If I recently pressed charges for an armed robbery,canInow drop the charges?
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If I recently pressed charges for an armed robbery,canInow drop the charges?
A homeless guy presented a knife like object at me and said he was desperate. I freaked and gave him the money that he wanted. I called the police and reported it as a robbery. Looking back now, I feel I made the choice to give him the money and it wasn’t truly a robbery. I want to drop the charges because: 1. I feel like many co-workers, friends and the arresting officer baited me into pressing charges, and 2. He never really threatened me or physically robbed me as the complaint report makes it seem like. I am worried also this might come against me as a false report since the details are different.
Asked on March 17, 2011 under Criminal Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
First, don't worry too much about litigation on the grounds that you filed a false report as long as the facts are as you reported in good faith--pulling a weapon or a plausible weapon on someone and asking for money is robbery, and even if you were mistaken, if you filed your report in good faith with some reasonable evidence to back it up, it shouldn't give rise to liability against you.
You can ask the prosecutor to drop the charges, but be aware that he or she does not need to. Unlike a civil lawsuit (like a lawsuit by the victim of a car accident or malpractice), the victim is not in control and is not the "plaintiff"--the state is. The victim is often referred to as a "complaining witness" to clarify his or her role: the witness to a crime who brought a complaint. Prosecutors will often follow the victim's requests, but they are not obligated to do so--if they feel a crime was committed and justice and society will be served by prosecution, they can go ahead and prosecute.
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