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  1. #1

    Default Theft of Property in Tennessee

    Ok - I haven't ever posted here, and since I have never been in trouble this whole situation is a bit new to me. A little about what is going on.

    I recently lost a job due to some serious complications with my pregnancy that landed me in the hospital for 2 weeks so I was having a hard time making ends meet. (Reads - couldn't pay my rent) So I naturally asked the people closest to me for help. They came down, brought me the money to pay my rent, as well as some of my things that were sent to thier home because the person had no way to contact me to send it directly to me. They live out of state. These weren't strangers to me, they were people that were like family to me, actually one was related to me, my sister and a lady i have always felt like a mother to me.

    Ok - long story short I was working at a new job by the time they come down, so I gave my sister the key to my place and told her she could spend the day there until I got off work at 3. While she was there, she went through some of my roommates things in the garage and stole two older cameras. (We are talking AT LEAST 5-6 years old each). She put them in the box of stuff she was giving me, and since I am not a camera person, I barely even take pictures of my kids is how little I care about cameras. I had no idea they were stolen because even according to my roommate you would have had to really go through some stuff in the garage to find these cameras. And I never used the garage because my car is too long for it.

    Well I take the stuff to my ex husband to ask what he thinks I should do with it (this is before I knew it was stolen) he looks at it and he doesn't trust my family and rightfully so, therefore he contacted my roommate and found out they were hers. And then he told me about it.

    Well as soon as he told me, I contacted my roommate to explain everything myself. Initially I had figured that it was the "family friend" who I considered a second mother, because I had no idea my sister and a blood relative would do something like this to me. Well I ended up getting charged with stealing the camreas and have to go to court. Now as far as I know, my roommate has gotten the cameras back. Obviously I do not live there any longer. But it's my understanding that she does. Or at the very least the police have them.

    I have a conversation that I had online with my sister in regards to what she has done, how far will that go in helping me prove that I had nothing to do with the theft of these things? I try to be very honest, VERY VERY honest, and I will do anything for anyone, and I just need some advice on what to do. Because my roommate is claiming the items are worth $1000-$10000, however from what I'm told, the cameras aren't even worth $50 combined.

    I am wondering if I will have to turn my sister in, or what? Because I don't know exactly where she lives. I know its a hotel and the city but other than that I don't know. And the other lady, I really don't know. I know what city but otherwise no idea.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Theft of Property in Tennessee

    Turn the online conversation over to your lawyer, and your lawyer can attempt to subpoena records from the involved ISP's and computer services to authenticate the conversation (or attempt to convince the police and prosecutor to do so). Based on that, it may be possible to prove that the conversation occurred.

    Yes, obviously, if you want to beat this charge you will have to explain how you got the camera, and if you want to use a conversation with your sister to defend yourself you will have to identify the person at the other end of the conversation.

    What did you tell your ex-husband about the cameras? Did your interest in "what to do with them" extend beyond "How to sell them and get some cash"? If he was smart enough to put the pieces together even though you didn't share any details, why weren't you? You knew the cameras weren't yours, yet they supposedly came from your apartment - so whose did you think they were if not your roommate's?

  3. #3

    Default Re: Theft of Property in Tennessee

    I honestly thought they were something that either belonged to my first husband or belonged to my sister. I am the kind of person who doesn't question things when I'm told. I take everyone at face value. All I told my ex husband when I gave them to him, was who gave them to me and that I didn't want anything for them when his girlfriend asked if I wanted him to sell them. He's a camera person, and loves photography, figured he'd have use for them. For me it would be something that would have sat in that box for the next 20 years.


    To address something else you said - I didn't know that they had come from the house where i was living at the time. The box of items my sister brought with her from out of state. She just added to this box of items while at my house.


    Also the reason my ex questioned it where I didn't. Like I said earlier, I am VERY trusting with people. Especailly family. He isn't. When I told him my sister gave them to me, he immediately became suspicious.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Theft of Property in Tennessee

    Your story gets less believable with each new detail. The box was supposedly stuff that belonged to your sister, but you thought the camera might have been your ex-husband's - why would your sister have a camera that belonged to your husband? If you thought that they belonged to your ex-husband, why would you give them to him and tell him that you didn't want anything for them - you are in the custom of charging your ex-husband when you return items that you believe to be his property? Your ex-husband knows that your sister is a thief and is suspicious at the mention of her name, even years after divorcing you, but you believe every word she says? C'mon.

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