Roommates & Drugs...any liability?

[Planter]

A friend of mine is going to college in a nearby town, and he's got 3 roommates, in a 4 bedroom apartment near the college. 2 of the roommates are cool, but 1 is into some dumb shit.

This roommate is bringing marijuana into the apartment. Smoking it in his bedroom. He's already set the smoke alarm off once, but they got it shut off before the fire department could get called. My friend and the other 2 guys have told this clown not to smoke in the apt, and not to bring that shit in the apt. But this guy won't listen. He's trying to hide it, keeps lying that he doesn't have anymore but they catch him doing it every single day. He's also dealing it too. Worse, he's a complete slob, doesn't clean, leaves food out on the counter which attracts bugs, steals everyone's soda's and then lies about it. He's had 3 of his friends staying the night every night for the last week, and in the lease it says no one allowed to stay more than 3 days per month that's not on the lease. And all 3 of this guy's friends are getting high with them every day. Overall he's just disrespectful. Him and the 3 friends are making noise at all hours of the night, keeping my buddy up, and he's got early 8 am classes.

What's the liability for the other 3 guys in the apt? If the cops end up getting called or someone turns him in, can the other 3 get in trouble, since they knew he was doing it? Can the cops search everyone's rooms? or just the room of the guy smoking the pot?

My friend isn't sure what to do, since the guy smoking pot has said some things that make my friend think that this guy is really unstable. Pot smoker has said he's got a gun in his room, but he's not 21 yet, and that if someone screws him over, he'll kill them, and just off the wall type stuff like that. My friend is afraid of retaliation if he turns him into the Apt Complex or the Police, doesn't want his car to get screwed with, or his property to end up damaged or stolen. One of the other roommates doesn't want to get in the middle of it, and the 3rd roommate is hardly ever there, he's busy working all the time, so he doesn't have to deal with it too much.

 

[svtcop]

Your friend should call the police next time he starts smoking in the apt. Also report it to landlord.

Can't worry about who is liable for what. Just get this dude out.

 

[oldmodman]

I agree. notify both apartment management and the police about the drug consumption problem.

If nothing is done, having the complaint on record may help you break the lease so you three can move out.

 

[Turbo5351]

If law enforcement does get involved on an outside basis, the chances all three will be held liable are high....do as mentioned above and report it or sit back and allow it and take the liability risks.

 

[silver03svt]

If you end up notifying local law enforcement, give them specific details about when he's using, where he keeps his stash, and even a diagram of the apartment labelling which rooms belong to whom, and which are shared rooms. All 3 "good" occupants need to file this complaint together, and not separately.
Another route could be just to notify the landlords about the situation and see if they can have him removed from the lease and evicted.

 

[Outlaw99]

in this state, all can be charged if no one would fess up.

not sure of the statute, 190 somrthing, but maintain a dwelling for controlled substance

 

[FordSVTFan]

I agree with what has been mentioned above. I am also willing to bet that each roommate has individual leases as it is a college town. That is even more in their favor. They just need to get him out and calling the police when he is smoking is a really good way to have that happen.

 

[FordSVTFan]

in this state, all can be charged if no one would fess up.

not sure of the statute, 190 somrthing, but maintain a dwelling for controlled substance

It would depend on the location of the narcotics and if they are in the custody and control of this one roommate. For example, the drugs are only in a single bedroom that is only occupied by this one person. More in the other roommates favor is if the leases are individual.

 

[SID297]

It would depend on the location of the narcotics and if they are in the custody and control of this one roommate. For example, the drugs are only in a single bedroom that is only occupied by this one person. More in the other roommates favor is if the leases are individual.

Looks like someone remembers a favorite bar exam topic.:beer:

 

[Outlaw99]

It would depend on the location of the narcotics and if they are in the custody and control of this one roommate. For example, the drugs are only in a single bedroom that is only occupied by this one person. More in the other roommates favor is if the leases are individual.

yeh, we had to use the word (sp) kertalidge (sp) which means with in reasonable personal space or with in reasonable availability. if we felt it was available to all, as in the living room or kitchen and no one fessed up. all got charged.

bedroom is different.

 

[bbk03gt24]

if part of the reason why he doesn't want to say anything is bc he's scared of the retaliation, why not lie to the kid and tell him one night that he's smoking that someone from apt management was walking down the hallway when one of the other roommates was coming or going and when the door opened they (the supposed apt management person) acted like they smelled it or even pretend like they asked if they were doing drugs in the apt. because they smelled something when the door opened.

then it won't seem like any of his roommates reported him when one of his roommates, in reality, does indeed go and report him. it wud make the pothead think that his roommates actually had his back or something.

i mean it's worth a shot right?

 

[mustanginky]

well, a hypothetical that no one has addressed.

you said he's selling? so if for some reason someone gets pulled over/caught leaving and is asked to be a CI instead of take a charge. well, then the local PD or whoever would go get a search warrant for narcotics. where can narcotics be kept? anywhere in an apartment? what does that mean? that any room in the home can be searched.

in regards to who could get charged with it, that comes down to "constructive possession". if an officer comes to the home, and a bag of weed is accidentally left on the counter or any common area, anyone who could exercise control over the residence could be charged, meaning, anyone in there.

get rid of this knuckehead before he gets someone who doesn't need to be in trouble in trouble.

 

[zerocool]

This topic made me laugh. OP, my parents were arrested in nearly the exact same circumstances. Granted it was nearly 40 years ago now, but from everything that has been posted so far, it doesn't seem unlikely the same outcome could occur here. Its especially dangerous that he is dealing, all it takes is one slip on his part and dealing to the wrong person and it will all come down. Better to get him the heck out now and not have to worry about it at all.

 

[FordSVTFan]

Looks like someone remembers a favorite bar exam topic.:beer:

I wish, I put law school out of mind. It happens quite often in my jurisdiction. Plus I just did an in-service for the local sheriff's dept on this issue.

yeh, we had to use the word (sp) kertalidge (sp) which means with in reasonable personal space or with in reasonable availability. if we felt it was available to all, as in the living room or kitchen and no one fessed up. all got charged.

bedroom is different.

Curtilage is almost always reserved for the area surrounding the house in which a homeowner has an REP (reasonable expectation of privacy). There is no curtilage within the residence, it is simple a matter of privacy and property rights within the room that a single person has exclusive use and control.

This topic made me laugh. OP, my parents were arrested in nearly the exact same circumstances. Granted it was nearly 40 years ago now, but from everything that has been posted so far, it doesn't seem unlikely the same outcome could occur here. Its especially dangerous that he is dealing, all it takes is one slip on his part and dealing to the wrong person and it will all come down. Better to get him the heck out now and not have to worry about it at all.

Damn, your parents hit the pipe back in the day and got busted.

 

[VirtualSVT]

I have a friend with a record for drugs found in a common area from his roommate.

 

[Planter]

I agree with what has been mentioned above. I am also willing to bet that each roommate has individual leases as it is a college town. That is even more in their favor. They just need to get him out and calling the police when he is smoking is a really good way to have that happen.

you would be correct on the individual leases, they all have their own leases, their own rooms, with seperately keyed locks on their bedroom doors.



thanks for the advice from everyone! I have relayed the information to my friend, and he's just calling the cops the next time it happens.

He went to the apt complex manager, and they said all they could do at the time was to just send him a warning letter since it's only based on hearsay (i.e someone saying it but really having no evidence, which I understand their point).

They told him the best thing to do was call the front office after hours when it happens, report it to the Off Duty LEO who is there at night, and he will arrest them and detain them till city PD gets there, then he will be booked and charged, and once he has an arrest for drugs, they can issue him a 3 day eviction notice, and he's liable for the unpaid portion of his unpaid lease agreement on top of that...ouch! And the final part, is once he's arrested, charged, and given his eviction notice, he will also be issued a criminal trespass warning, which means if he is caught back on the property, he'll be arrested and charged for trespassing.

My friend does have renter's insurance too, so if his stuff gets screwed with, at least it's covered, so that's a little less stress off his back.

 

[zerocool]

Damn, your parents hit the pipe back in the day and got busted.

Haha it was the early 70s, they were definite hippies. What was ironic was that they had QUIT smoking before they moved down to East Texas, but let a guy my dad met on SFA's campus room with them and he was growing and dealing out of his room without their knowing. He sold to a nark on campus one day and the rest is history.

 

[utfan98]

It must a TN thing, similar situation when I was at UT minus the drugs that is

 

[olefafl]

If it went real bad you could end up in court like this guy did. Someone else had drugs and was selling them. The dealer was sleeping in this guys room sometimes and had the drugs hidden in the room & I think other rooms.

Chicago Criminal Defense: A Closing Argument

 

[Planter]

just got a call from my friend, and he caught his roommate smoking weed in the apt again this evening. A large number of people came over and went in the roommates room. My friend smelled it, and he tried to call the police, but the roommate threatened to kill him if he did. Said he "would put him in the grave if he ruined his career."

Both of his other roommates heard the threats and witnessed the altercation, but they refuse to back him up to the cops if he files a complaint based on the threat. The people in the room all fled when he said he was calling the cops, and they took the weed with them, so he couldn't call because they wouldn't have found anything and it would be his word against his roommates.

He is physically disabled and can't defend himself, and he's scared of this kid now that he's had his life threatened. But based on the fact that this kid threatened to kill him if he called the police, the druggie roommate is clearly crazy and irrational.

I wish I knew more about this stuff, but I feel so helpless to help someone in desperate need of it, and that is in a hostile environment, with a roommate who is threatening to kill him.