If you have been informed by an officer you will be charged with harboring a fugitive, is there a way to prove you didn’t know?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If you have been informed by an officer you will be charged with harboring a fugitive, is there a way to prove you didn’t know?
My friend gave a girl she met a place to stay, and the police just arrested the girl today and told my friend she will now have a charge for harboring a fugitive. The girl needed a place to stay and my friend had no idea she had an active warrant. My friend is a single mother, has 2 small children, is unemployed currently and needs to know the proper steps to take to prove her innocence in this matter. I know it will be hard but are we really expected to run a background check to help someone out when they just need a place to sleep?
Asked on January 2, 2013 under Criminal Law, Texas
Answers:
Kevin Bessant / Law Office of Kevin Bessant & Associates
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
To harbor a fugitive, it has to proved in court that 1) You knew the person to be a fugitive at the time you harbored or provided them shelter and 2) You harbored the fugitive with an intent to evade the law from capturing the fugitive. It sounds like the officer was simply upset when he said that you would be charged because your facts to not support probable cause that crime had been committed on your part. Nonetheless, I would still contact a criminal defense attorney in your area to discuss your options.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.