i have been charged with receiving stolen property

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i have been charged with receiving stolen property

A friend of mine was in a bar and I was outside in the waiting to leave. She came out, got in the car, threw something on the floor of the passengers side of the car where I was sitting. We went to leave and were stopped by a patron of the bar accusing my friend of theft of a purse. I got arrested because the police found items in a purse on the side were I was. What do I do now?

Asked on May 6, 2009 under Criminal Law, Ohio

Answers:

M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 14 years ago | Contributor

The first thing that you do is to get a lawyer and DO NOT SPEAK with the police (hopefully you have not already done so).  It will be your attorneys job to convince them the you were merely an innocent party to all of this.  If he can't do that and get the charges dismissed then he will defend you against those charges.  Possibly, if this is a first time offense, he can get the charges reduced or have you put in a program known as "diversion".  If you are granted diversion and comply with all of the requirements imposed you could end up with a clean criminal record. 

Anyway, we don't want to get ahead of ourselves.  Retain a lawyer.  If money is a problem one will be appointed for you.  But the sooner you speak with one the better.

You may want to look this over. 

2913.51 Receiving stolen property.

(A) No person shall receive, retain, or dispose of property of another knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the property has been obtained through commission of a theft offense.

(B) It is not a defense to a charge of receiving stolen property in violation of this section that the property was obtained by means other than through the commission of a theft offense if the property was explicitly represented to the accused person as being obtained through the commission of a theft offense.

(C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of receiving stolen property. Except as otherwise provided in this division, receiving stolen property is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the value of the property involved is five hundred dollars or more and is less than five thousand dollars, if the property involved is any of the property listed in section 2913.71 of the Revised Code, receiving stolen property is a felony of the fifth degree. If the property involved is a motor vehicle, as defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code, if the property involved is a dangerous drug, as defined in section 4729.01 of the Revised Code, if the value of the property involved is five thousand dollars or more and is less than one hundred thousand dollars, or if the property involved is a firearm or dangerous ordnance, as defined in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code, receiving stolen property is a felony of the fourth degree. If the value of the property involved is one hundred thousand dollars or more, receiving stolen property is a felony of the third degree.

Effective Date: 10-29-1999


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