Probably wouldn’t have this problem if no-knock raids were not SOP
OK law makes it illegal to fortify home if you have drugs:
bill that makes it unlawful for “any person to willfully fortify an access point into any dwelling, structure, building or other place where a felony offense prohibited by the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act is being committed, or attempted, and the fortification is for the purpose of preventing or delaying entry or access by a law enforcement officer, or to harm or injure a law enforcement officer in the performance of official duties.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:51 am
Way to make doing illegal things more illegal Oklahoma!
Idiots.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:01 am
“OK, so we’ve got the meth lab all set up, the pot farm lights are in place, the underage Taiwanese kids are putting the heroin in the baggies when they’re not being whored out, and that guy I killed is stuffed into a freezer.
God, I hope nobody does a raid on the house because I’m not going to risk breaking the law that says I can’t fortify my doors!”
January 14th, 2010 at 11:26 am
Oklahoma sounds like a pretty amazing place.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:58 am
I wonder if this charge would lead to a conviction in a case where an informant provided information that drug sales were ongoing in a home, then the raid found nothing incriminating.
Just because my house is fortified, it does not mean I am up to anything illegal. Maybe I’m just a shy person.
January 14th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Or maybe you were correct in not trusting your neighbors.
January 14th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
@Robb: +1
January 14th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
What I don’t understand is this
The police try to kick in a door. They find it’s been fortified after Sgt. O’Malley twists his ankle. They break in anyway, but the time between the first kick and eventual opening, the occupants manage to flush / destroy the evidence.
Without evidence, you can’t claim they were doing anything wrong. If they can’t claim you’re doing anything wrong, the the fortification of the door is perfectly legal. If they can prove you were breaking the law, then why tack on the additional charges.
The other thing – this is a fairly racist law (not really, but I love turning the lefties’ tactics on themselves). Many people of color bar their doors and windows for safety. Now, how many are going to be afraid to because they don’t want to appear to be ‘fortifying’ their entryways?
January 14th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
I suspect this is meant to be a tack-on charge. A prosecutor can offer to drop it if the defendant agrees to plead guilty to the drug charge. Alternatively, the prosecutor could simply decide he wants the person put away for longer.
January 14th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Oh goodie! Illegaler.
January 14th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Depends on the drugs.
Mere possession of marijuana appears to be a misdemeanor in OK under that code.
Possession of schedule 1 or 2 (under that act, not the federal one) substances is felonious with marijuana deliberately excepted in the code.
And any possession with intent to distribute is, too.
But strictly, merely “having drugs” isn’t enough to make that provision effective against you.
January 14th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Another reason I don’t want to move back to OK.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
So how are they gonna prove intent? After all, the drug gangs also have rival gangs to worry about. It’s just another stupid law. We must have almost 20,000 stupid laws just for guns.
January 18th, 2010 at 3:24 am
Paul,
Intent has been pretty irrelevant in the courts for years at this point.