I dropped off my rental car 2 days late. The owner of the rental issued a warrant for my arrest the day before I dropped it off. Is there any way I can fight this?
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I dropped off my rental car 2 days late. The owner of the rental issued a warrant for my arrest the day before I dropped it off. Is there any way I can fight this?
The rental car owner does not have the ability to issue a warrant. He can report a crime he believes has happened.
If a warrant has actually been issued I suggest you hire a lawyer. The way you "fight" this is through the criminal justice system.
Did you communicate to the rental agency that you would need to return it late? If so, what was their response?
Were you charged the fees for the extra days? Did you avoid communicating with the rental car company. I have kept rental cars longer than I originally indicated many times without problems at all, but I communicated with them and let them know I would be keeping the car longer.
Communicating with the rental agency is probably not necessary because there would be language in the rental contract that would outline what the actions would be if the car was returned late. Being charged with grand theft auto was probably not in the contract.
If I loaned a car to a friend and he kept it a few extra days I hardly think that the cops would see that as GTA. With the rental agency, they even have less to stand on because extra days would be outlined in the contract. It is likely that the rental agency and the cops were operating outside the contract.
If you communicate with the agency, they will know you still need the car and will not report it stolen. It's not that hard to understand. Rental agencies absolutely can and will report their cars stolen if not returned and they are not able to communicate with the person who rented it. That doesn't have to be in the contract. It's common sense.
They do not have to have in the contract that they will report it stolen if you don't return it. IF, and it's a big if because rental car agencies deal with this frequently enough, there is something in the contract about how they handle failure to return the car; that is the path they should follow. They aren't going to completely shut themselves out of the option to report it stolen though.
Personally, I think reporting it after it's only 2 days late is a bit hasty. They might have a history of issues with people not returning cars so they chose to report it quickly.
Heck, we don't even know if OP is in the US.
That's ridiculous. While the rental agreement may not say anything about GTA it would likely mention late fees and may even say what you need to do to extend your rental.
We don't even know that the cops are involved at this point how they are operating.
No it didn't. Only a judge or other judicial officer can issue a warrant. I assume what happened is that the owner reported the matter to the police and that the police obtained a warrant.
Fight what? For starters, how do you know an arrest warrant was issued? Have criminal charges been filed against you? At any point after you learned about the warrant, did you ask the owner of the car to report to the police that the car was returned? If not, why not?
I rented from a private owner through the app called Hyrecar. I was using it for Uber. I live in Savannah and the person I rented from lives in Augusta. We agreed for me to drop it off on a Thursday. Initially I could've dropped it off that day but a family member of mine that was going to follow me had got a new job and had to go to orientation that same day. But I didn't tell the owner I couldn't make it. I was little intimidated by the owner because he/she was trying to pressure me to drop it off that day. Sunday morning another one of my family members agreed to follow to the owner's house so I could drop it off. I texted the owner of the car and told him/she that I was sorry for being late but I didn't have a way back home but I'm on the way to your house now to drop it off. After I dropped it off the texted me and told me to turn myself in for stealing it.
As of today I have been arrested for this and I'm waiting to go to court for this issue
Then you need a criminal defense attorney.
The officers told me the owner was supposed to come back to the police department and report that he got his car
You don't need a lawyer yet. You should wait to see if the prosecutor is going to drop the charges. He likely will because it is hardly Grand Theft Auto.
You had permission to drive the car. You just need to pay for the extra days.
What the owner did or didn't do at this point is not really a concern. You need aa criminal defense attorney and you need to print out the Hyrecar agreement and every piece of documentation from the rental.
BTW... I'm willing to bet the Hyrecar agreement doesn't include using it as an UBER.
You, sir, are an idiot. When you are charged with a crime you need a lawyer. I don't care if you yourself are a lawyer you still need a lawyer.
In many southern states, I am not sure about GA, an individual can appear at the magistrates office and swear out an arrest warrant. It would then be prosecuted by the states attorney. So a police investigation may not have been involved.
Oh look they have a way to extend on the app.
Step 4: Extending your Rental Time or Returning your Car
You’ve got two options when your rental time is up – either extend your rental or return it.
Extending the rental is a piece of cake.
Just go to your driver dashboard on the HyreCar Driver App or website and find your current rental. Click the “extend” button. You can choose a daily, weekly, or monthly rental extension. It’s totally up to you. Your insurance gets automatically extended for the amount of time you select, so you can concentrate on making money!
If don’t want to renew and return the car, you’ll need to arrange a drop off time with the car’s owner. The owner will do a walk-around inspection of the vehicle. If everything looks OK, they’ll click “confirm drop-off” on the HyreCar app or on our website.
NOTE: Make sure the owner does this or else you might be charged unnecessary late fees.
For starters, section 16-8-2 of the Georgia Code.
And, by the way, the fact that the OP was arrested strongly indicates that the others who have responded here are not the only ones who think criminal liability is a realistic possibility.
Wouldn't surprise me if it is, but I didn't call you a name. I wrote that your apparent belief is absurd. There's a difference.
Neither side is going to budge as these are opinions and those are like you know whats. OP has been given options to mull over. How about we D-X the back and forth until such time as OP returns with further details or questions?
The entire situation is ridiculous. I would like to see the police report that the owner filed that resulted in an arrest warrant. The owner knew they rented the car to someone. They wanted it returned on Thursday. Instead of reaching out to the renter via phone or text as to what the situation was, they filed a report of a stolen car. And on Saturday they report it stolen. And on Sunday they get the car back.
Why didn't the owner report that they got the car back before the warrant was issued?
I doubt a court is going to say that there was an intent to steal the car.
I would (when all is said and done) sue that owner for filing a false police report that the car was stolen and try to recover any expense it cost to get this ridiculous situation resolved.
As I stated before, no police report may have been filed. The party may have gone to the magistrate and sworn out a warrent. Very common in the south.
Do you think the magistrate would issue a warrant if the party stated all the facts, that the car was a rental, that they did not contact the renter before getting the warrant and the return was 1 maybe 2 days late?
Honestly, it depends on the magistrate. I'm not saying you could get a warrant for a ham sandwich down here but it's not unheard for a magistrate to be real cooperative when it comes to warrants. It's also possible that the owner knew the magistrate, good ol' boys and all that.
We also do not know that the owner didn't try to contact the renter. OP only says that they, meaning the OP, made no real attempt to communicate.
This is from a county court website in Georgia
https://www.magistratefulton.org/182...ation-Hearings
given gta is a felony, and presuming that is a state wide condition, it doesn’t sound like the warrant is based only on the applicants claims.Quote:
If the crime is a felony or involves allegations of a sexual offense, the case must be investigated by the law enforcement before you may apply for a warrant. A warrant application will not be scheduled on a pending felony investigation, except at the request of the investigating detective.
like so many situations presented here, it’s likely something important is missing from what has been posted.
In the time frame that OP established mainly the car was to be returned on Thursday and was returned on Sunday (3 days later), it does not jive with the Georgia statute. It takes at lease 2 weeks for the judge or magistrate to hear the case on probable cause and issue the warrent. So how did an arrest warrant get issued within 2 days even in Georgia?
Quote:
2010 Georgia Code
TITLE 17 - CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 4 - ARREST OF PERSONS
ARTICLE 3 - WARRANTS FOR ARREST
§ 17-4-40 - Persons who may issue warrants for arrest of offenders against penal laws; warrants requested by others; persons who may issue warrants for arrest of law enforcement or peace officers or school teachers or administrators
O.C.G.A. 17-4-40 (2010)
17-4-40. Persons who may issue warrants for arrest of offenders against penal laws; warrants requested by others; persons who may issue warrants for arrest of law enforcement or peace officers or school teachers or administrators
(a) Any judge of a superior, city, state, or magistrate court or any municipal officer clothed by law with the powers of a magistrate may issue a warrant for the arrest of any offender against the penal laws, based on probable cause either on the judge's or officer's own knowledge or on the information of others given to the judge or officer under oath. Any retired judge or judge emeritus of a state court may likewise issue arrest warrants if authorized in writing to do so by an active judge of the state court of the county wherein the warrants are to be issued.
(b)(1) If application is made for a warrant by a person other than a peace officer or law enforcement officer and the application alleges the commission of an offense against the penal laws, the judge or other officer shall schedule a warrant application hearing as provided in this subsection unless the person accused has been taken into custody by a peace officer or law enforcement officer or except as provided in paragraph (6) of this subsection; provided, however, that a warrant may be denied without the notice required in paragraph (2) of this subsection where the application form and any testimony from the affiant provided at the time of the application do not demonstrate probable cause for issuing a warrant.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (6) of this subsection, a warrant application hearing shall be conducted only after attempting to notify the person whose arrest is sought by any means approved by the judge or other officer which is reasonably calculated to apprise such person of the date, time, and location of the hearing.
(3) If the person whose arrest is sought does not appear for the warrant application hearing, the judge or other officer shall proceed to hear the application and shall note on the warrant application that such person is not present.
(4) At the warrant application hearing, the rules regarding admission of evidence at a commitment hearing shall apply. The person seeking the warrant shall have the customary rights of presentation of evidence and cross-examination of witnesses. The person whose arrest is sought may cross-examine the person or persons applying for the warrant and any other witnesses testifying in support of the application at the hearing. The person whose arrest is sought may present evidence that probable cause does not exist for his or her arrest. The judge or other officer shall have the right to limit the presentation of evidence and the cross-examination of witnesses to the issue of probable cause.
(5) At the warrant application hearing, a determination shall be made whether or not probable cause exists for the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of the person whose arrest is sought. If the judge or other officer finds that probable cause exists, the warrant may issue instanter.
(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as prohibiting a judge or other officer from immediately issuing a warrant for the arrest of a person upon application of a person other than a peace officer or law enforcement officer if the judge or other officer determines from the application or other information available to the judge or other officer that:
(A) An immediate or continuing threat exists to the safety or well-being of the affiant or a third party;
(B) The person whose arrest is sought will attempt to evade arrest or otherwise obstruct justice if notice is given;
(C) The person whose arrest is sought is incarcerated or otherwise in the custody of a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency;
(D) The person whose arrest is sought is a fugitive from justice;
(E) The offense for which application for a warrant is made is deposit account fraud under Code Section 16-9-20, and the person whose arrest is sought has previously been served with the ten-day notice as provided in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 16-9-20; or
(F) The offense for which application for the warrant is made consists of an act of family violence as defined in Code Section 19-13-1.
In the event that the judge or officer finds such circumstances justifying dispensing with the requirement of a warrant application hearing, the judge or officer shall note such circumstances on the face of the warrant application.
(7) No warrant shall be quashed nor evidence suppressed because of any irregularity in proceedings conducted pursuant to this subsection not affecting the substantial rights of the accused under the Constitution of this state or of the United States.
(8) Nothing contained in this subsection shall prohibit a judge from denying a warrant based upon the application and testimony heard at the time such application is made without requiring notice to the person whose arrest is sought.
(c) Any warrant for the arrest of a peace officer, law enforcement officer, teacher, or school administrator for any offense alleged to have been committed while in the performance of his or her duties may be issued only by a judge of a superior court, a judge of a state court, or a judge of a probate court.