Legal Question in Criminal Law in Colorado

A female teenager has been accused of stealing money from a friend. (LE) Law enforcement stopped by and interviewed her. LE asked if she stole the money, answer was No. LE said it didn't look good. LE pushed for her to take lie detector to prove her innocence. LE stated that they could pull fingerprints off of purse, would her prints be on it? She's scared and doesn't want to take the lie detector. What would the procedure be if she didn't take the lie detector? No known witnesses. A second female has texted the her and pushed her to just give the money to the victim and nothing will be said and she won't ruin her reputation.


Asked on 2/10/11, 1:03 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Daniel Fenaughty FENAUGHTY & ASSOCIATES, PC

1) Get counsel! She should not speak to the police again. If she has counsel, it is unlawful for police to talk directly to her.

2) If LE is not city or state police, "state action" is harder to prove. Someone needs to get between her and the cops or security personnel. A lawyer will do that.

3) The procedure if she does not take a lie detector test is that the police will have to do some actual work.

4) A fingerprint (it is doubtful that one can be found) only shows that she, at one time in the past, may have handed the purse to the owner.

5) The text messaging sounds like witness tampering. Save the messages.

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Answered on 2/10/11, 2:30 pm


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