Legal Question in Criminal Law in Georgia

I let a boyfriend of mine at the time use my car and the tag was taken down as a vehicle in an armed robbery. The police department called me and I gave all of his information to the detective ( the dectective also told me not to tell him what was going on). A week ago, I was at work and the police district of city I work in came to my job saying that my vehicle was stolen then they later changed and said my car was involved in an armed robbery. I told them I knew about it and they asked for my then boyfriend and I couldn't give them information about where he was because I honestly did not know. They took my car and impounded it as evidence. Now I called the detective and he told me that I had to turn him in to get my vehicle out or they are keeping my car. I did not know where he was and I was not even with him because we have broken up by then. Is this legal can they hold my car because they cannot find his whereabouts?


Asked on 10/27/13, 2:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
S. Carlton Rouse Rouse & Co., LLC

Seizure of Personal Property in Georgia

There are several general scenarios where the police will seize personal property. (1) Property obtained subject to a search warrant; (2) Property obtained pursuant to a court order; (3) Property obtained with consent of the owner; (4) Property obtained incident to arrest; (5) Property obtained subject to asset forfeiture laws.

If your car was allegedly used during the commission of a crime the police will often impound the vehicle, if/when they locate it, and run tests, search for additional evidence, and will likely use the information/evidence obtained in a later prosecution. Based upon your facts, I think it is unlikely that your car will be auctioned off but I would recommend that you speak with a local lawyer to further discuss this matter.

For additional information on criminal law related issues, visit my website at:

https://www.rousecolaw.com

Best of luck,

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Answered on 10/27/13, 3:03 pm


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