Breaking and Entering and Destruction of Real Property

My question involves criminal law for the state of: North Carolina
1)misdemenor breaking and entering 2)destuction to real property
it was a thought to be abandoned house(spray painted, all windows broken, doors already kicked in) there were no 'no tresspassing' signs or fences. we all admitted to being inside. friend 1 and 2 admitted to doing damage but said nothing about me and i denied ever hitting the house. i'm on unsupervised probation and was told i was facing jail time if i got in any legal troubles while on prob. i wasnt read my miranda rights, friend1 was read his rights, im not sure about friend 2. i read the paper and only friend 1 and i were in it. friend 2 owned and had in his posession the hatchet that was used, an illegal switchblade, a clay bowl disguised as a turtle, and a can of dip. i think he may have snitched and cut a deal. we all got the same charges. my first court date is soon, how can i get off of these charges? (me 17yrs of age, friend 1 18yrs, friend 2 17yrs)

You were there. You get the same charges and punishment.

You will also face additional charges for violating probation along with the real possibility of that probation being revoked.

Think of it this way... the guy driving the get away car doesn't get to say he wasn't helping to rob the bank.

As to Miranda... did the cops catch you in the house?

no they did not catch us in the house

Quote:

---

Quoting wrong_place_wrong_time

---

no they did not catch us in the house

---

Not going to play dentist here... where did the police catch you?

Quote:

---

Quoting cyjeff

---

Not going to play dentist here... where did the police catch you?

---

Darn it. I have a cavity I was going to ask you to fill!

they caught us about thirty feet or so away from the house we were already headed back

So... the police were called to investigate vandalism and they saw you and your two friends walking down the street with an axe?

Sounds like decent probable cause to me.

Further, if one of you rolled on the others, you really need an attorney.

What makes you think it's illegal to trespass on a house even if it were abandoned.
Somebody *ALWAYS* owns something be it an absentee owner, the government, a bank somewhere.
As pointed out, you're in serious trouble both on these new charges and it's implication on your probation for the earlier ones.
You need a lawyer. There's no magic that's just going to make this go away and your criminal history will not bode well for leniency on the judge's part.

I believe you meant to say, "What makes you think it's LEGAL to trespass on a house even if it were abandoned."

but what about the miranda rights that i wasnt read?
and as for criminal history it was just parafinailia and im not trying to be a smartass i know i broke the law i just need some good advice

Quote:

---

Quoting wrong_place_wrong_time

---

but what about the miranda rights that i wasnt read?
and as for criminal history it was just parafinailia

---

Until you were in custody, Miranda wasn't necessary. Whether or not you were in custody would be an excellent question to ask your attorney.

So, what questions did you answer?

they asked me if i hit the house and i said no and then they asked if i saw them hit it and for the sake of being as vague as possible as though not to contradict the others stories i said i really wasn't paying attention to them

Quote:

---

Quoting wrong_place_wrong_time

---

they asked me if i hit the house and i said no and then they asked if i saw them hit it and for the sake of being as vague as possible as though not to contradict the others stories i said i really wasn't paying attention to them

---

If that's all they asked you and all the response you gave them, Miranda is not really an issue. Miranda would only be useful if you made incriminating statements to them, and then only to get said statements suppressed...assuming the court found that it was a custodial interrogation.

Of course, saying you really weren't paying attention to them isn't the same as "I wasn't in the house and couldn't see them, of course".