Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida
My daughter and her boyfriend were moving into an apt. Another couple was helping them. The 2 young men were leaving to go to the store when a couple from next door came out and asked if they could get a ride with them as the young lady was supposedly going to meet her father at this same store. The car was a very small compact car and the young man from next door was very tall so my daughter's boyfriend agreed to ride in the back seat with the man's girlfriend. When they pulled into the parking lot of the store, the man in the front seat hollered at another young man who was walking across the parking lot. That young man walked over to the car and started talking with the neighbor guy (they had not yet found a parking spot). The neighbor guy asked the other guy if he could borrow some money or something because the guy reached into his pocket and pulled out some money. The neighbor guy reached out and grabbed the guy's money and the other guy started trying to grab it back and the neighbor guy started yelling at the driver (my daughter's friend) to go, go, go. As this all happened so fast and no one was really paying any attention to the 2 men up to this point because they were looking for an open parking spot, so when the guy shouted go, the driver instinctively hit the gas to take off. The man outside the vehicle started running along side and dove into the passenger side window - his upper half inside the car and lower half outside the car. The 2 men were fist fighting in this tiny little car, both of them leaning over onto the driver making it almost impossible for the driver to control the car on a very busy street. The fighting men were basically bouncing on his legs making the car speed up and down and making the car swerve all over the road. After a short distance, the guy who had dove into the car let go and fell away from the car onto the street. My daughter's boyfriend said that upto the time the two guys started fighting, he had actually been sleeping and didn't know what happened but when the car was swerving all over the road it was also tipping like it was going to flip over so he started yelling at the driver to stop and the driver yelled that he couldn't cause they were on his legs. At this point, my daughter's friends, said they thought the guy from the parking lot had tried to rob the neighbor guy. My daughter's boyfriend said he was screaming at the driver to stop the car and let him out. The driver stopped but the neighbor guy wouldn't let him out. When the police questioned my daughter's friends, they immediately arrested them for strong arm robbery. They did not charge the neighbor guy's girlfriend who was also in the car but charged the 3 men. They told my daughter's boyfriend that he was just as guilty because he didn't try to help the guy. This was about 1 1/2 years ago and he has paid an attorney approx. $7000. This attorney originally assured him he could get the case dropped and now is trying to get him to accept a plea bargin for 15-18 months in prison even though he didn't do anything wrong. How can they charge him with this when he had no prior knowledge that this was going to take place and had no way to get out of the car after it started. How can they charge 3 people in the car but not the 4th? By the way, my daughter's boyfriend is African American, everyone else is Caucasian, also, the neighbor guy accepted the plea bargin, has served his time, and is now out and back on the streets and his girlfriend is currently a fugitive from the law for felony theft. Please explain how my daughter's boyfriend can be guilty of this crime (I have been to the attorney and court with him each time he has gone and know what evidence they have).
1 Answer from Attorneys
He doesn't have to accept any plea bargain. He has the right to go to trial. If the evidence is as you say, then a jury will determine whether it is true or false. No one can force him to accept a deal and no one can force him to go to trial. He needs to have a long talk with his attorney. Then, if necessary, tell the judge (but only if the attorney is absolutely going against him on the plea or trial decision; that decision is SOLELY up to the client).
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