Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

A friend of mine (I'll refer to her as Alpha) recently was asked by her boyfriend (Beta) to drive Beta to a friend of his house. Upon arriving Beta told Alpha "I'm just gonna run in real quick to retrieve some CD's that my friend had borrowed." Alpha waited in the car as requested. Another vehicle pulled up to the house at which she was awaiting Beta. At this point Beta ran to the car and instructed her to drive, which she did. Alpha began to inquire as to what was really happening. Beta informed her that he was burglarizing said house...at which point Alpha made Beta get out of the automobile, and returned to the house which Beta had just burglarized. Made contact with the owner (whom already had contacted the authorities) she explained what had happened, and waited for authorities to arrive. At which point Alpha was taken into custody. Before alpha. Had left to return to the house beta threatened her life if she said anything incriminating towards him. She received numerous threats from Betas family since then. So out of fear for her well-being (she is also pregnant and has 4 other children) and the well-being of her family she informed a judge that she had been responsible and committed the crime...a total lie, out of fear....she was sentenced to 160 days in county jail for a felony. She only confided in me today as to what really happened ...the threats continue from betas family. I feel there is something very wrong here and she is terrified to the point where she cannot eat or sleep. I want toknow what would be the best way to approach this legally to correct this... it is not fair nor right for Alpha to have to go to jail out of fear.


Asked on 8/20/12, 4:34 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
Theresa Hofmeister Theresa Hofmeister, Attorney At Law

has she been in custody already or did sentencing just happen?

It sounds like an appellate issue as far as the court case goes and a police and/or shelter issue as far as the threats.

If this is what happened (i.e. she is telling you the truth), proving it may be challenging at this point. However it's worth talking to some appellate attorneys.

One appellate specialist on LawGuru is Edward Hoffman - call him at (310) 442-3600.

Good luck!

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Answered on 8/20/12, 5:16 pm
Zadik Shapiro Law Offices of C. Zadik Shapiro

Depending on when this happened, she may be able to withdraw her plea. She needs to talk to a good criminal defense attorney about the prospects for withdrawing her plea.

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Answered on 8/20/12, 6:09 pm
Theresa Hofmeister Theresa Hofmeister, Attorney At Law

oh I did not read carefully ... your friend pled guilty, she was not convicted by jury (or Judge). Yes talk to local criminal defense attorneys. Good luck!

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Answered on 8/20/12, 9:31 pm


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