My question involves defamation in the state of: California, Butte County
My ex has filed a false police "incident report" or "call log" against me for "Grand Theft." I have no idea what he is claiming I stole from him. I found out b/c I'm preparing to file for child support and possibly fight a court custody case with him and I went to the police station to get a log of any reports with my name on them as we've had issues in the past. To my surprise I noticed a recent "log entry" indicating that he called on 11/06/2013 and I'm listed as a suspect. I have not been contacted my law enforcement nor have I been charged with anything, yet. But this has to stop! I'm 4 week away from giving birth and I know it is his intention to build a case against me and depict me at the aggressor so he's filed this false log. Is there anyway I can build a civil case against him or put a stop order on him for lying to law enforcement?
Wrongly Accused of Grand Larceny by My Ex-
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11-13-2013, 01:14 PMNeedlegaladvice77Wrongly Accused of Grand Larceny by My Ex-
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11-13-2013, 01:25 PMcdwjavaRe: Falsely Accused of Grand Theft by Ex
Making a call is not the same as the police writing a report or conducting any kind of investigation. If and when the polic e contact you, you have the right to remain silent. You can then choose to consult an attorney before speaking to the police, or, don't speak to them at all and hope you are never charged.
Is your "ex" and ex HUSBAND? Or, an ex BOYFRIEND? If the latter, he will have to fight to determine paternity before he can remotely file for custody of the baby and that could be a long road for him to take. In the end, it is exceedingly rare that a birth mother will lose custody absent some substantiated proof that the child will be at risk.
Also, there is no way you are going to get a court to issue an order preventing him from reporting what he believes to be crimes to the police. The police may not look into the allegation, but he can report most anything he likes. If you get the details, determine they are false and can PROVE they are false, then speak with the police about them pursuing him for making a false report. However, it is generally difficult to prove that a false report was knowingly and intentionally filed. -
11-13-2013, 01:43 PMjkRe: Not Sure if This is the Right Area
you don't even know what the report involves so on that basis alone, no, you would not be able to do anything about this.
If it is a false report the police can do something about it but generally, they will simply drop it and move on. -
11-13-2013, 01:47 PMllworkingRe: Not Sure if This is the Right AreaAbout the only thing I can think of that you could do now, would be to have an attorney send him a strongly worded cease and desist letter. Whether or not that will actually do any good, is hard to judge. I don't know your ex or his personality.Quote:
Quoting Needlegaladvice77
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11-13-2013, 01:59 PMNeedlegaladvice77Re: Falsely Accused of Grand Theft by Ex
Thank you tremendously for your advice and quick response! To answer your question he is an ex boyfriend.
Can I be charged or issued a warrant for an arrest without my knowledge and for an “allegation” of a crime I did not commit? And can I get an attorney to write a strongly worded cease and desist letter to him? I’m sorry for the silly questions but I have never been under these circumstances and I was taken aback when I saw the police list entry dated as recent as 11/06/2013. I’m just shocked and I have no idea what he is claiming that I stole or how I could have taken anything from him! I’m just extremely concerned b/c he’s behaving vindictive by calling the PD to make a log entry of “grand theft” against me. I have not been in contact with my ex for weeks, I’ve completely disappeared, I changed my number and I disabled my old email address b/c I do not want contact with him due to our personal conflicts and discord during my pregnancy. -
11-13-2013, 02:12 PMcdwjavaRe: Falsely Accused of Grand Theft by ExThen he will not be legally presumed to be the father unless you both sign all the relevant papers concerning paternity, or until a court says so.Quote:
Quoting Needlegaladvice77
If the police investigate and determine there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed and that you committed the crime, sure. Is this likely to happen without them at least trying to contact you? No.Quote:
Can I be charged or issued a warrant for an arrest without my knowledge and for an “allegation” of a crime I did not commit?
A warrant would only come about after the police submit the report to the DA and the DA decides there is enough to request a warrant from a judge. The judge then has to agree that the requisite probable cause exists in order to issue the arrest warrant.
Cease and desist what? Reporting crimes to the police? No.Quote:
And can I get an attorney to write a strongly worded cease and desist letter to him?
Besides, a C&D letter has no legal force ... it's merely a threat - usually an empty one.
That might be part of the problem. Did you completely disappear with property or funds that he might consider his?Quote:
I have not been in contact with my ex for weeks, I’ve completely disappeared, I changed my number and I disabled my old email address b/c I do not want contact with him due to our personal conflicts and discord during my pregnancy.
Some people make crime reports as a means of attempting to ascertain a person's whereabouts. This doesn't always work, and the police are unlikely to tell him where you are if he asks, but there are those who try to do this.
If the police come calling, you might consider speaking to an attorney if you can afford one. But, remember, making the call to the police does NOT mean that they will be taking a crime report or investigating anything. It could well be that they spoke to him and determined that his issue was not a crime. The call log is likely entered by a dispatcher and not the officer, so the dispatcher just enters in what the caller says the call is about - not what the officer ultimately determines. Though there should be some indication on the log as to whether a report was generated or further investigation is pending.
Was this a BCSO, CPD, OPD, or PPD case? -
11-13-2013, 02:27 PMNeedlegaladvice77Re: Falsely Accused of Grand Theft by Ex
To answer your question:
I completely disappeared but only in terms of cutting any further contact/communication with him by changing my number and disabling my email address so he could no longer contact me (that's been a couple of weeks). He knows where I live and I have no plans to move (but he will not show up to my home b/c of a past TRO against him that I foolishly dropped in court b/c I wanted to diffuse our problems or any future problems). I have not taken anything from him (property or funds, absolutely nothing!) and we have never lived together either. He lives about a half a mile away from me and I havent been to his home in over a month, maybe two months. So I'm not certain where his allegations of "grand theft" are coming from. I'm concerned about his intentions b/c he is obviously out to cause me emotional harm, whether now or in the future when I file for child support after our child is born.
He made the call entry with CPD. But in order to get a copy of the call log (and what was said) I would require an Attorney to make the request through legal avenues, b/c after I noted the recent date, I spoke to the young lady who provided the list and she said that I would need a court order / Attorney. But from what I can see, it seems like a simple call that he made to the dispatcher a week ago. I would imagine they would have contacted me by now, either to my home or work place (since they do not have a number for me as I recently changed it). This whole situation is bothersome and frustrating to say the least. -
11-13-2013, 02:42 PMcdwjavaRe: Falsely Accused of Grand Theft by ExIt could be from something you bought together that he thinks you owe him money for, a joint account, a joint purchase, an item that you believe is yours but he says is his (a TV at your place, maybe) - it could be about anything. But, until the police talk to you, it's merely guesswork and may be nothing (those things I mentioned ARE nothing).Quote:
Quoting Needlegaladvice77
For the Dispatch call log? Nope. She described Discovery to you, but the call log should be covered under the CPRA. However, it won't tell you much more than you already know, so it's probably not worth the effort.Quote:
He made the call entry with CPD. But in order to get a copy of the call log (and what was said) I would require an Attorney to make the request through legal avenues, b/c after I noted the recent date, I spoke to the young lady who provided the list and she said that I would need a court order / Attorney.
CPD is short-staffed and property crimes are on the back burner. It might be weeks before they look into it if they look into it at all.Quote:
But from what I can see, it seems like a simple call that he made to the dispatcher a week ago. I would imagine they would have contacted me, either to my home or work place (since they do not have a number for me as I recently changed it). This whole situation is bothersome and frustrating to say the least.
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11-14-2013, 09:43 AMNeedlegaladvice77Re: Falsely Accused of Grand Theft by Ex
Should I walk into the police station and ask to speak to someone about this? i'm just so concerned that he's going to call to report 'log made-up incidicents' but idk if me speaking to an officer will do more harm than good.
I am also concerned about this affecting my record which is clean. will this come up in a criminal background check? -
11-14-2013, 09:59 AMllworkingRe: Falsely Accused of Grand Theft by ExNo, this won't come up in a criminal background check. You have not been arrested or convicted of a crime. Stop worrying about it until or unless you are actually approached by the police.Quote:
Quoting Needlegaladvice77