Witness name being used in court

[onthefifth]

What is the name of your state? Florida

Before i begin i just want to say thank you to anyone that offers advice pertaining to my problem.

I have 3 friends A,B and C. friends B and C, no longer my friends stole a lot of property out of the car of friend As' and a lot of other people in the same neighborhood, and B and C told me how and when they did it and what they got out of the cars. I let friend A know what happend and he contacted a detective who made an investigation and questioned me, i said i would tell him what i know and he recorded my voice testimony. Now i find out they are going to use my name in court as a witness and B and C will surely find out i never authorized the cop to use my name i just gave him some information now my testimony is the basis for the investigation the cop never said my name would be included. i was wondering if i can remit my name so that the prosecutor no longer has it and B and Cs' attorneys cant tell them that i was the one who told on them. i fear for my wellbeing physically and socially if this continues, i was just trying to help a friend not get dragged into a prosecution. any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!

 

[JETX]

i was wondering if i can remit my name so that the prosecutor no longer has it

Nope... once you have given your statement to the police you are 'involved' and can't undo it.
If you are in fear of your physical safety, contact the police and/or the prosecutor.

 

[gawm]

What did you think was going to happen? Stop being a wuss. Buy some pepper spray.

 

[onthefifth]

the cop put me under the impression this would be anonymous, i now have complete distrust in the police and court systems. they used my good name without my permission.

 

[moburkes]

the cop put me under the impression this would be anonymous, i now have complete distrust in the police and court systems. they used my good name without my permission.

That is not true. Cops lie all the time. You, however, allowed them to use your name when you spoke to them.

 

[CdwJava]

And here's the inside scoop ... if we don't have to, we won't use the names of witnesses who are fearful. However, absent other proof, we sometimes have no choice but to reveal the names of witnesses - anonymous informants are worthless, and we cannot substantiate charges or the discovery of evidence in this way.

What he probably said was that he would TRY to keep you out of it. Unfortunately, the whole report goes to the DA and it is the DA that makes decisions on who gets a subpoena or not.

So ... what SOCIAL "wellbeing" is at risk on this? if you have friends that are crooks, that is not YOUR problem, that is theirs. If I had friends that valued the friendship of these criminals more than mine, I'd say 'adios' to those so-called friends, because all of them would only be that much flotsam and jetsam.

- Carl

 

[onthefifth]

alright sounds like theres nothing i can do. i now see why soo many dislike cops, ill never trust one for as long as i live.

 

[CdwJava]

alright sounds like theres nothing i can do. i now see why soo many dislike cops, ill never trust one for as long as i live.

Please note that the cops do not have any say in the release of this info - the DA does. An officer cannot completely withhold your name, and cannot lie to protect you. District Attorneys and courts often ORDER the police to reveal their sources.

I have no idea what the officer said to you, but if he said he definitely could keep your name out of it, then he was an idiot and this is not what the vast majority of us do. If he said he would try, or he probably could keep your name out, then it could very well be that he did try.

I have been ordered to give up sources before, and probably will be again. Hence the reason I NEVER tell people I can definitely keep their names out of it.

Of course, as is also said, if good people do not come forward to report crime, then they themselves should not be surprised when they are a victim and nothing can be done.

Many people call and give us information expecting, for some reason, that their anonymous or incomplete report is sufficient to prosecute a case! I can't begin to explain the number of times angry callers would call back and ask why we didn't arrest so-and-so, after all, they TOLD us he was slinging dope from the house!

Remember, YOU could be the victim tomorrow ... hopefully, the witnesses will have the stones to stand up and say that the crooks were wrong. When more people do that, the crooks won't win. When good people remain silent, the bad guys win every time.

Fearing a SOCIAL retribution is a very, very poor excuse to clam up.

- Carl

 

[CdwJava]

the cop put me under the impression this would be anonymous, i now have complete distrust in the police and court systems. they used my good name without my permission.

"under the impression"? I doubt it is the officer's fault that you were under that impression. Unless he overtly stated that your name would be kept out of it, that "impression" was likely one of your own making and not his.

So, had you known that this would be reported, you would have let "friends" B and C keep A's stuff? What kind fo "friend" would that make you?

- Carl