So, you and your uncle get caught with a trunk full of weed in Texas in 1997. .

[fastfredracing]

You are young, and scared, you post bail, and flee the state. Many years go by, and you carve out a decent life for yourself in Pennsylvania, house , wife, kids etc. You have a good job, but not a great job. You want to start a business, but cannot get it off the ground because you are still a fugitive, and cannot get bonded.
Texas will not extradite you, but routine traffic stops here in Pa. , will sometimes turn into a 2-3 day affair , and you grow tired of constantly looking over your shoulder, and worrying .
You wish you would have done the right thing, and you really want to turn yourself in, but you now have a family that depends on you .
This is the story of Dale the painter. This guy, and his 19 year old nephew have been doing some side work for us at our rental houses. I just worked side by side with Dale for the last 3 days, and he is super hard worker, and a pretty decent guy all said and done. Drug, and alcohol free since 1997. On time every day, and two of the hardest working, nice guys I have met in a while.
He says that he is seriously considering turning him self in, and has been working 7 days a week, and taking on side work to help pay for legal fees and to leave some money for his family while he is away. He said that he is sick of worrying, and looking over his shoulder .
He wants to do it, but his wife and kids beg him not to. What is the right thing to do here?
Man, I'm glad I made the choices I did in my youth.

[JJ 911SC]

I would do some research and contact the Prosecutor for a deal.

Since they release murder after 2 years and let minor offender to rot in jail, he should not turn himself in until he know all the ramifications.

Texas Failure to Appear Laws - TX Bail Jumping Penalties | Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers

Texas, Does statute of limitations apply if court was skipped after arraignment? - Avvo.com

[74-911]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

I would do some research and contact the Prosecutor for a deal....... he should not turn himself in until he know all the ramifications.
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Not a lawyer but think this is good advice. "Justice" here in the great state of TX can depend a lot on the prosecutor. Sometimes serious crimes get a slap on the wrist and small stuff gets you hung out to dry. In 1997 a trunk full of pot could get you some serious time and still might today.

[Baz]

I agree with the above comments. Gotta make a deal with little or no jail time....and maybe an espunged record.

[Chocaholic]

Seems he should consult with a lawyer before doing anything so that he understands the likely outcome, and the path to get there. Certainly wouldn't just walk into the PD and turn myself in.

[livi]

By this time you would Think it water under the bridges. Even legally. Feel sorry for the guys.

[jadewombat]

He could join the oilfield. I'm not saying it's a place for fugitives, but the money is great and if he gets on a rotation schedule he will be home 1/2 the year free from work (most people work ~70% of the days during a year). You get paid very well and it's a lot easier to save up a nest egg.

Find out what the statue of limitations is also.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Seems he should consult with a lawyer before doing anything so that he understands the likely outcome, and the path to get there. Certainly wouldn't just walk into the PD and turn myself in.

+1000

He should do some research for the best damn criminal defense lawyer he can find, and get a deal worked out ahead of time.

Honestly, I think he should stop looking over his shoulder, and just go on with life. Deal or no deal, some Texas prosecutor with an ax to grind could put him away for decades. They could get him down there with a deal on the first charge, then stack 5 more felonies on.

[Rikao4]

where in Tx's , as that will play a big part...
if he's been good /get it on paper..
work the deal from PA,

Rika

[mattdavis11]

Originally Posted by jadewombat

Find out what the statue of limitations is also.

Statute of limitations has nothing to do with it. He has already been charged with an offense, then ran and now is considered to be a fugitive.

My guess is that he has automatically waived his constitutional right to a speedy trial by fleeing. There is no doubt that he will be denied bond/another bail to await trial. If he turns himself in, he'll be in custody until they set it on the docket and called up for sure.

He needs a defense attorney, preferably one that resides in the county where the offense occurred. There is most certainly a new D.A., and district judge that will prosecute and preside over the matter.

[dad911]

Yes, Lawyer first.

Or send him to NJ, I'll help him hideout, we need decent painters here.......

[legion]

Have a former friend who did almost exactly the same thing in Texas, but in '98 or '99. He is also an irresponsible POS who is the antithesis of a hard worker.

[speeder]

Have him spend his $$ on a lawyer, not a plane ticket to Texas.

If they are not coming for him, what's the big deal? I guess I've never considered staying out of Texas to be a horrible price to pay, hell, I do it and with no legal problems there.

[BGCarrera32]

I agree with most of the comments above and would thoroughly vet out all the scenarios with a competent attorney that has some connections in TX before heading in. The trick I would think would be figuring out who that attorney is...

Originally Posted by speeder

If they are not coming for him, what's the big deal?

Sounds like he has a conscience.

[speeder]

I have a conscience as well, along with other parts of the brain that make rational decisions.

Do you think that he owes the state of Texas several years of his life, (being spent currently as a law abiding citizen, not a criminal), because he was riding in a car with pot in it decades ago?? Even the court at the time did not consider it a huge deal because they let him go on minimal bail.

I'm all for locking up dangerous people for a long time, (like Wall Street banking CEOs), but he needs to have a lawyer clean this up for him if he's really worried about it. If he goes down to Texas and gets thrown in prison, he's a moron with a conscience.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by speeder

If he goes down to Texas and gets thrown in prison, he's a moron with a conscience.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

My sister was a prosecutor in South Carolina for 25 years, three counties.

We are planning a family do later this month and we chatted a few minutes ago. So I asked her about this little problem.

She just laughed: Depending on the prosecutor, he'll pay a fine and everyone will move on. That is what she would do. Pay the bail, pay a fine, move on with your life.

Or he goes to jail.

Her advice is do work this from PA. Do not go to Texas under any circumstance until the deal is sealed.

She thinks if this is approached well, there will be no issues: No prosecutor wants a YouTube video of a 17 year old pot arrest being brought to trial. They will make a deal and it will involve money, not time served.

[john70t]

Just a thought:
Offer to pay back taxes(inflation-adjusted) being used by Colorado and/or other current 'legalized' states, along with any reasonable state costs used for his proceedings.

He should smoke a doobie, watch the movie Brazil, and recognize it was a future documentary.

[john70t]

Just a thought: Offer to pay back taxes(inflation-adjusted) being used by Colorado and/or other current 'legalized' states, along with any reasonable state costs used for his past proceedings.

He should then smoke a doobie, watch the movie Brazil, and recognize it was a futuristic documentary.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by john70t

Just a thought: Offer to pay back taxes(inflation-adjusted) being used by Colorado and/or other current 'legalized' states, along with any reasonable state costs used for his past proceedings.

He should then smoke a doobie, watch the movie Brazil, and recognize it was a futuristic documentary.

Originally Posted by john70t

Just a thought: Offer to pay back taxes(inflation-adjusted) being used by Colorado and/or other current 'legalized' states, along with any reasonable state costs used for his past proceedings.

He should then smoke a doobie, watch the movie Brazil, and recognize it was a futuristic documentary.

Must be really good stuff... Worth twice as much as normal one.

[fintstone]

I would advise him to go back to Texas, surrender to authorities, and do his time like a man.