How can I protect myself without moving out of house?

[svtcobra2k3]

I am looking for advice on how to protect myself from this absurd situation that I am in. I don't do any drugs whatsoever and would take a drug test on the spot. I have a career and no criminal record. I have a lot of valuables, especially my car, that I fear will be seized because I still live at home with Mom but the issue at hand is my brother, who is over the age of 18, has no care about his life and actions and abusing alcohol and vicodin, growing marijauna and does cocaine all day, every day.

He damages the house and makes holes in the wall to the point his excuse is he will not remember anything he did. I fear that one day cops will show up with a search warrant and find drugs in his room and everyone will get arrested and my car and things seized because I am living under the same roof. . What are my rights on this? How can I protect myself that I am not involved with what illegal activities another person is doing in another other room? What other options do I have besides moving out ASAP? I have already been thinking about moving out because I had a long talk with my Mom about how serious this situation is and she is absolutely afraid to do anything to fix the problem and still allows him to grow without consequence she gives me excuse after excuse how he's "not in the right frame of mind." So I am looking for a short term solution that can be done within the next month.

I have already talked to my mom about everything and tried to bring her to reality saying the house will get seized and everything she has ever worked for will be gone. She doesn't even seem like she cares! Her response was "I don't care. I don't want to deal with him because he will throw a tantrum and bust the house up." Then when I told her to call the cops on him, her response was "I don't want to bail him out and hire a lawyer and spend all that money." I told her then just let him go to rehab so he can get better, and she denies that he's addicted - No matter what I do, she always gives me excuses for everything and denies that there is a problem - so she doesn't have to deal with anything, even though it's being done in her house. I try to bring her down to reality and say if this house gets raided and they find drugs growing in this house - We all get arrested as well as everybody else and we will have a criminal record and probably lose our jobs.

I am seeking advice on if you were in my situation, what can I do? What are my rights? I told her that if she loves us then why would she rather just let him kill himself with drug abuse and bring everyone else down without getting treatment? She's in denial and tells me that he has a wonderful life and he doesn't have a problem, but she knows damn well that she would not be proud to tell friends what he's doing with his life. Seeking any help on this matter I would greatly appreciate some input on my options besides moving out.

 

[RDJ]

so you are 33, still living with mom in HER house? how about get a job find a place of your own and let mom and her drug addict kid solve their own issues?

a mother who is enabling their kid the way you say yours does. gets what she asks for. if YOU are unwilling to call the cops on your brother if your mom won't you are as bad as she is. enabling an asshat to be an asshat will net you ZERO in the long or short scheme of things.

 

[Booky]

I am looking for advice on how to protect myself from this absurd situation that I am in. I don't do any drugs whatsoever and would take a drug test on the spot. I have a career and no criminal record. I have a lot of valuables, especially my car, that I fear will be seized because I still live at home with Mom but the issue at hand is my brother, who is over the age of 18, has no care about his life and actions and abusing alcohol and vicodin, growing marijauna and does cocaine all day, every day.

He damages the house and makes holes in the wall to the point his excuse is he will not remember anything he did. I fear that one day cops will show up with a search warrant and find drugs in his room and everyone will get arrested and my car and things seized because I am living under the same roof. . What are my rights on this? How can I protect myself that I am not involved with what illegal activities another person is doing in another other room? What other options do I have besides moving out ASAP? I have already been thinking about moving out because I had a long talk with my Mom about how serious this situation is and she is absolutely afraid to do anything to fix the problem and still allows him to grow without consequence she gives me excuse after excuse how he's "not in the right frame of mind." So I am looking for a short term solution that can be done within the next month.

I have already talked to my mom about everything and tried to bring her to reality saying the house will get seized and everything she has ever worked for will be gone. She doesn't even seem like she cares! Her response was "I don't care. I don't want to deal with him because he will throw a tantrum and bust the house up." Then when I told her to call the cops on him, her response was "I don't want to bail him out and hire a lawyer and spend all that money." I told her then just let him go to rehab so he can get better, and she denies that he's addicted - No matter what I do, she always gives me excuses for everything and denies that there is a problem - so she doesn't have to deal with anything, even though it's being done in her house. I try to bring her down to reality and say if this house gets raided and they find drugs growing in this house - We all get arrested as well as everybody else and we will have a criminal record and probably lose our jobs.

I am seeking advice on if you were in my situation, what can I do? What are my rights? I told her that if she loves us then why would she rather just let him kill himself with drug abuse and bring everyone else down without getting treatment? She's in denial and tells me that he has a wonderful life and he doesn't have a problem, but she knows damn well that she would not be proud to tell friends what he's doing with his life. Seeking any help on this matter I would greatly appreciate some input on my options besides moving out.

Seriously, a 33 year old man asking if he should move out on his own instead of living at mom's house with adult alcoholic cokehead brother?:nonono:

Yes, move out TODAY. Not tomorrow, TODAY.

What is this "career" you speak of?

 

[Booky]

Also, turning a blind eye to your brother's growing marijuana in the house and possibly have other illegal drugs (cocaine) within the home does not excuse you from liability. Search "constructive possession of illegal drugs".

You can be charged same as your brother if illegal drugs are found in the house, and good luck trying to get your brother to admit the drugs are his.

 

[jshen]

Get out of that house...now. Although there is a little more to "constructive possession" than what one normally thinks. The state has to prove you took part, albeit little, but it sure does not keep them from confiscating your stuff...and once that is done condemnation procedures begin. Your stuff could also be used as evidence YOU assisted in funding his habit..

I could speak hours on this subject as narcotics prosecution was my biz for many years...PM me for details.

 

[svtcobra2k3]

I am living off her at the present moment because I am saving up money in order to get my own place. I just recently got a divorce and lost a lot and I only have about 10k in my savings. So my goal was to live with her so I could save on rent for a few months and get my emergency funds up to around 20k to where I can move out on my own and have enough in my savings. But now that is cut short because of the issue going on in this place.

I don't know what else I could do besides moving out - which was supposed to be my worst case scenario - due to the fact that I was trying to save up my money without having to pay rent so I can have more emergency funds but now this is a problem that is forcing me to move away extremely soon. I have already asked my friends for advice and I told them I just want to go to the police and report it to them but then I would be a "Snitch" and that I won't have a house to come back to and that I would be reporting my Mom as well and her house would be Seized and they all tell me "How would you feel knowing that you won't have a house to be in and be a snitch?" That's why I feel like I just want to GET THROUGH her head... But I've already had a long talk with her and still she's doing nothing. She prefers to yell at me about using the air condition and drying my dishes after washing them and putting it back in the cupboard instead of focusing on the real issues. She thinks that I use up electricity from the air condition on for an hour and she doesn't bat an eye that maybe the Heat Lamps and the Fans running 24/7 for his growing doesn't take up all the electricity.

If I call the police and make a report on this, wouldn't I already have to find another place to live because if they come and find drugs, wouldn't all my valuables in my room be seized? It seems like the immediate actions I have to take are move all of my stuff out - possibly into a storage for short term - and then find another place.. Because if I report this to the police then I won't have a house to come back to. Shouldn't this be the worst case scenario? Are there other things I can do before going this route? Maybe just talk to a counselor or lawyer and see how I can protect my Valuables and my things? NO matter what I tell my mom, she is never going to change because she is too scared and protective of my brother and allows him to do all of this even if I tell her that she will lose her job and get arrested, she just tells me she doesn't care and it's disappointing to me that she is willing to risk everything she has ever worked for, for this.

 

[RDJ]

1. STAYING in the house is your worst case scenario
2. Building up your savings will only enrich the police when they are seized as profits of a drug enterprise. look that up and see how easy it is do to regardless of guilt or innocence of the party.
3. While you are changing places or residence, change friends, yours are idiots. if they consider you a "snitch" an wield that as a club to get you to do the wrong thing, they are not friends. find new ones
4. moving your stuff to storage and then calling the police won't work. you run the risk of the storage unit being seized as well.
5. might want to find a new mom while your at it, seriously your mom will enable your brother his entire life. and you will pay the price for it. move out on your own, tell mom and brother "good luck" and cut them off. it will not go well for you if you don't and all that money you have saved will eventually be spent bailing them out of trouble.

I am living off her at the present moment because I am saving up money in order to get my own place. I just recently got a divorce and lost a lot and I only have about 10k in my savings. So my goal was to live with her so I could save on rent for a few months and get my emergency funds up to around 20k to where I can move out on my own and have enough in my savings. But now that is cut short because of the issue going on in this place.

I don't know what else I could do besides moving out - which was supposed to be my worst case scenario - due to the fact that I was trying to save up my money without having to pay rent so I can have more emergency funds but now this is a problem that is forcing me to move away extremely soon. I have already asked my friends for advice and I told them I just want to go to the police and report it to them but then I would be a "Snitch" and that I won't have a house to come back to and that I would be reporting my Mom as well and her house would be Seized and they all tell me "How would you feel knowing that you won't have a house to be in and be a snitch?" That's why I feel like I just want to GET THROUGH her head... But I've already had a long talk with her and still she's doing nothing. She prefers to yell at me about using the air condition and drying my dishes after washing them and putting it back in the cupboard instead of focusing on the real issues. She thinks that I use up electricity from the air condition on for an hour and she doesn't bat an eye that maybe the Heat Lamps and the Fans running 24/7 for his growing doesn't take up all the electricity.

If I call the police and make a report on this, wouldn't I already have to find another place to live because if they come and find drugs, wouldn't all my valuables in my room be seized? It seems like the immediate actions I have to take are move all of my stuff out - possibly into a storage for short term - and then find another place.. Because if I report this to the police then I won't have a house to come back to. Shouldn't this be the worst case scenario? Are there other things I can do before going this route? Maybe just talk to a counselor or lawyer and see how I can protect my Valuables and my things? NO matter what I tell my mom, she is never going to change because she is too scared and protective of my brother and allows him to do all of this even if I tell her that she will lose her job and get arrested, she just tells me she doesn't care and it's disappointing to me that she is willing to risk everything she has ever worked for, for this.

 

[GRUSE]

Get a permit to grow the Marijuana or at least have brother get medical marijuana card,if he doesn't have one already.How many plants does he have?How much money is he making with the grow op?Odds are the feds were not looking to kick in your door any time soon,so long as bro is not moving keys of coke,meth or running guns.

Why not embrace your brother entrepreneurial enterprise and go legit.Rather than asking a bunch of LEO's for permission to turn your brother in.

You may have inadvertently got the bust ball rolling since your IP will be traced by an agent looking for an easy terminator seizure.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

I moved out of the house at 17. Lived in shitty apartments and scratched/saved up and busted my ass at work. Was finally able to save up enough to by my own home. My life has had its ups and downs; however, I provided for myself and my family without having to resort to mom and dad for assistance.

OP, be a man and get out of mom's house. I would be ashamed to be in your shoes at 33 years old.

 

[svtcobra2k3]

Building up your savings will only enrich the police when they are seized as profits of a drug enterprise. look that up and see how easy it is do to regardless of guilt or innocence of the party.
moving your stuff to storage and then calling the police won't work. you run the risk of the storage unit being seized as well.

Building up my savings will not enrich the police because there is something called paystubs from my job. By your logic, moving my stuff to another house and then calling the police probably won't work either since I run the risk of my new place being seized as well, right? I'll be sure to take your great advice and find a new mom, too.

It is a lot less likely that any action would be taken against the property owner or others on the property unless they are shown to be actively engaged in or profiting from any drug dealing or manufacturing by the offending party. But, simply calling and reporting him won't allow the police to come into the home and search his room. I will contact the local drug task force and give them his information and they might take a look at him at some point. But, since the state of CA gutted the drug task forces over the last few years and recently turned possession into low grade misdemeanor offenses, they may not have the resources or the inclination to do much.

 

[RDJ]

you are comparing a CASH account to physical property. they will seize your cash in a heartbeat and call it proceeds of an illegal activity. it doesn't matter what your pay stubbs say. as I suggested... google it. people have lost their house, their businesses and a pant load of cash in spite of what they can prove. The only way to get it back is to sue, with a lawyer, an expensive lawyer and then you will likely settle for less than what they took because it is too expensive to do otherwise. there are literally thousands of stories out there.

since you are apparently well versed in what is likely or less likely why are you even here asking what to do? I highly recommend you PM Jshen and take him up on his offer to school you via PM. You are in a situation that sux and you are risking a LOT in staying there.

you asked for advice not coddling. you want sympathy for your apparent poor choices write to dear abby she might give you some.

Building up my savings will not enrich the police because there is something called paystubs from my job. By your logic, moving my stuff to another house and then calling the police probably won't work either since I run the risk of my new place being seized as well, right? I'll be sure to take your great advice and find a new mom, too.

It is a lot less likely that any action would be taken against the property owner or others on the property unless they are shown to be actively engaged in or profiting from any drug dealing or manufacturing by the offending party. But, simply calling and reporting him won't allow the police to come into the home and search his room. I will contact the local drug task force and give them his information and they might take a look at him at some point. But, since the state of CA gutted the drug task forces over the last few years and recently turned possession into low grade misdemeanor offenses, they may not have the resources or the inclination to do much.

 

[RDJ]

I guess you missed the part where he says his brother does cocaine all day every day. yeah that is an activity I want to "embrace". and if he really is doing that and nothing else as the op stated you can bet your ass there is other illegal activity going on as well.

Get a permit to grow the Marijuana or at least have brother get medical marijuana card,if he doesn't have one already.How many plants does he have?How much money is he making with the grow op?Odds are the feds were not looking to kick in your door any time soon,so long as bro is not moving keys of coke,meth or running guns.

Why not embrace your brother entrepreneurial enterprise and go legit.Rather than asking a bunch of LEO's for permission to turn your brother in.

You may have inadvertently got the bust ball rolling since your IP will be traced by an agent looking for an easy terminator seizure.

 

[GRUSE]

OP, be a man and get out of mom's house.

^
This

 

[oldmodman]

As soon as your brother leaves the house go through his room and flush all his drugs.

Then dig up all the dope in the yard and toss it too.

When he gets home tell him "some guys" showed up and busted down the door and took all his drugs. And they said they would be back.

I bet he's gone in ten minutes.

By the way. Where is Mr. Deadbeat getting the money to buy all these drugs? If it's Mom this shit will never stop. Run out of the house and don't ever go back.

 

[cbj5259]

Having been involved in many forfeiture cases over the years, it is the responsibility of the state to prove that the items seized were gained by or used in the furtherance of said illegal activities. Now...that is not to say your stuff won't get seized in the initial service of the search warrant...it very well may be until it is sorted out. However, any items that are seized can be contested in a forfeiture hearing. If the car is owned and registered to you and used by you alone, then you have nothing to worry about. The car will be returned to you. Now...if they have video of your brother selling drugs from the drivers seat of your car, well that could be an issue. The bottom line is as everyone else mentioned, if you don't want the headache then get out of the house.

 

[Just_A_GT]

You already know the answer to your question OP - you need to leave the house ASAP and stand up on your own 2 feet. This might mean having to rent a place and in-turn not be able to save as much towards a down payment for a place of your own, but o well. Life isn't a fairy tale. Would you rather have to rent a place and save less money or end up seeing everything you've worked for get ripped away cuz your dead beat brother and dumb mom refuse to get their shit in line?

I'm not sure what it's like where you live, but you should be able to find a cheap 1-bedroom apartment that you can shack up in in less than 2 weeks. Sign the shortest lease term possible (most likely 6 months, unless you're lucky enough to find a month-to-month set up) and GTFO out the house. If you can't hack it on your own at 33 with a decent job, it's time to sell some shit and simplify your life so that you can.

If things are really that bad and it'll take a while to get yourself into a cheap affordable apartment, walk into a Residence Inn and talk to the manager about getting a special rate for a 30-day stay - they do that stuff all the time.

 

[jshen]

On e further thing I should mention, is that seizure laws are "civil actions" against the property...Burden of proof is "preponderance of the evidence"- not "beyond a reasonable doubt" In my police/prosecution days I've seen everything seized- from houses, businesses (everything within the 4 walls), cars. (pre existing lien may determine whether to seize as it has to be paid off). One agent even seized a PlayStation day after Christmas as the claim was it was bought with drug money. That did not sit well with me or the judge...

On a side note- drug runners like to rent cars...and car rental agencies have seemed to turn a blind eye. It was my policy that when rental car was used..and seized that notice went to rental car agency..that the named defendants were in the drug business and by releasing car back to agency they were warned in writing. That way if they rented to doper again, car lien/independent owner loses car. Trust me, that will throw a bank holding a lien into a frenzy..

 

[Wynn]

That is a tough situation. I woukd have beat my brother's ass when i first found out about his habits. If you have money in savings, then get a cheap apartment. You are putting yourself in a real predicament if you dont get out of there asap. Meaning like right now. By the way kick your worthless brother in the nuts for me.

 

[RedRocketMike]

I highly recommend you PM Jshen and take him up on his offer to school you via PM.

OP take this advice, from what I have read so far he is the only one who can provide quality advice.

 

[_Snake_]

Gtfoasap

.