Can a Lawyer Make a "Deal" with the Police

[johneed]

My question involves Criminal Investigation in the State of: FL

A vehicle has been impounded for allegedly being "used" in the commission of fleeing and eluding incident. A hold has been placed on the impounded vehicle by the investigating officer. The vehicle owner never reported the vehicle stolen. The police can't positively identify who was driving the vehicle at the time the incident occurred. According to the police report, the officer was never close enough to obtain the license plate information of the fleeing vehicle. The officer also stated he lost sight of the vehicle during the incident. The vehicle was eventually located parked in the surrounding area shortly after. The officer went ahead and towed the vehicle and impounded it. There have been no arrests as of yet.

The police suspect the owner of the vehicle was the person driving. The owner went to the police station for questioning with his lawyer. The owners lawyer wanted the owner to state he/she was driving at the time. The owners lawyer stated he made a deal with the police. The deal was the police would agree to only charge the vehicle owner with a few citations and not a felony, in return for the owner stating they were driving the vehicle at the time of the incident. The owners lawyer told him/her that under rules of evidence, anything the owner said, couldn't be able to be used against them in court. The owners lawyer said since the statement will be "on the record", and since the owners statement was given for the return of something, that if the police decide to renig on the "deal" and proceed with charges, that they will not be able to use that information against the owner in court. How true is this?

If the police decide to renig on their "promise" and their "guarantee", could that statement of omission in fact be used against the owner later on down the line?

Could the police still arrest the owner for the original charges they were seeking?

If someone could please site some case law, or sections of sate rules of evidence, etc. as I personally would like to see proof of this claim in writing.

Also,

How long can the police hold the owners vehicle without any arrests?

Is there anyway of getting the vehicle out of impound?

Must the owner wait until they officially charge someone before they can get the vehicle back?

Thank you for you time.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If your lawyer wants to negotiate a deal he knows will bind the prosecutor, he needs to have the prosecutor sign off on it. You can talk to your lawyer about what issues might arise if his dealing is solely with the police.

The terms of the impound are what they are. If the vehicle is being held as evidence, then that's what's happening. If it's being held pending the payment of impound and storage fees, then that's what's happening.