According to a recent NPR story, a fourth-grade boy at a public elementary school in NW Washington, DC brought in cocaine that he found in his father's car. The boy distributed the cocaine to several other students. It is reported that school officials noticed that these children were sick and called EMS. After speaking with the boy who allegedly brought in the illegal drugs, EMTs transported the students to a hospital in the DC metro area.
It was later determined that the students had either eaten or snorted the cocaine. It was initially reported that the student was charged with possession of a controlled substance; however, it now seems that the prosecutor's office does not wish to bring formal charges and has referred the case to social services. The child and his younger sibling are now in foster care. This appears to be an example of how the DC police will sometimes arrest a person for an alleged criminal offense but the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia or the District Attorney General's Office decides not to "paper" the case. This amounts to a dismissal.
As a Washington, DC criminal defense lawyer who handles drug charges, I would not be surprised if the boy's father is charged with possession of a controlled substance and other counts relating to child endangerment.
In the District of Columbia, a first offense simple possession of a controlled substance is a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to 180 days in jail and $1,000 fine. Any charges relating to child endangerment that involve exposing a child to a controlled substance such as cocaine may be serious DC felonies depending on the facts involved.
MrDaniel, Could you please elaborate on what
"no paper" means? So the officers who took you name, address, DOB, fingerprints, neighbors addresses, etc didn't enter it into the system?, thus no paper? Or one does in fact have an arrest record ?
The police will generally enter the information into the system. If a case gets no papered, the prosecution has decided not to bring formal charges. You will probably still have an arrest record unless you get it sealed.