Help!! I have court December 3rd

[ayecey]

I am located in Alabama. I went into my local police station on October 18th 2012, to pick up an accident report for an accident that happened three days prior. When I received the report and was about to leave an officer asked me to come with him and told me I was under arrest for Theft of Property 3rd degree. I had no clue what was going on and the officer let me read the warrant. The warrant stated that on August 13th 2008 I presented my bank (Colonial bank) a check from one of my other banks for $200.00 dollars. It says they cashed the check and gave me the money but when they sent the check to the other acct that they returned the check to the bank stating the account was closed. I do not remember this at all, I have no knowledge of this and I have never been in trouble before, never had a speeding ticket or anything. Well they told me that the bank was able to take $82.00 which i had in my account and put it towards the check. The actual restitution is for $118.00. Here's my problem, I do not remember doing this at all, I have no knowledge the clerk refused to let me see a copy of the check to verify signatures. also I had to bond out paying $500.00 cash bond I guess i do not understand how the bond was this high considering the restitution amt of only $118.00, and also how do I approach this since i don't remember? I don't understand why in the world i would cash a bad check at my own bank when I had money in the account. Wouldn't it make more sense to withdraw the amt in the account as well?

Whats going to happen now? what can I expect to happen. I am a 23 year old, college student.

Also at the bottom of the warrant it stated that they tried numerous times to contact me all of which failed. I never received any form of mail, call, or anything.

What do I do?

PS On Friday, August 14, 2009, Colonial Bank, Montgomery, AL was closed by the Alabama State Banking Department, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Receiver. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed.

SO WHO AM I PAYING THIS $118.00 to? and what happens if they dont show up? And why does the warrant say "The State Of Alabama vs. me" instead of the bank vs. me?

 

[ayecey]

P.S. I didnt get a lawyer because I couldnt afford it being a college student and also because i am not throwing another 500.00 away for something i didnt do, and for a restitution amt of $118.00. The reason I had a question about the bond is because on the paper she gave me it stated "We hereby jointly and severely certify that we have property valued over and above all debts and liabilities that has a fair market value equal to or greater than the amount of the bonds...." uhh im pretty sure $118.00 is not equal or greater than the $500.00 bond.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Normal advice, is first there is no way the bank could not have been attempting to contact you. Second, no way you could not have known they took your $82. You heard they closed and figured the issue went away, when it did not. I suggest you get a lawyer, to argue the evidence they have is not sustainable and hope for a not guilty verdict.

 

[sandyclaus]

In addition, the bond amount you paid was for to get released from jail for the criminal charges against you. The restitution is to pay back what's owed on the stolen money. They are two separate things.

You still have the criminal charges to deal with, and quite possibly some jail time ahead of you. You really need to hire yourself an attorney to deal with this matter.

 

[ayecey]

Actually OHroadwarrior I never used that account, it was set up 4 years prior in 2004 by my grandparents for my survivor benefits to be deposited into. I never even knew the money was in there. I thought because when I was 16 I went into state custody until my 18th birthday that they had closed the account. It wasn't an account I used.

Second, I just dont understand how they can press criminal charges when I honestly do not ever remember going by that bank, I dont want to spend a ton of money on a lawyer when I dont have it. Is there a way when I have court that I can ask for a continuance in order to get a public defender?

Like I said, I have never been in trouble before so I am not sure what to do.

Thanks Again.

 

[ayecey]

Oh and also, I never knew they shut down. I just recently learned this on the day I was arrested when I tried to contact the bank. This issue was never on my credit report, I moved to Birmingham which is 4 hours north of the city the check was written in. I dont want to point fingers even though I had a roommate who constantly had friends over, because I just cant remember. The bank never contacted me and I used change of address forms every time I moved, Obviously if the bank states on the warrant that they tried to contact me numerous times and never were able to that... they never got ahold of me? so therefore how was I supposed to know?

 

[sandyclaus]

I don't buy it.

Explain how a check from one of your OTHER accounts ended up being deposited into this account you claim you didn't know was still open. Who else had signature authority on the other accounts, and exactly who would benefit from the moving around of money from that other account into this one you claim you weren't even using?

It just seems awfully convenient for you to play the "I don't remember" card when it comes to taking responsibility for this whole situation. If you're going to have ANY chance at all of fighting this, then your attorney is going to have to do some digging around and figure out who would have done such a thing in your place (if there was anyone who did, that is).

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Then your answer to this problem is simple. If your grandparents established a Rep Payee account for you, when you were a minor, you never signed to be responsible for the account. Further, you were never legally authorized to make deposits or withdraws in the account. For a lawyer, this is a no brainer. The account title should be self explanatory to the the court. It should be titled along the lines of John Smith for Paul Jones.

 

[sandyclaus]

OH, that's a good solution, as long as it's the appropriate solution to the problem.

It still doesn't explain how his rep payee got hold of checks from one of OP's OTHER accounts to deposit in this account that the grandparents established for him. In fact, it sounds awfully like check kiting or paper hanging to me. And since OP claims he never even used the account, how perfect would it be to say that and try to absolve himself of the legal ramifications of doing it?

 

[Mass_Shyster]

"We hereby jointly and severely certify that we have property valued over and above all debts and liabilities that has a fair market value equal to or greater than the amount of the bonds...." uhh im pretty sure $118.00 is not equal or greater than the $500.00 bond.

You are certifying that the value of your assets exceeds $500. The $118 is not one of your assets.

 

[HighwayMan]

...never had a speeding ticket or anything.

Just what does THIS have to do with anything?

...i don't remember...

There's a big difference between "I don't remember" and "This did not happen". So you're saying that this could have happened, as unlikely as you think it is. Maybe you should just pay the restitution and be done with it.

 

[TigerD]

My mother had cancer. When she learned she had cancer, she did not refuse to see a doctor because it wasn't fair that she have to pay for something she didn't want. Nope. She saw a doctor and fought like the dickins to beat it. She did.

You are facing the end of your life as an upstanding citizen. If everything you said here is true, you are about to irrevocably change class. You will no longer the dumb, inattentive kid. You shall become a member of the class of convicted criminals. It will be harder for you to find jobs. If you get pulled over by the police for speeding, running a stop sign or any other of thousands of reasons, the officer will know that you are a criminal, a thief.

Not hiring a lawyer when you are facing criminal charges -- especially when you claim to be innocent -- is the very definition of stupid. The decision you make tonight and tomorrow morning is going to affect the rest of your life.

Go into court and ask the judge for time to hire an attorney.

Anything else is just pure stupidity.

DC

 

[Shannongiles16]

Sandyclaus. The quote function doesnt seem to work for me but the op said the check was cashed and not deposited. Lends more credence to the tale. The fact that the op didnt have access to the account makes the distribution of checks very strange indeed. I wonder if someone acquired desk checks somehow. I also wonder if any more checks were passed and just havent caught up yet.

 

[ayecey]

I went to court and was able to talk to the Prosecutor who told me that I should try and contact the bank that took over all of Colonial banks accounts, which would be BB&T. The judge was very mean and set a trial for feb. 23rd because i pleaded not guilty with instruction from the prosecutor. I then went straight to the bank and began talking to a woman who ended up being the auditor for all of the alabama branches. She worked some majic and now I am able to directly pay them the $118.00 restitution and they will drop the charges. She said that this should NEVER have gone this far and the man who filed the claim against me was terminated as soon as they took over. He no longer is in banking and has relocated to North Alabama. I guess things work out for the better some times. I do however have one question, she said they would give me the copy of the check, my last bank statement, and a letter from the restitution rep stating that I have payed the amount and they wish to drop charges.

My question is this.. What happens to my bond if they drop the claim? and also can the court still pursue my case even though the bank and i corrected it out of court?

Thanks!

 

[Mass_Shyster]

The judge was very mean and set a trial for feb. 23rd because i pleaded not guilty with instruction from the prosecutor.

If the judge was being mean, you would have been tried today.