My question involves criminal law for the state of: Arizona.
I have been accused of stealing a computer from my place of employment. The facts are: I was assigned 4 laptop computers, 3 were over 10 years old and one was new. When I left my position, I returned the 3 old computers, one of which was broken. The replacement cost of a comparable computer, 10 years old, is approximately $300. The new computer, valued at $1200, I agreed to purchase. The business manager withheld $1500 from my last paycheck. However, she is stating that I still owe them $1000. She is attempting to charge me $1200 for the 10 year old computer. Is this legal? If I have paid for the computer which I kept, is their report of "theft" a false report? Is there a way to handle this without hiring a lawyer? Thanks for taking the time to read this.

