Grand Larceny Charges for Theft of Army Surplus Items

[justlookingforanswers]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: North Carolina
Hello, I am here just to see if I can get a couple opinions on a pending court matter. The person involved is my fiance and this happened in 2012. It involves the theft of army surplus items; a member of the military (fiance was army for 8 years) was basically dealing in stolen surplus property and my fiance got involved in it, mostly due to the fact that his wife at the time was telling him "You need to provide better for me and your daughter or we're gone" and "You're a sorry father if you don't bring more money home" so to take care of his family, he got involved in the theft and transport and sale of the items. Eventually it was discovered, and FBI got involved (whatever the FBI is in NC). After he and the wife ended up breaking up ANY way, he left and came back to Florida which is his home. FBI there thought he ran from the case, which he didn't....his address, phone, etc was available to anyone who needed it, and people on the case were aware that he was moving back to Florida. At any rate, the FBI in Florida was alerted and after tracking him down, court proceedings began, in North Carolina. (His public defender tried for change of venue but was not granted). Since the initial arraignments, plea hearing, etc, he is under the supervision of a probation officer and has been for a year since when he was located here in Florida, has entered a plea and had the 8 charges dropped to one; the plea agreement mentions anything from heavy probation and fines, to jail time.

My question is, since this is his first and ONLY offense of any kind, what are the actual probable chances of jail time, in the opinion or past experience of anyone here? He was in the military for 8 years, 3 rough years in Iraq, and recieved a PTSD diagnosis after his honorable discharge (medical). This case has been bumped up/rescheduled several times, so it doesn't seem that they are "in a rush" to sock it to him so to speak, and every one we have dealt with up there so far has seemed very nice. He has been super cooperative, meets with his PO whenever she requests, passes all random drug screens, whatever they ask. It's a financial hardship and a 12 hour drive but when he has court, we always make it there.

He knows it was a dumb, wrong, stupid thing to do. He is in no way arguing what he did, not owning up to it, etc. He is truly regretful for what he did, and he has done nothing even close to that since all this, and has no record before it, either. He basically goes to work, comes home to me and my kids which he considers his own, lives a quiet, family oriented life, and just tries to make it in life. He did something stupid, like everyone does to some degree in life, and it caught up to him. But that mistake is not who he is now. I don't see the sense in crowding another jail cell for something that is done and over with, that he is more than willing to make amends for WITHOUT sitting in jail, and he has been cooperating with his PO etc., so I would see no point in changing that. He has a stable home, stable job, good relationship with me and the kids, is getting treatment thru the VA for his PTSD, and overall is in a completely different place in life than he was when this happened. (All of which the attorney is using in his defense argument.)

Sorry for the rambling and if I missed anything. I'm just scared and my brain is in 200 places right now.

[Mr. Knowitall]

I hope he's smarter than trying to pull a nonsense line like, "It's really my wife's fault that I'm a thief", when he gets to court.

We are not in a position to prognosticate his plea bargain and sentence. It's a discussion he needs to have with his lawyer.

Assuming he's charged in North Carolina court, not federal court, the sentencing guidelines may give some indication of possible outcomes -- but you need a lot of information about the charge and probable disposition before you can come up with a relevant analysis.

[justlookingforanswers]

No, his attorney isn't planning to use her as an excuse; but the defense is planned out I assume, since court is in a couple of weeks; and the need/desire/demand/instinct to provide for his family, especially under the pressure of being "inadequate" and "not caring for the family or kids" is part of the "defense". PTSD brings in many complicated factors and it all happened right after the military career ended, so his mind was nowhere near where it should have been at that time, after the things he saw and experienced there.

The opportunity to stay free and pay for his crime is all we are hoping for. We don't expect it to be an easy ride; he messed up. He knows he did.

Thank you for your response.

[flyingron]

I suspect reading between the lines he is being federally charged.

[justlookingforanswers]

Yes, I apologize I forgot to add that part. Everyone he has worked with on it has been very kind and respectful. I didn't expect federal officers to be that way, I was surprised a little.

[Mr. Knowitall]

No, his attorney isn't planning to use her as an excuse; but the defense is planned out I assume, since court is in a couple of weeks; and the need/desire/demand/instinct to provide for his family, especially under the pressure of being "inadequate" and "not caring for the family or kids" is part of the "defense".

If you're pushing him in the direction of believing that a court is going to be sympathetic with that sort of "defense", you should stop.

Federal sentencing is incredibly complicated, and is largely in the hands of the prosecutor. You can look at the federal sentencing guidelines here.

[justlookingforanswers]

Oh no. I'm not pushing him in that direction, just hoping against hope it will GO that direction. I understand the severity and so does he which is why we expect the worst even when praying for the best. The attorney knows the judge and has worked with him many years and seemed to think that he would take that defense into consideration, at least partially. His goal is "no jail time but still pay for your crime". I'd rather pay the government for 50 years and have him here with me than be alone while he's gone. Yep, it should have been thought about before it happened. But shoulda coulda woulda can't change things Thank you for the link, I am looking at that now.

[flyingron]

Federal sentencing is incredibly complicated, and is largely in the hands of the prosecutor. You can look at the federal sentencing guidelines here.

In addition once you're beyond the statutory minimums, it's entirely in the hands of the judge. The judge is free to entirely disregard the prosecutor and any arrangements the prosecutor has made with the defense (i.e., there are no binding plea bargains in federal sentencing). Though, I agree with Mr. K, the prosecutor will generally push for the maximum they think applies and the judge will usually follow.