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  1. #1
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    Mar 2011
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    Default Boyfriend Caught Stealing, Can Girlfriend be Charged as an Accomplice

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: New York

    Okay so i was with my boyfriend and he stole a pair of jeans and put them in a shopping bag. I handed a job application to the store and was looking around, NOT stealing. When he got to the door the sensor went off and i just left him and went as fast as i could to the car. he go out but the manager had called security n stuff. Since i seen him come to the car i think everythings okay but when we went into Target which was next door a police car came to us but we both went inside quick. i ran into the bathroom because i was scared of being charged as an accomplice and the cops stay outside the bathroom waiting for ME. Whay me? and will they use the information on my application to find me? and since i got out the bathroom without being seen and my bf got out fine but what should i do since I didn't steal?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Boyfriend Caught Stealing, Can Girlfriend be Charged as an Accomplice

    It is not clear what happened after you went to the car.

    Did you drive someplace?

    If you saw him steal a pair of jeans, and you drove him away in a car, or he drove your car away while you were in it, that seems like a good argument that you were an accomplice.

    But if you saw him steal a pair of jeans and did not help him escape in any way, I doubt that you broke any laws. The general population is not required to report every crime they see.

    If the police do find you, you might want to not talk to them at all. That is your Fifth Amendment right. Watch Don't Talk to Police on YouTube.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Boyfriend Caught Stealing, Can Girlfriend be Charged as an Accomplice

    . When he got to the door the sensor went off and i just left him and went as fast as i could to the car.
    so, why would an innocent person go as fast as they can to the car? That strongly suggests you knew your BF was in the store stealing. While knowledge isn't a crime, if there was any action on your part to show you were complicit, including driving your BF to the store knowing he was going to steal, you have committed a crime.

    Since i seen him come to the car i think everythings okay but when we went into Target which was next door a police car came to us but we both went inside quick. i ran into the bathroom because i was scared of being charged as an accomplice and the cops stay outside the bathroom waiting for ME. Whay me?
    because they recognized you as being associated with the thief and they wanted to talk to you.

    and will they use the information on my application to find me?
    if it's accurate, it's quite likely.

    and since i got out the bathroom without being seen and my bf got out fine but what should i do since I didn't steal?
    you act very guilty for a person that didn't steal, or at least assist in a theft. As David said; if/when the police come to talk to you, keep your mouth shut and tell them you want an attorney before answering any questions. Without knowing what they know, there is no way to guess what may be in store for you.

  4. #4
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    Feb 2010
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    Default Re: Boyfriend Caught Stealing, Can Girlfriend be Charged as an Accomplice

    I would not advise talking to the cops .. even if they threaten you with arrest if your don't "clear this up". Really, if they had enough evidence to arrest you they would threaten you with arrest, they would just arrest you.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Boyfriend Caught Stealing, Can Girlfriend be Charged as an Accomplice

    JK,
    your explanation that they were 'out there stealing together' would work if only 'job application' part was not there, because in that case OP will not turn in a 'job application' and clearly hand them out where to find me info. right?
    as to running away from police, there are so many cases on this board where second person is charged just because they were with the person who stole. So OP might be afraid of being charged wrongfully, and being afraid of police does not make you guilty.
    I second your view that dont talk to the police if they find you, if at all you want to then say the truth, that you did not in anyway take part in his actions- and I am assuming that was the case.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Boyfriend Caught Stealing, Can Girlfriend be Charged as an Accomplice

    your explanation that they were 'out there stealing together' would work if only 'job application' part was not there, because in that case OP will not turn in a 'job application' and clearly hand them out where to find me info. right?
    you're kidding, right? Don't you read the news? I don't know how many times I have read of somebody robbing a bank and they wrote the stick-up note on the back of a deposit slip, from their own account or even on their own paycheck stub. I remember reading where one guy wore his work uniform during the robbery. It had his name on the left breast and the name of the apartment complex on it somewhere.

    When the police got to that guys apartment, he had money hanging out of his pockets as he answered the door. Not a real bright fellow.

    I suspect the average IQ of the residents of most prisons is considerably lower than the general populace.

  7. #7
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    Mar 2011
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    Default Re: Boyfriend Caught Stealing, Can Girlfriend be Charged as an Accomplice

    JK, all the examples you cited seem to suggest absent mindendness of those criminals for a small duration while being completely involved in executing or planning the crime, to me filling out the entire application, carrying it along and handing it over seems much more than being absent minded. It requires conscious effort for a considerably long time, if the motive was to shoplift I highly doubt OP would take such an extra effort needed for the application processs. I am not saying she should have ran away like that but based on her description I agree with her when she says she was not involved.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Boyfriend Caught Stealing, Can Girlfriend be Charged as an Accomplice

    Reb, your faith in humanity is really sweet.

    And a little misplaced.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Boyfriend Caught Stealing, Can Girlfriend be Charged as an Accomplice

    Quote Quoting reb11
    View Post
    I am not saying she should have ran away like that but based on her description I agree with her when she says she was not involved.
    I am not saying she was involved. I did notice the OP didn't deny being complicit in the crime though. She simply stated: I didn't steal.

    Well, the wheel man in a bank robbery doesn't steal either but he is just as guilty of a crime as the guys that walked into the bank to do the actual stealing.

    I was simply addressing your suggestion that a person wouldn't be so dumb as to hand their victim their name and address. The truth is; there are thieves that are that dumb. Go to Missy's links and you will see for yourself.

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