Charged with Grand Theft Misdemeanor in San Diego California

[fml1983]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: California.


Note: i'm going to try my best to make this as short as possible.

Moved in with ex girlfriend from another city, i left everything behind got a new job. a few days after i moved in the house was broken into and my property got stolen my (TV, and other related items). none of her property was missing. (police report was filled) Ex girlfriends mother owns the property, she had just recently kicked out the previous tenants. mother and ex girlfriend think they did it. (note no signs of forced entree).

The fallowing day ex girlfriend say verbally she will find me a replacement TV or i may have her TV. I did not make a decision on what was to be done here. i said simply "we will figure it out"

3-4 DAYS later i find out shes been cheating on me. i pack up my things along with said TV and move back home. leaving the ex girlfriend a Text message that i was taking the TV with me. and keys to place was left in a location were she would get them.

I found out later she reports me to police and there is a warrant out for my arrest. for grand theft! i hire a lawyer and get warrant recalled.

We get the discovery to find shes claiming i took a laundry list of items including cash and what not. totaling around 2k.

i really don't know what to do here, I've never been in trouble with the law and don't even have a speeding ticket. i feel trapped and helpless and i dont know what to do. i have text message from ex girlfriend refusing to return my property and the DA refuses to do anything about it. am i F**ked? what do i do here? sorry if this isnt the right place for this. if thanks in advanced.

[flyingron]

Get a lawyer.

[fml1983]

I have a lawyer. How is it that my accuser has my property and refused to give it back, and yet i'm the criminal? and the DA dose not do anything about it holding a double standard. So far my lawyer is saying we might have to go to trial over it.

[flyingron]

You mommy always told you two wrongs don't make a right. She made a complaint, there seems to be probable cause that you took her TV (and the other stuff). The fact that someone else stole your TV doesn't make it OK to steal her stuff in spite.

Even if she stole stuff from you, you aren't allowed to retaliate by taking her stuff.

[fml1983]

Flyingron,

I didn't steal her TV. she offered it to me, cause she felt responsible for my property being taken. and by your logic "shes not allow to retaliate, by withholding my property even if i did purposely steal her tv. correct? or is that an acceptable double standard?

[cmre3456]

I'm just going to repeat what others have said. You may or may not have a defense, but your lawyer has to handle it. Maybe she gave you the TV and maybe she can't establish that she even had $2k. Maybe the court will believe the charges are actually a spat between ex's.

In the meantime you are in trouble and used some really bad judgment in a number of ways.

Just let your attorney handle it and hope for the best.

[aardvarc]

The fallowing day ex girlfriend say verbally she will find me a replacement TV or i may have her TV. I did not make a decision on what was to be done here. i said simply "we will figure it out"

Here's where you're likely screwed. See the part where you didn't ACCEPT the gift? "We will figure it out" could be interpreted by her as you declining to accept. You didn't come to a DECISION about wanting the TV until after you found out about her cheating and were on your way out the door. What you SHOULD have done is gone back to her to see if the offer still stood, instead of making assumptions and walking out the door with arguably someone else's stuff. And, notice that her offer was to have her tv OR that she'd help find a replacement. You had a massive failure to communicate here, and it got you in trouble. Since the matter wasn't made clear, now it falls to attorneys to argue it out. But guess how that's going to look to a judge/jury?

Here's an example: we go out to dinner and I offer to pay. You say "catch me later" as you pick up the tab, meaning that I'll pay next time we go out or we will otherwise get "square" with each other later. That doesn't equate to me giving you permission to take the money out of my wallet three days later when I'm not looking.

[fml1983]

I'm just going to repeat what others have said. You may or may not have a defense, but your lawyer has to handle it. Maybe she gave you the TV and maybe she can't establish that she even had $2k. Maybe the court will believe the charges are actually a spat between ex's.

In the meantime you are in trouble and used some really bad judgment in a number of ways.

Just let your attorney handle it and hope for the best.

I'm expecting the worst, and hoping for the best, i really hope the court will see that this is just a as you said "spat between ex's".

"maybe she can't establish that she even had $2k."
now this statement right here is what i've also been wondering about. she has to prove that she had this stuff in the first place right??? my lawyer is saying the DA has to believe her claims. and charge me with it. this make no sense to me. she could say i took a solid gold bar from the coffee table. Doesn't sound right to me....

- - - Updated - - -

Here's where you're likely screwed. See the part where you didn't ACCEPT the gift? "We will figure it out" could be interpreted by her as you declining to accept. You didn't come to a DECISION about wanting the TV until after you found out about her cheating and were on your way out the door. What you SHOULD have done is gone back to her to see if the offer still stood, instead of making assumptions and walking out the door with arguably someone else's stuff. And, notice that her offer was to have her tv OR that she'd help find a replacement. You had a massive failure to communicate here, and it got you in trouble. Since the matter wasn't made clear, now it falls to attorneys to argue it out. But guess how that's going to look to a judge/jury?


Here's an example: we go out to dinner and I offer to pay. You say "catch me later" as you pick up the tab, meaning that I'll pay next time we go out or we will otherwise get "square" with each other later. That doesn't equate to me giving you permission to take the money out of my wallet three days later when I'm not looking.

So you're saying there is an expiration date on her offer? or that her offer automatically gets retracted cause i couldn't come up with a clear consensus cause i was in an emotional state of shock at that given time? I've never in my life had anyone break into my home and steal things from me. i was in a state of shock and figuring out what was to be done right then and there was the least of my worries.

[cmre3456]

I'm expecting the worst, and hoping for the best, i really hope the court will see that this is just a as you said "spat between ex's".

"maybe she can't establish that she even had $2k."
now this statement right here is what i've also been wondering about. she has to prove that she had this stuff in the first place right??? my lawyer is saying the DA has to believe her claims. and charge me with it. this make no sense to me. she could say i took a solid gold bar from the coffee table. Doesn't sound right to me....

This is what discovery is for. Your lawyer has a subpoena duces tecum served on her requiring her to appear and answer questions and bring records of her finances showing among other things how she happened to have $2k hanging around.

The goal is to blow her out of the water before trial. The goal is to get her to contradict herself including about the TV, tell a lie you can prove to be a lie, or simply be unable to answer questions. The goal is to show the OP that they don't have a case.

Anything she says in that deposition can be used against her at trial.

The goal is to get her stumped and confused and to contradict herself and to lie. If she lies in that deposition it's perjury.

If it's bad enough, the DA could well dismiss the case before trial. An attorney from the DA's office will be at that deposition.

You need to play hard ball. You absolutely need a good lawyer.

[cdwjava]

Flyingron,

I didn't steal her TV. she offered it to me, cause she felt responsible for my property being taken. and by your logic "shes not allow to retaliate, by withholding my property even if i did purposely steal her tv. correct? or is that an acceptable double standard?

Do you have ANY PROOF that she gave you her TV? Does she admit that she gave you the TV? It is likely she simply claims that she said you guys would figure something out but denies ever offering it up.

As for your stuff, I thought you packed up your stuff and left?: "i pack up my things along with said TV and move back home."

So, what stuff does she still have of yours? Why didn't you take it all with you? Why did you wait until after a warrant was issued to concern yourself with your property?

Have you gone to her place with the police for a civil standby? If you had, and she told the cops that she was refusing to give YOUR stiff to you, then they could have informed her of the laws on theft.