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Undercover theft sting operation

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Renalva1981

Junior Member
Illinois

One day while I was working I a pawnshop, an undercover officer stepped in with the intention to sell me a couple of mp3 players valued at aproximately $300. She allegedges that she explicitly said that the goods were stolen which isn't true. Common sense tells me the seriousness of the use of the word "stolen" in the kind of job I do. From my perspective all we had was a usual conversation regarding her property. She wanted me to buy them as is, which a refused, because it was improper and something that I knew would have gotten me into trouble with my boss, so I forced her to show me her ID. I guess she didn't have a choice at the moment so she walked out and brought her id. I wrote up the purchase ticket with as much detail as possible such as: model#, serial# condition & capacity and the next thing a I know is that like ten police officers were coming inside to arrest me. I am facing now a felony conviction class 3. In my heart I know that I didn't commit any crime. I was never arrested I've always respected the law and this is to much for me to cope with. I wish someone could give some guidance on my case. I have the copy of the receipt as proof on my behalf, but still the issue is solely the fact that she presented them to be stolen. It is amazing how a life can be destroyed when all you do is to try to become a better person. I am a college student a father and now unemployed. I guess no matter where you head to, where you look to, you are never safe in this world. If all the circumstances are correct you are doomed for life. Anyways, if someone could give some ideas for my defense a would greatly appreciated.
 


ceara19

Senior Member
Illinois

One day while I was working I a pawnshop, an undercover officer stepped in with the intention to sell me a couple of mp3 players valued at aproximately $300. She allegedges that she explicitly said that the goods were stolen which isn't true. Common sense tells me the seriousness of the use of the word "stolen" in the kind of job I do. From my perspective all we had was a usual conversation regarding her property. She wanted me to buy them as is, which a refused, because it was improper and something that I knew would have gotten me into trouble with my boss, so I forced her to show me her ID. I guess she didn't have a choice at the moment so she walked out and brought her id. I wrote up the purchase ticket with as much detail as possible such as: model#, serial# condition & capacity and the next thing a I know is that like ten police officers were coming inside to arrest me. I am facing now a felony conviction class 3. In my heart I know that I didn't commit any crime. I was never arrested I've always respected the law and this is to much for me to cope with. I wish someone could give some guidance on my case. I have the copy of the receipt as proof on my behalf, but still the issue is solely the fact that she presented them to be stolen. It is amazing how a life can be destroyed when all you do is to try to become a better person. I am a college student a father and now unemployed. I guess no matter where you head to, where you look to, you are never safe in this world. If all the circumstances are correct you are doomed for life. Anyways, if someone could give some ideas for my defense a would greatly appreciated.
Have you retained or been appointed an attorney yet? Has the DA tried to offer a plea bargain? What are they claiming to have as evidence of the crime other then the word of the officer? I know in my area, all undercover sting operations like the one you describe are taped. Was this one and have you seen and/or heard the tape?
 

morph988

Junior Member
You just found out what this world is all about. There's always someone somewhere getting exploited. That's what this world is about. That is such bull**** what they did. If I were you, I'd just plea bargain and do some soul searching and come out on the other side a better person. You know, it's always a female, too. They don't go after females because if the females have kids, the jury sympathizes with them and lets them go. So they go after the disposable male which is you. The court and society views males as disposable. That's why they are locked up so much more often than females. Good luck bro.
 

ceara19

Senior Member
You just found out what this world is all about. There's always someone somewhere getting exploited. That's what this world is about. That is such bull**** what they did. If I were you, I'd just plea bargain and do some soul searching and come out on the other side a better person. You know, it's always a female, too. They don't go after females because if the females have kids, the jury sympathizes with them and lets them go. So they go after the disposable male which is you. The court and society views males as disposable. That's why they are locked up so much more often than females. Good luck bro.
You know, there are people that can help you deal with all that pent up, misdirected anger towards women.
 
Since you're unemployed, you will most likely qualify to have an attorney appointed to your case.

do NOT answer any questions, make any statements, or otherwise pass information to them (the police) until you have an attorney on your side. If they ask you to answer questions, tell them you want an attorney first - The police say "anything you say can, and WILL be used against you in a court of law" and they will do their best to get an admission of guilt - they've got some good tactics ...

remember, no oral statements, no written statements, etc. They may say "well, asking for a lawyer makes you look guilty" as a tactic to scare you, however, asking for an attorney simply makes you look like you're asserting your rights.

--Dave.
 

smutlydog

Member
Illinois

One day while I was working I a pawnshop, an undercover officer stepped in with the intention to sell me a couple of mp3 players valued at aproximately $300. She allegedges that she explicitly said that the goods were stolen which isn't true. Common sense tells me the seriousness of the use of the word "stolen" in the kind of job I do. From my perspective all we had was a usual conversation regarding her property. She wanted me to buy them as is, which a refused, because it was improper and something that I knew would have gotten me into trouble with my boss, so I forced her to show me her ID. I guess she didn't have a choice at the moment so she walked out and brought her id. I wrote up the purchase ticket with as much detail as possible such as: model#, serial# condition & capacity and the next thing a I know is that like ten police officers were coming inside to arrest me. I am facing now a felony conviction class 3. In my heart I know that I didn't commit any crime. I was never arrested I've always respected the law and this is to much for me to cope with. I wish someone could give some guidance on my case. I have the copy of the receipt as proof on my behalf, but still the issue is solely the fact that she presented them to be stolen. It is amazing how a life can be destroyed when all you do is to try to become a better person. I am a college student a father and now unemployed. I guess no matter where you head to, where you look to, you are never safe in this world. If all the circumstances are correct you are doomed for life. Anyways, if someone could give some ideas for my defense a would greatly appreciated.
She allegedges that she explicitly said that the goods were stolen
Whatever was said should have been recorded or witnessed but who knows. Assuming they don’t have that kind of evidence your defense should be you didn't knowingly buy stolen merchandise. “Not guilty”. If they offer to plead you down to lesser charge you might want to consider if it’s worth taking it to trial. You need to do whatever it takes to avoid a felony conviction.



This isn’t legal advice but an opinion based on life experiences ;)
 

Renalva1981

Junior Member
Follow up

Thanks for your responses. About the recordings, I don't know if there was any. There were no other witnesess to corroborate what happen. I will probably find out all the evidence they have on my first court date when I see the police reports. I don't know what is going to happen at this point. I know that I wasn't supposed to say anything when I was arrested, but when they questioned me I never accepted the crime; eventhough, I was scared. It irritated them and were sometimes sarcastic to prove their claims. I have been contemplating the idea of a plea bargain, but as you know, it will be up to the prosecutor. My attorney said that if a trial is necessary It would pretty much be my word against theirs and that the outcomes in this case would be probation or found not guilty. I can't image myself in that situation. If there is trial I hope the jurors give me the opportunity to have my life back based on my background and how the "crime" was committed. You know, if my intentions were to keep those goods why on earth would I have demanded from her to let me have her ID after she lied about not having it and walking out to later come back with it. Doesn't that say something about her moral status? I mean, she knew I was following the correct procedure, and still she wanted me to be punished by the law, like she was driven by an evil scheme in order to meet her quota of arrests. Once I thought that being part of this country meant having a sense of liberty protected by the enforcement of the law. Now I am starting to think that it is only a way of balancing agendas created by the people who say that want a safer world. Mere statistical figures where I am one of thousands, which in turn maintain other people with jobs. Like a big machine that feeds from people who break the law producing a profiting business were almost everyone is happy. Thanks again for your replies. I am going to prepare myself and see if the store's surveillance cameras can help, that of course if the owner of the store lets me have them, we'll see.
 

Mikef6301

Junior Member
corrupt law enforcement

First off, I am not an attorney but I speak from experience and independent study. Law Enforcement officers are promoted based on performance, just like any other job. Much like a salesperson their performance can me measured quantitatively. More convictions = more pay and promotions. You will most likely be offered a plea deal, since your public defender doesn’t have the time to really do his job and he gets paid the same no matter what the outcome is. The prosecutor is looking for as many convictions as possible similar to the law enforcement officer, so getting a guilty plea out of you is a win for him. The judge exists just to go along with whatever the state says, and all three of them are paid by the state. Basically, you’re screwed. My advice is to fight it. Stay on your public defender asking for regular updates. Perhaps there is a tape that might benefit you. Ask your public defender to obtain the tape from the store. The store owner is not likely to be willing to help you. It’s easier to hire and train new help then start a war with local police. Accepting a plea deal will give you a criminal record making your college degree worthless. You’re better off fighting it even if your chances are slim.
 

smutlydog

Member
First off, I am not an attorney but I speak from experience and independent study. Law Enforcement officers are promoted based on performance, just like any other job. Much like a salesperson their performance can me measured quantitatively. More convictions = more pay and promotions. You will most likely be offered a plea deal, since your public defender doesn’t have the time to really do his job and he gets paid the same no matter what the outcome is. The prosecutor is looking for as many convictions as possible similar to the law enforcement officer, so getting a guilty plea out of you is a win for him. The judge exists just to go along with whatever the state says, and all three of them are paid by the state. Basically, you’re screwed. My advice is to fight it. Stay on your public defender asking for regular updates. Perhaps there is a tape that might benefit you. Ask your public defender to obtain the tape from the store. The store owner is not likely to be willing to help you. It’s easier to hire and train new help then start a war with local police. Accepting a plea deal will give you a criminal record making your college degree worthless. You’re better off fighting it even if your chances are slim.
It's strange how his attorney is already saying “it’s his word against the police's word" without even knowing all the facts. That's always a bad sign when an attorney is predicting the outcome before filing for some kind of discovery.:rolleyes:
 

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