Category Archives: Drug Crimes

What Happens When You Plead Guilty to Federal Drug Crime? From Guilty Plea to Sentencing Hearing in a Drug Case

Federal drug arrests can force the accused into negotiating a plea agreement, where special considerations apply to the defendant’s situation. Drug arrests are made every day here in Dallas as well as the rest of Texas.  Lots of drug busts are done by the local police or by county sheriff’s deputies.  They will make drug…


Criminal Defense Alert: Significant Changes in Amendments to 2018 Federal Sentencing Guidelines (USSG)

The 2018 Amendments to the United States Sentencing Guidelines (USSG) were unanimously adopted by the U.S. Sentencing Commission last month.  On May 1, 2018, the Federal Sentencing Guideline amendments were submitted to Congress. November 2018 Effective Date They will automatically become effective on November 1, 2018, unless Congress takes proactive steps to disapprove them.  For…


Federal Sentencing Guidelines: Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substance Cases

How the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are applied in a Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs case Drug arrests made by federal agents will be based upon federal law and proceed through federal courts, and the odds are high that the federal prosecutor will include a charge of “conspiracy” to the drug case. It’s an easy addition.  Most…


What You Need to Know If You are Facing Money Laundering and Drug Trafficking Charges

Crimes involving drug trafficking activities are aggressively prosecuted at both the state and federal levels.  Oftentimes defendants are charged with money laundering crimes in addition to other drug-related offenses.  Michael Lowe, an experienced Texas criminal defense attorney, explains the laws behind money laundering crimes along with the tactics and strategies law enforcement officials use to…


Carson County 1st Degree Felony Money Laundering Case Dismissed

Mr. Lowe’s client was targeted by State Trooper Danny Dawson as he was travelling west bound on I-40 through Carson County, Texas.  Trooper Dawson stated in his arrest report that Mr. Lowe’s client was following too closely (Texas Transportation Code 545.062)and changed lanes without signalling (Texas Transportation Code 545.104) as the probable cause reasons for…


Marijuana Arrests in Texas in 2018: Federal Law vs State Statute

Marijuana Enforcement: that’s the subject of the January 4, 2018, memo that the United States Attorney General, Jefferson B. Sessions III, sent to all the United States Attorneys in this country last week.  Every single federal prosecutor got the one-page memo from their boss; you can read it online in its entirety. What’s the big…


The 2018 Boom in Physician Arrests: Characteristics of the Arrested Doctor

It’s happening:  more and more doctors are being arrested and imprisoned on federal charges.  This isn’t a shocker, we’ve been warning about it for a while now.  For details and background info, check out: Health Care Fraud Prosecutions in 2018: Money and Drugs Doctors in Texas Alert: Feds Are Targeting Health Care Fraud Arrests Doctor…


Texas in the 2017 DEA National Drug Threat Assessment

A few weeks ago, the Drug Enforcement Administration released its annual drug crime report, entitled the 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment.  It’s published as the government’s latest “…comprehensive strategic assessment of threats posed to our communities by transnational criminal organizations and the illicit drugs they distribute throughout the United States.”  (Report, page 7.) 2017 DEA…


Got Marijuana? What You Need to Know About the Dallas “Cite and Release” Rule

First things first, way too many people here in North Texas who have heard about Dallas’ new “Cite and Release” rule for marijuana possession totally misunderstand the rule.  Please spread the word:  DALLAS COUNTY HAS NOT DECRIMINALIZED MARIJUANA POSSESSION. Here’s what you need to know about marijuana possession in Dallas County today: The Criminal Charge…


Carfentanil, Fentanyl Analogues, Heroin, China, the Police, and Felony Arrests

Heroin isn’t the big deal in the opioid crisis anymore.  You might even say that heroin is Old School.  Now, it’s what is being combined with heroin that’s being sold all over the country. Namely, fentanyl and the fentanyl analogues like carfentanil.   And times are changing for everyone involved. The Popularity of Fentanyl Fentanyl is…