Can You Be Charged With Theft for Selling Your Ex's Property

My question involves civil rights in the State of: ohio

My childs father had moved out of my apartment two months ago and left his ps4 and tv behind. I had texted and called him multiple times asking him to come get his stuff and never got a reply. I finally decided to call the local police station to ask if i would get in trouble for selling the ps4.. i explained the situation and was told i could do what i wanted with the ps4. So i sold it and my ex showed up at my house today with the local police. The police told me the dispatcher was wrong for telling me that and i could possibly get charged for selling his property. So my ex went and filed a police report and i guess he's going to take it from there. Does anyone know if im going to get in trouble for this or get charged?

It's up to the prosecutor. There appears to be no law on how to deal with abandoned property of a tenant. I doubt a court will accept a couple Months of calls and texts especially with no response will be adequate to allow you to dispose of the property.


at the least you owe the guy the money you received when selling the property.

Well what about the fact that the dispatcher gave me permission (told me i could sell it)

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Quoting Kam0526

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Well what about the fact that the dispatcher gave me permission (told me i could sell it)

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The dispatcher is neither your attorney or a judge. Only your attorney should be advising you and only a judge can actually give you permission to dispose of the property.


The dispatchers statement might be considered but since the dispatcher is not an attorney, they cannot give you legal advice.

Ugh.. i should of known that.. thank you for telling me this info!

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Quoting Kam0526

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My question involves civil rights in the State of: ohio

My childs father had moved out of my apartment two months ago and left his ps4 and tv behind. I had texted and called him multiple times asking him to come get his stuff and never got a reply. I finally decided to call the local police station to ask if i would get in trouble for selling the ps4.. i explained the situation and was told i could do what i wanted with the ps4. So i sold it and my ex showed up at my house today with the local police. The police told me the dispatcher was wrong for telling me that and i could possibly get charged for selling his property. So my ex went and filed a police report and i guess he's going to take it from there. Does anyone know if im going to get in trouble for this or get charged?

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While I do not necessarily disagree with the previous response you received, there is decent chance that the DA won't be interested in prosecuting this one, assuming that the police report is thorough.

The police dispatcher was incorrect and simply gave an opinion. Unless your ex had stated he no longer wanted the property, it was not yours to sell.

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Quoting qwaspolk69

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The police dispatcher was incorrect and simply gave an opinion. Unless your ex had stated he no longer wanted the property, it was not yours to sell.

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At some point property does become abandoned, and if the proper procedures are followed, can be sold. The problem in this case is that the proper procedures were not followed. If they had been, the ex probably would have picked up the items.

Is there a reason why you won't simply give him the money?

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Is there a reason why you won't simply give him the money?

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I suspect its "can't" rather than "won't".

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Quoting llworking

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I suspect its "can't" rather than "won't".

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He'd probably be far less likely to take it further if she at least made some sort of payment plan offer, y'know?

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Quoting llworking

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At some point property does become abandoned, and if the proper procedures are followed, can be sold. The problem in this case is that the proper procedures were not followed. If they had been, the ex probably would have picked up the items.

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Yes but no procedures were followed. Him not responding to her texts is not saying he does not want the PS4 anymore. He just did not answer her texts. I know she is not a landlord but I read something about landlord/tenant situation with property left behind. Landlord has to inventory the property and keep it until the tenant says "I do not want it anymore" or something to that effect.

She still had no right to sell it.

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Quoting Kam0526

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My question involves civil rights in the State of: ohio

My childs father had moved out of my apartment two months ago and left his ps4 and tv behind. I had texted and called him multiple times asking him to come get his stuff and never got a reply. I finally decided to call the local police station to ask if i would get in trouble for selling the ps4.. i explained the situation and was told i could do what i wanted with the ps4. So i sold it and my ex showed up at my house today with the local police. The police told me the dispatcher was wrong for telling me that and i could possibly get charged for selling his property. So my ex went and filed a police report and i guess he's going to take it from there. Does anyone know if im going to get in trouble for this or get charged?

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Yes you could get charged with a misdemeanor for doing that.

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Quoting llworking

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While I do not necessarily disagree with the previous response you received, there is decent chance that the DA won't be interested in prosecuting this one, assuming that the police report is thorough.

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Don't bet on that. I have seen these cases in municipal court.

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Quoting qwaspolk69

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Yes but no procedures were followed. Him not responding to her texts is not saying he does not want the PS4 anymore. He just did not answer her texts. I know she is not a landlord but I read something about landlord/tenant situation with property left behind. Landlord has to inventory the property and keep it until the tenant says "I do not want it anymore" or something to that effect.

She still had no right to sell it.

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She had no right to sell it because she did not follow the proper procedures. However, you are incorrect that a landlord has to inventory property until the tenant says that they do not want it anymore. The landlord has to follow the procedures under state law, to have the property considered to be abandoned, but those procedures do not require the tenant to actively say that they no longer want the property.

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Quoting Ohiogal

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Yes you could get charged with a misdemeanor for doing that.

Don't bet on that. I have seen these cases in municipal court.

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I am not betting on it, but it seems unlikely if the police report is thorough.

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Quoting llworking

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I am not betting on it, but it seems unlikely if the police report is thorough.

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the more thorough the report the clearer the illegal action becomes.

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Quoting jk

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the more thorough the report the clearer the illegal action becomes.

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I think that if the report is thorough it mitigates things. The OP clearly tried to get information from the police as to whether or not what she intended to do was legal. Its not her fault that someone at the police department gave her a wrong answer. That does not entirely excuse her but it is a mitigating factor.

It still doesn't change the fact that she needs to find a way to pay him. Why she spent the money - which has to be the case if she can't pay it back all at once - is beyond me.

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Quoting llworking

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I think that if the report is thorough it mitigates things. The OP clearly tried to get information from the police as to whether or not what she intended to do was legal. Its not her fault that someone at the police department gave her a wrong answer. That does not entirely excuse her but it is a mitigating factor.

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Of course you are assuming the dispatcher will support the op's claim the dispatcher told them they could get rid of it. Unless the call was recorded and the recording available I suspect the dispatcher will deny ever giving such advice.

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Quoting jk

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Of course you are assuming the dispatcher will support the op's claim the dispatcher told them they could get rid of it. Unless the call was recorded and the recording available I suspect the dispatcher will deny ever giving such advice.

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Well, it may very well vary from PD to PD but it has always been my understanding that all dispatch calls are taped.

Your correct, I cant.. he left me with an 11 month old baby & a duplex that i cannot afford. But that is not why i sold the ps4, i just cant give him the money because i already spent the money on rent. Trust me if i had money to give him i would, that would make him drop whatever charges hes trying to charge me with!

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Quoting llworking

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Well, it may very well vary from PD to PD but it has always been my understanding that all dispatch calls are taped.

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The call was recorded & it is available so a police officer said i cant really be blamed for the dispatcher telling me i could sell it.. but he also said that it would be up to the prosecutor if my ex really does take this to court. So i guess we will see..

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Quoting Kam0526

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Your correct, I cant.. he left me with an 11 month old baby & a duplex that i cannot afford. But that is not why i sold the ps4, i just cant give him the money because i already spent the money on rent. Trust me if i had money to give him i would, that would make him drop whatever charges hes trying to charge me with!

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You know how that comes across to me? Revenge. Pure and simple. Whether that's actually the case or not doesn't really matter - it comes across as you sold his stuff because he dumped you.

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Quoting Kam0526

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Your correct, I cant.. he left me with an 11 month old baby & a duplex that i cannot afford. But that is not why i sold the ps4, i just cant give him the money because i already spent the money on rent. Trust me if i had money to give him i would, that would make him drop whatever charges hes trying to charge me with!

The call was recorded & it is available so a police officer said i cant really be blamed for the dispatcher telling me i could sell it.. but he also said that it would be up to the prosecutor if my ex really does take this to court. So i guess we will see..

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So you've heard the recording? And it has the dispatcher very clearly telling you you can sell your former boyfriends property?

Not only is it highly unlikely the dispatcher gave you legal advice, it's highly unlikely they said you could sell property that belongs to another person without their permission. If either of those things happened, the dispatcher should be fired.
It's not up to your boyfriend to "take this to court". Your boyfriend can report the incident to the police. The police will send their report to the prosecutor and the prosecutor will decide whether to prosecute this. If boyfriend has made the report, it's out of his hands now.

Have you sought child support payments from the father? Are you on welfare?

is the father on the birth certificate or even been determined to be the father?

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Quoting llworking

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She had no right to sell it because she did not follow the proper procedures. However, you are incorrect that a landlord has to inventory property until the tenant says that they do not want it anymore. The landlord has to follow the procedures under state law, to have the property considered to be abandoned, but those procedures do not require the tenant to actively say that they no longer want the property.



I am not betting on it, but it seems unlikely if the police report is thorough.

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That is what I read in some links I found looking this up.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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You know how that comes across to me? Revenge. Pure and simple. Whether that's actually the case or not doesn't really matter - it comes across as you sold his stuff because he dumped you.

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Lol no I LEFT HIM in march. I moved out of the duplex (the lease is in my name) so when he decided he didn't wanna live here anymore, i moved back in. It was not revenge, if it was revenge, i would of sold it along time ago.

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Quoting jk

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So you've heard the recording? And it has the dispatcher very clearly telling you you can sell your former boyfriends property?

Not only is it highly unlikely the dispatcher gave you legal advice, it's highly unlikely they said you could sell property that belongs to another person without their permission. If either of those things happened, the dispatcher should be fired.
It's not up to your boyfriend to "take this to court". Your boyfriend can report the incident to the police. The police will send their report to the prosecutor and the prosecutor will decide whether to prosecute this. If boyfriend has made the report, it's out of his hands now.

Have you sought child support payments from the father? Are you on welfare?

is the father on the birth certificate or even been determined to be the father?

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I talked to the police officer today & asked his if the calls are recorded, he said yes & he said the chief has access to the recordings. So he told me he was going to get access to it and call me sunday which is tomorrow, to let me know what's going on. He said if the recording provesthat the dispatcher clearly told me i could sell it, then i can't really be blamed. So im not sure if they are even going to question the dispatcher because your right, she could easily lie. & im not sure how all that court stuff works, i just know that the cops told him he could write a police report & the prosecutor will decide if i get charged (so i assumed i would be taken to court) thank you fit informing me on that though.

Yes i will be getting child suport payments starting on the 1st of august, yes he is on the birth certificate & yes he is the father. What does that have to do with anything?

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Quoting Kam0526

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Lol no I LEFT HIM in march. I moved out of the duplex (the lease is in my name) so when he decided he didn't wanna live here anymore, i moved back in. It was not revenge, if it was revenge, i would of sold it along time ago.



I talked to the police officer today & asked his if the calls are recorded, he said yes & he said the chief has access to the recordings. So he told me he was going to get access to it and call me sunday which is tomorrow, to let me know what's going on. He said if the recording provesthat the dispatcher clearly told me i could sell it, then i can't really be blamed. So im not sure if they are even going to question the dispatcher because your right, she could easily lie. & im not sure how all that court stuff works, i just know that the cops told him he could write a police report & the prosecutor will decide if i get charged (so i assumed i would be taken to court) thank you fit informing me on that though.

Yes i will be getting child suport payments starting on the 1st of august, yes he is on the birth certificate & yes he is the father. What does that have to do with anything?

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And with that, your credibility just went down the drain.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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And with that, your credibility just went down the drain.

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What do you mean by "your credibility just went down the drain"..?

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Quoting llworking

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While I do not necessarily disagree with the previous response you received, there is decent chance that the DA won't be interested in prosecuting this one, assuming that the police report is thorough.

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Frankly, I don't see this being prosecuted. I see a DA telling the ex to take the matter to Small Claims court. This case has reasonable doubt (for the intent to deprive as required for larceny) written all over it.

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Quoting Kam0526

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What do you mean by "your credibility just went down the drain"..?

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I think she is inferring that your coincidental contact with the officer in question and the revelation that a recording exists is a little too fortuitous. However, I can see what you said as being the truth as I have been in just that position a few times in my career (as the officer or chief).

Personally, I don't think that a prosecutor is going to want to go to a jury trial with this sort of thing. Unless prosecutors are bloated with staffing and time I would wager that they will punt and decline to pursue the matter suggesting that the ex go to small claims court where the burden of proof is lower. I'd say that the state may have a hard time proving that you intended to deprive him of the property especially when they are smallish items that he could have taken with him when he left, you made several attempts over a month or two to get him to come back for them,and he never once responded. I'd see his filing of charges as HIS exercising sour grapes and "revenge" against you. If he really wanted those things, he would have taken them! Heck, when my #3 son left home, his video game console was the first thing he packed!

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Quoting cdwjava

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Frankly, I don't see this being prosecuted. I see a DA telling the ex to take the matter to Small Claims court. This case has reasonable doubt (for the intent to deprive as required for larceny) written all over it.



I think she is inferring that your coincidental contact with the officer in question and the revelation that a recording exists is a little too fortuitous. However, I can see what you said as being the truth as I have been in just that position a few times in my career (as the officer or chief).

Personally, I don't think that a prosecutor is going to want to go to a jury trial with this sort of thing. Unless prosecutors are bloated with staffing and time I would wager that they will punt and decline to pursue the matter suggesting that the ex go to small claims court where the burden of proof is lower. I'd say that the state may have a hard time proving that you intended to deprive him of the property especially when they are smallish items that he could have taken with him when he left, you made several attempts over a month or two to get him to come back for them,and he never once responded. I'd see his filing of charges as HIS exercising sour grapes and "revenge" against you. If he really wanted those things, he would have taken them! Heck, when my #3 son left home, his video game console was the first thing he packed!

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Well at least someone on here believes me! Thank you. After this officer calls me tomorrow, i will post on here what he says about the recording & whatever else he wants to talk to me about. This is just one big confusing mess & i honestly think the police officers didn't even know how to handle it. Thats why he said he would look into everything & contact me on sunday. I understand selling the ps4 was not a nice thing to do. . But when you are bugging someone to get it and they don't & then you have a dispatcher tell you that your allowed to sell it (if it has been 2 days since the last time i told him to come get it) then what would you have done? I was under the impression that i could not get in trouble & he obviously didn't care enough about it to come get it so why just let it sit in my living room for months? If i get chargedor fined or whatever, i will fully understand & proudly do whatever i have to do. But i just wish people could see my point of view, i mean the dispatcher even put me on hold to ask an officer that was in the station (at least that's what she said she was putting me on hold for) so if that's the truth then not only did she say it was okay, but a cop did as well. If i would of known a dispatcher & an officer is not entitled to find out advice like they did, i would have never called them in the first place. The ps4 would still be in my living room.

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Quoting Kam0526

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Well at least someone on here believes me! Thank you. After this officer calls me tomorrow, i will post on here what he says about the recording & whatever else he wants to talk to me about. This is just one big confusing mess & i honestly think the police officers didn't even know how to handle it. Thats why he said he would look into everything & contact me on sunday. I understand selling the ps4 was not a nice thing to do. . But when you are bugging someone to get it and they don't & then you have a dispatcher tell you that your allowed to sell it (if it has been 2 days since the last time i told him to come get it) then what would you have done? I was under the impression that i could not get in trouble & he obviously didn't care enough about it to come get it so why just let it sit in my living room for months? If i get chargedor fined or whatever, i will fully understand & proudly do whatever i have to do. But i just wish people could see my point of view, i mean the dispatcher even put me on hold to ask an officer that was in the station (at least that's what she said she was putting me on hold for) so if that's the truth then not only did she say it was okay, but a cop did as well. If i would of known a dispatcher & an officer is not entitled to find out advice like they did, i would have never called them in the first place. The ps4 would still be in my living room.

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This rings very true which is why I can believe it. I have seen this scenario played out a number of times. However, I know that when *I* would give such advice, I'd caution the caller that my opinion was not definitive and was only my thought on how it would play out. I suspect the officer/dispatcher may have used such language as well ... "Well, you probably will not get into trouble, but, it's up to you what you want to do with it." If they gave you an absolute, "That's okay, you're good!" then they were out of line and need a good talking to because they put you at legal jeopardy ... sort of. I still contend that the DA is not going to waste time with what is ostensibly a civil matter. Given the relationship, your living together, his being able to pack and move at his leisure and leaving the items behind, your attempting to make contact AND asking the police, would all seem to play against the requisite intent to deprive required for the crime.

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After this officer calls me tomorrow, i will post on here what he says about the recording & whatever else he wants to talk to me about.

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if the police are talking to you about this, they are investigating it as a possible crime. You would be wise to not say anything that could incriminate you (although I suspect that horse is already out of the barn).

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This is just one big confusing mess & i honestly think the police officers didn't even know how to handle it.

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thats good because they investigate the matter and let the prosecutor handle it.

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Thats why he said he would look into everything & contact me on sunday. I understand selling the ps4 was not a nice thing to do.

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It's beyond not nice. It is at least civilly actionable and at most, a criminal act. I have no doubt it is a criminal act. Whether the prosecutor picks it up and charges you is the only question (and I to suspect they won't but that does not alter the facts)

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. But when you are bugging someone to get it and they don't & then you have a dispatcher tell you that your allowed to sell it (if it has been 2 days since the last time i told him to come get it) then what would you have done?

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a whopping 2 days? and by your own admission there was no response. Are you certain he even received your request to remove it from your property?

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I was under the impression that i could not get in trouble & he obviously didn't care enough about it to come get it so why just let it sit in my living room for months?

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because that is what the law often requires. Its not like its filling up an entire room. Its a thing the size of a shoe box. You could have put it in a closet.

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. But i just wish people could see my point of view, i mean the dispatcher even put me on hold to ask an officer that was in the station (at least that's what she said she was putting me on hold for) so if that's the truth then not only did she say it was okay, but a cop did as well.

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then both of them should be fired for giving legal advice, and incorrect at that.

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If i would of known a dispatcher & an officer is not entitled to find out advice like they did, i would have never called them in the first place.

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Ok, for future reference: the police nor a police dispatcher cannot provide legal advice.

[QUOTE=jk;964762]if the police are talking to you about this, they are investigating it as a possible crime. You would be wise to not say anything that could incriminate you (although I suspect that horse is already out of the barn).

thats good because they investigate the matter and let the prosecutor handle it.



It's beyond not nice. It is at least civilly actionable and at most, a criminal act. I have no doubt it is a criminal act. Whether the prosecutor picks it up and charges you is the only question (and I to suspect they won't but that does not alter the facts)

a whopping 2 days? and by your own admission there was no response. Are you certain he even received your request to remove it from your property?

Noo, i had asked him multiple times to get his stuff over a period of a few months & yes he did receive the messages because he would reply, but only to talk crap to me for leaving him. . I said the dispatcher said "as long as its been 2 days since the last time you told him" & the dispatcher gave me FULL permission, there was no "my opinion" she straight up said do what you want with it & i said "so i forrr sureee cannot get in trouble" & she said as long as its been 2 days & you have proof of you telling him to come get it then no you cannot get it trouble. This is why i cannot wait for the officer to listen to the recording!

Dispatchers cannot "give you permission" to do anything.

[QUOTE=qwaspolk69;964831]

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Quoting Kam0526

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Dispatchers cannot "give you permission" to do anything.

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Well i didnt know that til after the fact. If im gonna get in trouble, then so should the dispatcher.

[QUOTE=qwaspolk69;964831]

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Quoting Kam0526

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Dispatchers cannot "give you permission" to do anything.

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But, if the dispatcher and officer did say that, it kinda mitigates the OP's culpability. And, even if she had not sought their advice on the matter, this is still not the kind of case I would see a prosecutor wanting to waste a ton of resources on. No matter how it pans out I see this as a punt with a suggestion that the ex go to small claims court.