A drug charge in Tampa can follow you for years after the case itself is over. Beyond prison time and fines, a conviction limits where you can live, work, and study, and it carries a stigma that outlasts the sentence. If you have been arrested for a drug crime in Hillsborough County, the right defense attorney needs to be involved before that record is ever created.
Attorney Brett Metcalf began his career as a prosecutor in the State Attorney’s Office, where he learned firsthand how drug cases are built and how convictions are won. Since founding his own criminal defense practice in 2012, he has used that insight for his clients instead, from simple possession to felony trafficking. Call (813) 258-4800 for a free consultation with a Tampa drug charge lawyer.
If You Were Arrested for a Drug Crime, Do This Right Now
A drug arrest in Tampa moves toward prosecution fast. What you do in the next few hours can determine whether evidence gets preserved, whether an illegal search gets challenged, and whether the case can be won.
- Do not consent to any search. Tell the officer clearly that you do not consent. Police cannot search your home, vehicle, or person without a warrant or your consent, and if they search anyway, your attorney can move to suppress everything they found. How the drugs were discovered, including any drug dog or car search, is often the single biggest issue in the case.
- Invoke your right to remain silent. Say you want to speak with your attorney before answering any questions. Do not explain what the substance is or why it was there. Even an innocent explanation can be used as an admission.
- Do not discuss the case on jail phones. Every call from the Hillsborough County jail is recorded except calls to your attorney.
- Preserve witness information. Write down who was present during the arrest or search, along with the arresting officer’s name, badge number, and exactly how the drugs were found.
- Stay off social media. Prosecutors routinely review social accounts for anything they can use.
- Call Brett Metcalf, a drug crime defense lawyer in Tampa. We are available 24/7 and can attend your first appearance, argue for bond, and start investigating the legality of the search from day one.
Why Work With Our Tampa Drug Crime Lawyers
Brett Metcalf’s background as a former prosecutor means he has seen these cases from the state’s side of the table, and he uses that knowledge to find the weaknesses in how they are built. The firm has more than 70 five-star client reviews and a perfect 10 rating on Avvo, along with recognition as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer and Top 40 Under 40 by the National Trial Lawyers and a Super Lawyers Rising Star honor.
In one recent fentanyl trafficking case, a judge agreed that evidence had been obtained illegally, suppressed it, and the entire case was dismissed.
What Happens After a Drug Arrest in Hillsborough County
Arrest and Booking
After arrest, you are booked at the Hillsborough County jail, either the Orient Road or Falkenburg Road facility. Bond depends on the severity of the charge. Simple possession generally follows a standard bond schedule, while drug trafficking charges can carry a much higher bond or require a bond hearing.
First Appearance and Bond
Within 24 hours, you appear before a judge who sets bond based on the type and quantity of drugs involved, your criminal history, and flight risk. Our attorneys attend first appearances to argue for the lowest bond possible, and understanding how the bail bond system works matters most in the hours right after an arrest.
Discovery and Pretrial Motions
This is where drug cases are usually won or lost. Your attorney obtains the police reports, body camera footage, search warrant affidavits, lab results, and chain of custody records, then moves to suppress anything obtained through an illegal search or stop. If the drugs get suppressed, the case often collapses entirely, and Fourth Amendment challenges are typically the center of that fight.
Diversion and Plea Negotiations
First-time offenders and certain non-violent drug charges may qualify for a pretrial intervention program or drug court, which can result in dismissal on completion. We evaluate your eligibility and advocate for placement where it fits your situation. Where diversion is not available, we negotiate for a reduced charge or favorable plea terms instead, and in many cases a possession charge can still be reduced or dropped even without formal diversion.
Trial and Sentencing
If no resolution is reached, the case goes to trial, where the state must prove knowing possession beyond a reasonable doubt. Our attorneys try drug cases regularly in the Hillsborough County Courthouse and know the judges, prosecutors, and jury pool there. Florida’s sentencing guidelines set the range a judge can impose if a conviction results.
How We Defend Drug Charges in Tampa
No two drug cases turn on the same facts, so we build the defense around what actually happened during the stop, the search, and the arrest.
Unconstitutional Search or Seizure
The Fourth Amendment protects you from warrantless and unreasonable searches. When police or federal agents exceed that authority, we move to have anything found in that search ruled inadmissible, which is frequently enough to end a case outright.
Lack of Possession
We may show that you never had actual or constructive possession of the drug, whether because you did not know it was there or because it belonged to someone else entirely.
Insufficient Evidence
At a motion to dismiss or at trial, we challenge whether the state can actually prove every element of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mistaken Identity
Where someone else is responsible for the offense, we work to establish your alibi and separate you from the actual conduct at issue.
Entrapment
Where the idea to commit the offense came from law enforcement rather than from you, and you would not have committed the crime without an officer’s unreasonable pressure, entrapment can be a full defense.
Unreliable Test Results
Field tests and lab analyses are not infallible. We have handled cases where the substance tested was not actually a controlled substance at all, and we challenge test reliability and chain of custody wherever the science is in question.
What Drug Charges Do We Handle in Tampa?
Drug Possession
Drug possession charges under Florida Statute Section 893.13 arise when prosecutors believe you had actual or constructive control of a controlled substance. Whether you face a misdemeanor or a felony, and whether diversion is realistic, depends on the type and amount involved.
Marijuana Possession
Under Florida law, marijuana possession of less than 20 grams is a first-degree misdemeanor, while more than 20 grams is a third-degree felony.
Possession With Intent to Sell or Distribute
When the amount or circumstances suggest more than personal use, prosecutors can charge possession with intent to sell or distribute as a felony even without evidence of an actual sale, and proving that intent is where these cases are usually won or lost.
Drug Trafficking
Drug trafficking charges under Section 893.135 are based on the quantity in your possession rather than what you actually did with it, and each drug has its own threshold weight tied to a mandatory minimum sentence.
Cultivation and Manufacturing
Growing marijuana or manufacturing a drug like methamphetamine is a felony, with the level of the offense tied to the quantity produced. Large operations can trigger trafficking-level exposure on top of a manufacturing charge.
Drug Paraphernalia
Drug paraphernalia charges under Section 893.147 cover equipment used to use, store, grow, or manufacture drugs, and a charge can be filed even without proof that you used drugs yourself.
Prescription Drug Charges
Prescription drug charges carry their own set of criminal exposure, from possession without a valid prescription to allegations of doctor shopping or fraudulent prescriptions.
Sale, Manufacture, and Delivery
A sale, manufacturing, or delivery charge does not require proof that money changed hands. Exchanging drugs for any object or service of value, or even the mere intent to sell, can support it.
Conspiracy to Commit a Drug Crime
Florida does not require proof that you or a co-conspirator took any concrete step toward the crime, only that an agreement, explicit or implied, existed to commit a drug offense.
Federal Drug Charges
A drug case becomes a federal drug charge when it involves federal land, crosses state or national borders, or is investigated by federal agents, and federal sentencing works very differently from a state case.
Fentanyl Charges
Fentanyl charges carry some of the harshest mandatory minimums in Florida drug law, with as little as 4 grams triggering trafficking exposure under Section 893.135.
Cocaine Charges
As a Schedule II substance, cocaine charges can range from simple possession to trafficking depending on weight.
Heroin Charges
As a Schedule I substance with no recognized medical use, heroin charges get pursued aggressively at every level from possession to distribution.
MDMA Charges
Classified as Schedule I, MDMA charges carry strict penalties under Florida law at both the possession and trafficking level.
Methamphetamine Charges
As a Schedule II stimulant, methamphetamine charges carry heavy penalties across possession, manufacture, and distribution.
