, Sarah is search and is found to have drugs on her person and she is charged with attempting to smuggle drugs into jail in violation of PC 664/4573.​

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Result: Sarah may have a defense to her drug smuggling charge as she was used an witting drug mule.

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Statute of Limitations: The statute of limitations for a violation of penal code 4573 is three years from the date of the alleged violation.

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Note: The law requires that the prohibition against bringing a controlled substance into a jail or prison is clearly marked at the entrance of the area. If the prohibition is not clearly marked it could lead to a defense to smuggling a controlled substance into a jail or prison.

 

If you have been arrested or charged with smuggling drugs into a jail or prison, contact our criminal defense lawyers today for a free consultation. Call today!

 

909-913-3138

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