Can this be done to me?

[Alfred22904]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

Here's my story. I was invited to a party at a friend of a friends' house. There were only a few people over at the time and I arrived with five other people. At this point we(the five of us) were the only ones at the party that the hosts did not know. To make a long story short; somebody stole the party hosts' laptop, camera, passport, and social security card. All of the items were inside of a laptop bag. Both the front and back doors were unlocked, this is in downtown Atlanta (not where you want to leave your doors unlocked). The next day he calls everyone of us and asks what we know of the theft. We all claim to know that we know nothing of the laptop or any other missing items. A week later he is threatening us with a polygraph test, and a possible subpoena to court. Can he do this? There is no evidence that me or my friends stole anything. I just want to know what rights I have going into this. AND NO I DID NOT STEAL ANYTHING. Thanks for your time.

 

[Antigone*]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

Here's my story. I was invited to a party at a friend of a friends' house. There were only a few people over at the time and I arrived with five other people. At this point we(the five of us) were the only ones at the party that the hosts did not know. To make a long story short; somebody stole the party hosts' laptop, camera, passport, and social security card. All of the items were inside of a laptop bag. Both the front and back doors were unlocked, this is in downtown Atlanta (not where you want to leave your doors unlocked). The next day he calls everyone of us and asks what we know of the theft. We all claim to know that we know nothing of the laptop or any other missing items. A week later he is threatening us with a polygraph test, and a possible subpoena to court. Can he do this? There is no evidence that me or my friends stole anything. I just want to know what rights I have going into this. AND NO I DID NOT STEAL ANYTHING. Thanks for your time.

If anyone asks you say "I didn't take anything that didn't belong to me." Dont, I said DON'T agree to any polygraph.

 

[Alfred22904]

Thanks, for the reply. I was just wondering if I am legally obliged to do anything considering there is no evidence of me stealing anything other than the fact that nobody at the party knew me or my friends.

 

[quincy]

You need to tell the truth. Period.

If you did not steal anything, then you did not steal anything. You are under no obligation to take a lie detector test and, because lie detector tests are known for being unreliable and may result in a false positive, you DO NOT want to take one. You have nothing to gain by taking one; you have potentially a lot to lose by taking one; and you are under no legal obligation to take one.

If you know for a fact who DID steal the laptop and other items, however, then you should let the host of the party know that.

Otherwise, expect to have the police investigate the theft, and you and your friends included in that investigation.

 

[tranquility]

You cannot be forced to do anything absent the beginning of legal process and you will never be forced to take a polygraph.

 

[Alfred22904]

Otherwise, expect to have the police investigate the theft, and you and your friends included in that investigation.

What will this investigation include? I did not think the police would be able to form a case with no prior evidence/probable cause?

 

[Zigner]

What will this investigation include? I did not think the police would be able to form a case with no prior evidence/probable cause?

Look, if you really want to play this game, you need to shut up and talk to an attorney.

 

[Alfred22904]

Look, if you really want to play this game, you need to shut up and talk to an attorney.

Yes you're right, I really want to spend hundreds of dollars on a lawyer to help me out for a crime I didn't commit. I just want to stop be hassled by the kid whose things were stolen.

 

[tranquility]

We have no idea if there is probable cause for an arrest or not. What we do know is that an attorney will tell you, as Zinger said, "you need to shut up". If there is an investigation tell the nice man with a gun that "While I didn't do anything, I was told to speak with an attorney before any questioning." Rinse and repeat as necessary.

 

[Alfred22904]

We have no idea if there is probable cause for an arrest or not. What we do know is that an attorney will tell you, as Zinger said, "you need to shut up". If there is an investigation tell the nice man with a gun that "While I didn't do anything, I was told to speak with an attorney before any questioning." Rinse and repeat as necessary.

Thank you, that helped a lot.