Grandmother Sees Drug And Child Endangerment Charges Withdrawn

Recently, a 61-year-old grandmother with no prior criminal record found herself in a tragic set of circumstances that led to very serious charges. The woman apparently suffered an injury some time ago that required the use of painkillers, which eventually led to drug dependency. When her prescriptions were no longer being filled, the woman turned to heroin and her addiction began to spiral. One day, while babysitting her young grandchild, the woman suffered a drug overdose and police and paramedics were alerted after her grandchild was seen outside. Since the officers found drug materials in her residence, the woman was charged with possession of paraphernalia along with child endangerment. Understandably, the woman was now in a very precarious legal position with these two misdemeanor offenses and knew that she’d need very capable legal representation.

The woman eventually hired Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney Samir Sarna, who advised his client to take proactive steps towards curbing her addiction before appearing in court. These steps included a mental health evaluation as well as drug treatment. During her preliminary hearing, attorney Sarna was able to show his client’s regular counseling sessions as a sincere effort to handle her issues and improve. This led the court to withdraw the paraphernalia and child endangerment charges against her, which provided a great deal of relief.

The outcome of an individual case depends on a variety of factors unique to that case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any similar or future case.