Two men were recently sentenced for serious drug crimes. The two individuals who committed felony drug crimes are ages 30 and 43. Still, any individuals in Minnesota who are accused of felonies are always presumed innocent until and unless their guilt can be proved in court.
The 30-year-old man ended up being sentenced to a total of 52 months behind bars for a drug felony in the third degree. He is said to have possessed at least 10 grams of a narcotic that was not heroin. However, he did receive credit for already serving more than 70 days.
Meanwhile, the 43-year-old man received a sentence of probation lasting 10 years for a drug felony in the third degree. Authorities said he sold at least 10 grams of methamphetamine. However, he entered a plea agreement in August 2019, which reduced his charge from a second-degree felony drug charge to a third-degree one.
When individuals in Minnesota are charged with felonies, they have a couple of options. The first is to proceed to trial in an effort to fight the criminal charges. At trial, no conviction can be handed down unless prosecutors prove every element of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt — a feat that is hard to accomplish. The second option is to seek to strike a plea deal with the prosecution, which may result in a lighter charge and thus a lighter sentence than what may result from trial. In both scenarios, an attorney will pursue the most personally favorable outcome for the defendant, keeping the defendant’s best interests at the center of the criminal proceeding.