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  1. #1
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    Post Lost Videotape in a Theft Prosecution

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Washington. A store manager and an officer claim to have seen a videotape of me inside a storage room loading a box of gameboys. Sixteen months I'm charged with theft. We have court in a month and the videotape doesn't exist. Do I have grounds for dismissal due to lost evidence?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Lost Videotape in a Theft Prosecution

    If the videotape never existed, and the manager was bluffing to get you to confess, then it never existed.

    If the videotape did exist and has been lost, you can ask your lawyer to bring a motion for appropriate relief; it isn't clear that you believe the videotape might exculpate you, and the existence of a videotape is not necessary to proceed with a theft prosecution based on other available evidence.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Lost Videotape in a Theft Prosecution

    Are you an attorney Mr. Knowitall

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Lost Videotape in a Theft Prosecution

    When I post in this forum, I claim nothing more than that I'm a member of this forum.

    If you want advice from a lawyer in your state, the phone book is full of them.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Lost Videotape in a Theft Prosecution

    I've got an attorney, just wanted a second oppion.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Lost Videotape in a Theft Prosecution

    I am an attorney. I am licensed in Washington. I know a lot about the subject of retail theft.

    The loss of the videotape does not necessarily bar a prosecution. Whether the case is dismissed would depend on the judge's view of the case. I saw a case in Oregon with somewhat similar facts get dismissed once but the judge in your case might have a different view. If your attorney does not think that a motion to dismiss would likely be successful, he probably knows the judge and he is probably correct.

    If a motion to dismiss the case is not successfully brought, you still have a pretty good argument at trial if there is no other evidence against you but the accusers' claim of what they saw on video, but there is no "slam dunk" result here. It all depends on what the jury believes.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Lost Videotape in a Theft Prosecution

    At this point we still don't know if a videotape ever existed.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Lost Videotape in a Theft Prosecution

    Mind you this case started in 11/09. Me and a friend went to a store to get boxes because the house I was renting was having an open house. My friend went to a section of the store and I asked a worker if they had any empty boxes. I found 1 box that hadn't been broken down. I went outside and put the empty box in my car and my buddy came out the store a minute later. Another store was on the same block so I asked a worker where they keep their boxes and he said they break them all down. A few miles on the same road a police officer pulls us over and asks me where have we been. I ask him what's the problem and he tells me to hang tight. A manager from the store shows up with another officer and he immediately identifys me and my friend as the person who was in the store. He knows my friend from a theft at a different store. The officer asked me to look in my truck and I say ok but he still insisted on towing my car and getting a search warrant. Me and my friend are arrested for theft 1. I bail out, my friend has warrants so he stays in jail for a couple of weeks. 16 months later they decide to file charges. The police report says the manager and the officer viewed a videotape of me in the storage area loading a box of videogame units. No videogames were ever recovered and the tape mysteriously vanished. Now if I don't take the plea of theft 1 the prosecutor is threatening an organize crime charge. I have a paid attorney but just wanted a second oppion. My friend has a public defender who is telling him to take a misderminor plea due to his criminal history. My question is without a videotape, alleged stolen merchandise or an inventory list how can they proceed in court?

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Lost Videotape in a Theft Prosecution

    We wouldn't be having this discussion if you hadn't already received bad news from your lawyer, would we. Evidence sometimes gets lost or misplaced - that does not automatically mean that charges won't proceed. The videotape would confirm that you were at the store - but you admit that. It shows you carrying a box - you admit that as well. As for whether or not the box visibly contained "video game units", I can't answer that. Or is it that the non-broken down box you took was a box for video game units, such that the issue is less whether they saw you with such a box and more whether it was empty? If all they actually describe is seeing you with a box, that's something else you admit. If they claim to have been able to see video game units in the box, you can discuss with your lawyer the possibility of bringing a motion to suppress testimony of that based upon the tape's disappearance and your inability to view or explain what might appear in the tape; if not, it would not appear that there's anything contentious about the videotape.

    Why did your friend think it would be a good idea for you to look for boxes at a store from a chain where he's been caught stealing, let alone that it would be a good idea for him to go back to that store? I expect that he didn't tell you his history beforehand, but I think it's reasonable to infer at this point that he's not the brightest guy. If he enters a plea he'll have to allocute (state facts on the record sufficient to support the conviction charge); your lawyer may want to talk to his lawyer about what he intends to say, should he take the plea offer, as it's quite possible that the prosecutor will ask, "What did you do with the video games after you removed them from the store?"

    Was the single box you found, the one that wasn't broken down, still in your vehicle when you were pulled over? Is that reflected in the police report?

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Lost Videotape in a Theft Prosecution

    The video tape allegedly shows me and my friend entering the store and a person that may or may not look like me in the storage area loading items in a box. My friend wasn't in the same chain of stores where his previous theft took place. The manager switched companys. And far as bad news, none yet, we filed a few motions. The box was found in my car 7 minutes later. Empty.

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