What Will Happen if a Victim Refuses to Testify in a Credit Card Fraud Case

[violinstring]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Oklahoma

Hi, I've been trying to find some advice on an ongoing investigation/upcoming trial.

Late this summer, I was visiting home from a larger city that I currently live in. My family owns two residences, one of them is usually rented out, but has been used mainly for storage lately. On my first weekend back I had some friends over with the permission of my family at the other residence. It was a small gathering, 10-15 people (at varying times) & everything seemed to go well. I was happy to see some old friends.

At one point, someone I had invited asked if they could bring a person I didn't know, I said it was ok. Looking back this was obviously foolish. The behavior of the person I know seemed a bit unusual, the best way to put it, this person seemed a bit jittery for no apparent reason.

I introduced them to my other friends, everything seemed fine for awhile. At one point later in the night, this person asks me if they can use the upstairs bathroom since the downstairs one was occupied. I said of course, like any reasonable host would.

I didn't think anything of it, except that they seemed to be gone longer than what I was expecting. I was with the other guests downstairs. When they came back, they said they had to goto their car for a moment and that's why it took awhile, again I didn't think much of this.

Shortly thereafter, they and the other person left abruptly. I did find that a bit strange, but at the same time I understand they may have had another obligation, simply been tired, etc.

So I wake up in the morning to calls from 3 different credit card companies notifying me that my cards were compromised. I had left my wallet on a desk in my room. Strangely enough, they didn't take the $40 in cash. Again, these were people I thought I trusted. I also notice there is some jewelry missing.

I immediately contact everyone that was there the previous night, and ask them politely if they saw anything go down, trying to not sound accusatory because I have known these people for years, although I have not seen them many times in the past 10 years since I moved away, although we had stayed in touch.

I had a feeling this particular person was the one to blame, instead of a simple response of "no, I didn't notice anything, let me know if I can help" or "are you serious" like I did from the other guests. They tell me they will call me from a private number, because they know what "may have happened", while still acting like they are trying to help, but don't want to implicate themselves because the police won't believe them. Ok, I knew something was up. I take the call.

- First, someone has been following them, and they believe they saw this person with someone else in a parked car close to the house, but that it's a busy street close to a gas station & some fast food restaurants that stay open overnight so it probably didn't mean anything, although it's "very possible" it was the person who was following them with the unknown accomplice, but that it still could have been one of the other guests I had over, and I should ask the other guests again. They say this person tried to set them up in the past for something they didn't do. Basically, they know the police will put together it was them or this person, but in the back of my mind, I know they are most likely using this person as an elaborate ruse (turns out this person is a friend of theirs & was involved).

- They tell me the name of this person, then say this person is trying to set them up again. They think this person may have entered my house since the garage was open (you just don't think of these things in smaller towns I guess, but I do now)

- They tell me that they had absolutely nothing to do with this several times and to please not goto the police, because the police will not believe their story that they were set up (while there are instances when truth is stranger than fiction, I knew this wasn't one of them)

I tell the local police the next day what happened, and they tell me that particular person (who made up the story) over the years has amassed quite a record for theft. When I knew them, they were not like that, but that was years ago. We had stayed in touch over the years, and I did consider this person a good friend. The police told me up front, it's most likely this person, and was not one of the other guests. At a later time within a few weeks, the police then confirm the person the suspect claims "set them up" is on camera using the card, with the person I thought was a friend.

I told the person I had considered a friend that I don't want to have any communication with them anymore, and that there is a pending investigation now, but that I hope they are telling me the truth, and that I am withholding any kind of judgment or accusations until the facts are revealed. Have not had any contact with them since.

Anyways, the police were fortunately able to recover a few of the stolen items. I looked at the online court records, and I was able to see this person had an upcoming trial for a different theft in early 2016, but they somehow had the court date pushed back from July to December, so I assume there must have been more than one continuance.

What surprises me, is that they have not arrested this person for the current charge. I don't know if it's lack of evidence or what. I asked the police why when I went to pick up the stolen items they were able to recover from a pawn shop. They only told me they were building a case, and that these charges would be added on to the current charges.

I'm not sure if that means a second case, or if it means it will be part of the same case.

What I'm trying to figure out is if I will have to testify. I had planned to go back to the city I live in, but because of this I have not. I thought this person would have been arrested by now, which has not happened. There is camera evidence of them (and the person say set them up) using the credit cards, timestamps from the credit card company showing the unauthorized charges, they know it was them.

Also, the person they say did it, was actually part of the credit card fraud (close to 2k spent which was quickly resolved thankfully). And one more person that is still not identified.

So what happened was, in a span of a few minutes, they knew I had guests over and wouldn't follow them upstairs, they went in a few rooms, saw the wallet, opened some drawers in every room they could, took whatever jewelry they could, then put everything they stole in the car. They only came back in the house to say they were leaving. The first unauthorized transaction happened right away at a nearby fast food restaurant.

A few questions, what is the chance I will have to testify, for either the defense (because they could attack my character) or prosecution (as the main witness)? If they plead guilty (given the overwhelming evidence it seems as if they would) does this make a difference opposed to a not guilty plea? I'd like to think a sworn statement would be enough.

The reason I would prefer not to testify is because my hometown is in a very conservative part of the US. It's a smaller city of under 50k. Anyone who knows me knows that I left to a bigger city long ago because I didn't agree with the sociocultural dynamics of my hometown.

This suspect knows I think the town is still backwards in many ways, and because the defense will have nothing to use, they may try to use that against me (my negative perception of the town), which could easily be enough to get the jury in their favor. In other words, a crime was committed, but the plaintiff thinks you're a bunch of dumb hillbillies and dreads coming back here. That's simply how it works in some towns, especially in smaller homogeneous, conservative towns.

Lastly, this town views men like myself that work in non-traditional masculine industries as worthy of scorn. I was harassed growing up by my peers & also some adults simply for being myself. I work in the makeup industry, so if I have to testify, I know they usually ask where you currently reside and where you are employed for the record. This line of work for men is considered a joke in my hometown. My current city is seen as "liberal" which is basically a swear word there. It's enough to hurt my credibility. Given the demographics of this particular county, I know I run the risk of being laughed at the second I say what I do.

I've wondered if the suspect knew I wouldn't want to testify because I've been always considered "different" in my hometown, and they know that. So the star witness not wanting to appear is possibly why they chose to rob me. Another thing, I legally changed my first name in college to a nickname I had used before, most people don't know this (it's derived from a real name), but I understand this could look rather odd as well, and it's an additional concern. If this matters, I have no record besides a few minor traffic citations, but I know I'm still seen as an unusual character in my hometown. If there's one thing I've learned from this experience, it's that you can never really escape your hometown.

Any insight is appreciated.

[flyingron]

It is not a you vs. them thing. It is society that is harmed by criminal behavior and it is the state that is prosecuting the criminal. You don't get the option to decide whether or not to testify. Your concerns about the conservative nature of the town is specious. It's unclear why a conservative town would coddle identity thieves.

Further, should the civilly agrieved party (your credit card company) choose to sue, you'd have to testify if subpoenaed then as well.

[free9man]

Waaaaay too long and waaaaay too much extraneous information.

You may have to testify but that does not prevent you from going elsewhere. It is probably going to be a loooong time before they need you.

[violinstring]

Long story short, I thought it would be good to be detailed, but I see how some of the outside information may not seem that relevant. I will address that as well.

- I was visiting my hometown. I had a gathering of some old friends at a residence owned by my family, someone I knew well showed up that I had invited (with another person I didn't know but I told them that was ok) and was acting somewhat strange. Jittery as I said.

- Person asks shortly after showing up if they can use upstairs bathroom since downstairs one was occupied, I said that was fine. I notice they are gone for about 10 minutes, they tell me they had to goto their car quickly. They & the person they brought with leave shortly thereafter. The other guests stay longer, I say bye to everyone & I know the other guests did not roam around the house.

- Next day, I receive calls from credit card companies notifying me a few of my credit cards appear to have been compromised. I then notice the cards are missing from my wallet, but the $40 in cash is still there. I had left it on a desk in the room (right across from the bathroom) with the door closed (there is no lock from the outside). Obviously I should have been smarter with where I placed it.

- I contact everyone who was there, and ask if they noticed anything strange, they say no, except a few mention the person in question did seem sort of standoffish. This particular person then says they might know something, and that they will call me so it shows up "restricted", and to think of it as an anonymous tip. Fair enough.

- They come up with a story that someone has been following them, and that they think this person went into the house & tried to blend in as a guest (there was loud music so I thought this could have possible) but seemed unlikely. The reason they know this is because they saw this person in a car with someone else near the house when they were leaving. It's a busy street with fast food restaurants, a grocery store, and gas station very close. They said they had wanted to notify me, but didn't want to ruin the party, and because its a busy street, they didn't think much of it at the moment. They said they had nothing to do with it, and that I should still ask the other guests. This was our final correspondence. I did not accuse them, but I did tell them this was all very hard to believe, and that something was off.

- This neighborhood isn't in the best part of town. So I thought it could be possible.

- I tell the local police what happened, and exactly who was there, the second I mention the name of this particular suspect, they tell me it was most likely that person, and that this person has a history of this (which I did not know). A few weeks later, they show me pictures from security cameras showing the suspect, the person they say followed them, and one more person I could not identify using the stolen credit cards. A few of the items were recovered, but not all.

- I did some searching, and found out this person has a pending case for a different theft. It has somehow gotten moved back from July to December. When I picked up the items, the police told me they were building a case but had not made any arrests yet. They had identified one (the person used in the fake story), another was still at large.

- I thought there was a possibility they were waiting until the suspect appears in court for the other charge to add on the new charges, I find it a bit odd that with all the evidence they have not made an arrest yet. They know this person most likely isn't going to risk becoming a fugitive, but it is a possibility.

- The last point regarding the culture of the town. It's important to me because I know if I'm called to testify, the defense has absolutely nothing to work with (the suspects are on multiple cameras) except attacking my character. As outlandish as it sounds, simply having moved away makes me an outsider in this town. It's acceptable to move to a larger city within the state, but that is about it. The locals take offense to anyone who thinks they are better (which I don't but it will perceived that way). The suspect knows I think the town is backwards and before I came back to visit I said in a text to them that it would be like "going back in time".

While it's not relevant to the case, if the jury hears this, it's going to help the defense tremendously. I don't like the town, so while a crime was committed, I'm essentially their enemy & they should be lenient with the suspects. I've spoken to someone who is a lawyer & they told me it's entirely possible the defense could take that route, although it could objected to, the jury only needs to hear it and it will resonate with them. In this type of town, it could even turn the prosecutor against you.

The other part, I work in an industry that is considered laughable for men to work in by the locals (makeup/fashion). The town I moved to is seen as everything wrong with this country by those in my hometown (liberal, full of weird/alternative people, not salt of the earth true Americans). Usually in court they do ask your occupation. As I said before, my only offenses are minor traffic citations. This person has a record, but given the social dynamics of this town, the second it's known I don't think highly of the town, none of that may matter. Hard to believe, maybe, but it's also reality. I'm also part of a small, but visible minority group that isn't well-regarded here, the suspects are not.

So if I testify, I could end up making it easier for them. I was just hoping someone could offer some insight into what could happen next, and if I'll have to testify or not. It will cost a lot to come back from across the country (not sure if they pay the fees or not), but I would like to start working again & return to the big city.