Felony Warrant For Skipping Court Since 2017

Location: New Jersey, USA

Offense: 2C:35-10A(1)

Details: I was in an Uber, going back to a motel. The Uber driver called the police on me saying I was intoxicated and talking about weapons. Police came to my door and told me to step outside. I didn't know I could have just not answered the door. I stepped outside. They noticed I was inebriated so they said they have to take me to the hospital. I wasn't falling over or anything but I had been drinking. They searched me, maybe 3 or 4 cops were there at the time. They found nothing on me, put me in the cruiser and brought me to the hospital. I was searched again by nurses before admission. They found nothing. They took my clothes, put me on some meds and kept me overnight. Then, they said I need to go to an inpatient facility. They made it seem like I had no choice. They brought me on a stretcher in a hospital gown with my original clothes in a bag under the stretcher. My clothes were kept away from me in a locker room during my stay at the hospital. While in my gown, the admitting rehab facility person was given my clothes. She searched these same clothes (third time searched now) and she found a single bag of heroin in the pocket of the same flannel I was wearing during my arrest. It was my understanding that they usually throw out any drugs you come in with to a rehab facility but at that time, there was a cop nearby and she decided to let the officer know. By that point, the officer asked if I had kids. I said no. He sighed and said he has to charge me with possession.

I stayed in the rehab facility for two weeks and then left the state of New Jersey and never went back. I've had several non-serious encounters with police since 2017 with no arrests or convictions. They said my warrant is a felony non-extraditable warrant. I've turned myself in a couple times and they wouldn't take me because I was out of state.

Since that time, I've gone back to college in a different state and am almost done with my bachelor's degree. It's getting close to the time where I'll have to travel overseas for my career from time to time and I've been denied a passport.

My question is: Do you think I have a chance of getting this charge dropped because they searched me three times and found nothing the first two times? The second time, my clothes had been taken away from my person and stored in a locker where I did not have access to them. It was only the third time the clothing was searched that anything was found.