Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Illinois
Charges filed unlawfully
I worked for a security contractor , who issued to me a revolver /gun . I quit the job , returned the property, 16 days later charges of theft were filed against me, i missed a court date and a warrant was issued for my arrest. I never stole from this company, the wrote me a letter acknowledging that i did return the gun 16 days prior to the charges being filed. What legal remedy is their for me?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Charges filed unlawfully
If a police report was filed containing lies you are entitled to file a civil action against the person who filed such a claim causing you to get arrested. Further, if the same person or persons have told others that you stole from them, then you also have a cause of action in defamation.
There may be other causes of action depending on the facts.
I hope this helps,
Nima Taradji
Re: Charges filed unlawfully
The first order of business is to deal with the criminal charges that are pending. Since you are aware of the warrant, either you were arrested on it, or you received notice in the mail. If you received that notice, you should obtain counsel to go to court and have the warrant quashed and recalled.
Regarding the charges themselves, you should have counsel to defend you. Assuming that you are either found not guilty or the case is dismissed you would have civil remedies against the people that filed the false report against you. These damages can be significant, since you were accused of a theft. This is considered to be automatic damage, the only real question is HOW MUCH? If you have further questions, please e-mail.