Legal Question in Criminal Law in South Carolina

thief?

during a road trip my friends and i visited SC. at t microbrewry there my friend found a pair of sunglasses resting on the windowsill no name, no one there to claim them, and picked them up. the owner of the brewry tracked him down by his credit card info ( we live in lousiana). the owner claims the sunglasses were worth $500 and that he has video evidence of my friend stealing them and that he's going to submit a report on it all it he doesn't recieve the glasses back.

would this hold up in court? can he file charges for theft in his resturant for something just laying around? i'm confused and i think he just wants money.


Asked on 7/11/08, 4:19 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Nick Pizzolatto, Jr. Pizzolatto Law Office

Re: thief?

Did the sunglasses belong to your friend? Did he take them? If the answer to question one is yes, then your friend has nothing to worry about. If the answer to question two is no, then your friend has nothing to worry about. Since the "true" answer to the questions are "no" and "yes," then your friend may have a big problem. When you take something that belongs to another, what is it called? Theft. I suggest you send the sunglasses back by overnight, certified package so that you have the signed receipt. Take pictures of the glasses before you mail them. Anyone can file charges, and should the local DA accept them, then your friend faces more hassle and expense than 100 sunglasses are worth. Now, your friend could just tell them to shove it and make them prove he took them. But the only way to make sure this goes no farther is if he did not take them, or he sends them back. If he does nothing, then a warrant could issue and one day months or years from now it shows up somewhere and he has to face theft charges. Don't waste anymore time, and send them back.

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Answered on 7/11/08, 4:34 pm


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