Legal Question in Criminal Law in North Carolina

Hi there. I recently did something stupid. And I regret it. I stole products from a construction site of a new home. A Detective came to my house as I again, did something stupid. I tried to sell a few items on social media. I confessed, complied, and returned all merchandise to the sheriffs office the next day, with an Attorney. It's my first offense, I'm 26 years old. I'm the only person in the family with a good job and paying off my mothers lean on her house. I was 100% honest, regretful of the incident and both my attorney and detective were kind and symptomatic. Here's my conundrum. I live in NC by the way. I stole a few saddles from a high end ranch and sold them through social media 4 months ago. All of the sudden, 4 months later, just 3 days after I returned all of the stolen items from the house. A person I sold a saddle too messaged me saying "Hi" I believe the detective dug through my past social media and found me selling the saddles. I am going to pay restitution, and willingly face any charges for the construction crime. I am ready for that. What I'm not ready for is if the detective screenshots my transactions of the saddles. Is there any defense I could use? I'm afraid to tell the attorney working on my current case. Can I say that I was the sole owner of the saddles? Or that I bought them many years ago at a flea market? Is there any way out of this mess I've dug myself into?


Asked on 1/27/17, 11:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Look here's the brutal truth and don't get pissy with me about what what I am about to say because 1) you publicly asked this question and you ought to be prepared to get what answers you get and 2) you did this to yourself - so here goes: You are not being honest here. First you are basically asking us if the lies you have come up with are good (they are not, they are worse than what a child comes up with when getting caught in the cookie jar - so is your fear of telling your attorney). Second, you say this was your 1st offense but then admit to another offense a couple of sentences later. Do that in an interview with law enforcement or in Court and you will come off as way worse than merely stupid. Since you have already confessed (which was likely an incredibly not smart thing to do) and because you are apparently not a very good liar, you may as well get everything out and wrapped up all at one time and put this mess behind you. Since you already have an attorney, you should discuss this with your attorney. Do not take any action yourself regarding this matter without going through your attorney first - you will likely just screw things up worse than you already have. Do exactly what your attorney says to do - no more no less. Based on what you have written in your question, you are not competent to dig yourself out of this mess - you need professional legal help. Oh, and stop stealing - you are apparently not any good at that either and please stop posting questions admitting to stealing on public forums. Best of luck.

Read more
Answered on 1/28/17, 9:38 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Criminal Law questions and answers in North Carolina