Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

I was staying at a tribal casino and my mother-in-law, my wife, my 2 year old son and I were waiting in line, my wife left the area (all caputured on surveillance) and my mother-in-law thought my wife dropped her wallet and handed it to me. After meeting up with my wife in our hotel room, on-site, a short time later, I discovered it was not my wife's wallet. She said to me, just return it to valet when we leave. About an hour after I found the wallet, we were escorted to a security area and after I explained what had happened. I was given a citation for larceny from a building. I fully cooperated and paid the ticket at that time and was told to contact the tribal court in a couple of days for a court appearance. I was also advised that I could be charged with Larceny in the state of Michigan. What are my rights? Is this larceny? I never left the premises in fact we ate breakfast and let our son play in the children's play area. Are there any legal time lines that you must return a found item. There was no cash in or taken from the wallet and it was returned to the VIP casino guest in the same condition.


Asked on 8/02/09, 5:01 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Neil O'Brien Eaton County Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney

The general definition says that a "Larceny" occurs when you take control of someone else's property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of it (i.e., intend to steal it).

In your case, there is a question of whether you "intended to permanently deprive" the owner of the wallet because you claim that you intended to turn it into security after you learned that it wasn't your wife's wallet. (Typically, you did not know on first site what your wife's wallet looked like.) The longer you held the wallet less powerful your innocent explanation story is, but there is no magic time line here. Waiting to let the valet know when you checked out (whenever that was going to be) is pretty lame, too, in my opinion. A simple call on the room phone TO valet or the front desk would have been more logical because you had a lead on who the owner was if there was I.D. in the wallet.

The more important issue is whether you took poossession of someone else's property. Why? Lost or abandoned property does not belong to anyone ... it becomes the property of the next person who takes control of it. But, just because a wallet hits the floor for 5 seconds does not mean that it is lost or abandoned. That gray line is crossed at some point, but it's not always clear when that happens.

You should consult an attorney in the private practice of criminal defense law and/or tribal law to get further advice. Maybe you can do something to challenge the tribal ticket that you up and paid. But, more importantly, if you get charged in a state court, you should consult with an attorney before you enter any kind of plea.

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Answered on 8/07/09, 5:30 pm


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