I found myself being stared down by 2 police officers in a dark room in Star City in Sydney.
Some of you will be reading the first line of this and remembering your own experience past experiences with this. But this is not aimed at individuals who have already been in through the court system but rather the person who just been arrested and was in the same place I found myself.
Scared, confused and feeling like the world is crumbling around me. Being 32 and being caught with 3 bags packed with what I admitted was Cocaine in a back room is a scary experience. Like most Sydney siders I indulged in the forbidden fruit like many weekend warriors.
After a thorough search and the police officer pulled out a scale and asked me if I agreed with the weight. I didn’t. I decided after being found with foreign notes and $4000 in cash the best thing to do was to keep my mouth shut.
So after listening to the police which in mind sounded muffled, I think that was the confusion and fear kicking in. Within a flash I had what I found out later was a yellow slip and its weird but I was outside I couldn’t remember being walked out.
I was alone with 2 pieces of paper in my hand with a surge of anxiety coming over me. My phone was ringing non-stop from my clearly worried friends who would have seen me being escorted from the bathrooms. I quickly took the call the gave the update to them over the phone.
I waved down the first cab I saw and asked them to take me home straight now. It was the longest cab ride home. I did what most people do in all situations in life. I hit Google after reading about 100 articles all telling me I was going to gaol, I called a friend of mine to explain what happened.
He told me to go home and wind down and that someone will contact me tomorrow.
After about 30 mins or so I get a message from Jahan saying telling me not to worry and that he is aware of my situation and that we will talk first thing in the morning.
After a lengthy discussion with Jahan on the phone Sunday morning I book in to see him first thing Monday morning.
Monday morning I have the meeting with Jahan, and suddenly the clouds in my mind are starting to part. So facing a drug conviction is scary as hell your mind goes a million miles an hour and you start to think about everything you did leading up to that moment. And honestly, the scariest thing is trying to do it on your own and not knowing what you’re facing.
You go from moments of thinking everything is going to be fine, cause a friend tells you about another friend who got caught with more than you did and how they just got a slap on the wrist to someone else telling you, you will never get another job again.
That meeting with the Jahan was the best thing that I could have done. He carefully articulated what will happen and what the next possible steps where as well as all the possible things that can happen.
Knowledge is power, and knowing what you’re facing will make things easier to comprehend. So I’m not going to go into detail about the legal strategy that Jahan drafted up for me is because each situation is different and I don’t want you thinking is my lawyer doing the right thing? Cause believe me its toxic.
I followed my instructions exactly from Jahan and compiled the documents and character references and pieces of evidence. I sat there and started to draft my apology with Jahan’s advise.
Make sure that you watch the video cause it’s important and its the same advise that Jahan gave me. There is nothing like a heartfelt apology and it doesn’t just wash over on a Magistrate.
After many months of waiting and conference call with Jahan, we finally get to sentencing day.
I turn up and I watch Jahan very confidently walk out the lifts and great me with a big smile. We sit and quickly chat and go through the documents checking and double checking.
He prepares me for my turn, 45 mins or so passes sitting and we are still waiting for our turn. After hearing Jahan start and presenting my case to the Magistrate I could hear the confidence and preparedness of his words spill out to the court.
After hearing our case the Magistrate turns her attention to the evidence I submitted to the court and she acknowledges the evidence and provides me with some advice that stuck with me till today.
Although I went through the humiliating moments of fussing up to my drug use to my wife and family. The shame of telling my boss that this had happened and I needed time to take off to see my lawyers and prepare myself for this moment. I became part of the problem in the cycle and that going through this was so awakening.
I had pleaded guilty to the crime of possession of a prohibited substance and I needed a Sydney criminal lawyer to get me a section 10 with no recorded conviction. Jahan did that.
So here is some advice from me to whoever is facing a similar situation.
- No matter what the circumstances treat the situation as a second chance
- Seek legal advice
- Trust in your legal counsel
- Stories of people getting off or not getting off are based on the unique circumstances
- Get help if you need it, this is the wake-up call you needed, drugs are never the answer.
