Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Vandelism

My 18 year old son was question about an act of

vandelsim to a village statue. The local police

officer questioned him and asked him to write a

statement. Which he did.He also had a

conversation with him in which the officer said that

he would not charge him but that he would have to

pay restituion to have the statue repaired. There

was another 18 yr old that was questioned but

was not asked to write a report and my son and

his friend did not give any other names. My

question is can he still charge him and have him

arrested even if it has been a week. Also I believe

that it was a voluntary statement where my son

was under the impression that he would only

have to pay to fix the statue. I need to know where

my son stands. Thank you


Asked on 12/01/00, 9:02 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
JAY Nixon nixon law offices

Re: Vandelism

Police often use deception and trickery of one

sort or another to build a case against suspects

(i.e., consider undercover drug buys, which

are perfectly legal). The fact is that local

law enforcement does not have the authority

to make a promise not to prosecute. Only the

DA or village prosecutor can make such a promise in a legally binding s

sense. One would hope that an honest cop

in this situation would honor his promise by

never telling the prosecutor about it, but there

is no way to be sure. Paying the restitution

quickly might help, but I would get legal

representation to help you document the

promise at the time you pay. You attorney should

also investigate the situation thoroughly before you

do this, though, since payment of restitution is an

admission of guilt.

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Answered on 12/04/00, 6:55 am


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