Okay I'm going to start with how this happened. A kid (young adult) I know was speeding on a motorcycle with no helmet, no license, no license tag. He got pulled over by a police officer. He ran the VIN number and it came back stolen. The kid said he bought the motorcycle from me and gave the police officer my name and address. Police came to my house and I let them come in and search as they asked to do because I am a nice person. They didn't find whatever they were looking for. Three weeks later an officer came and arrested me for GTA. I spent 2 days in jail and bailed out. Now lets talk about where the situation is now. I have court in less than 2 weeks and my attorney (expensive but wont give me advice....) wants to know what I've decided within a week from now. Now since they don't have much of a case against me and they have no evidence they have offered me this deal, if I plead guilty I get no punishment at all, but if I get this felony on my record which will make it hard to get another job, and I'm really innocent so I dont want this felony on my record. Also I have 7 second degree felonies from when I was a juvenile (which are sealed so only employers for a government job or school system job can see them) but I was let off probation within 3 years so if i happen to get another felony within 2 years of now I will get a very long prison sentence. This case is my word against the 18 year old kid and his 16 year old girlfriends word. Now if I plead not guilty I will go to trial less than 2 weeks from now and it will be up to a jury of 12 random citizens to decide weather I'm guilty or innocent. If I get innocent... Well you all know, And if I get guilty it is up to the judge to decide punishment which will PROBABLY be 1-3 years probation, possibly a little jail time, and the worst case is 5 years in state prison (which there is no way I'd get that). I'm afraid of saying not guilty and the jury just not caring about the case just wanting to get home for holidays or something and just saying guilty or something like that. When I was a minor I got 7 second degree felonies for something i clearly didn't do so I have no faith in the legal system. I let my neighbor who was my age borrow my bb gun to shoot in the woods, (he owned a co2 powered bb pistol himself) he got bored with shooting stuff in the woods so he sniped people in their cars from a hill in the woods. We both got arrested and went to court, he plead guilty, I plead not guilty, he got charged with 7 second degrees, and I was found guilty by the judge because it was my gun..... Lame! I got 7 seconds degree felonies. I was just 15. Anyways this is why I don't have much faith in the legal system, because I've been through it once when I was younger and it didn't work out at all. I'm just looking for some advice from people who know more about juries than me. I know when people get jury duty they arn't in a good mood so the thought of a jury scares me. They just want to win this case without having to go to court because they know they dont have much of a case against me, thats why they offered me NO PUNISHMENT if I plead guilty.... Seriously, I've never heard of NO PUNISHMENT for a felony before.... This is why I'm semi tempted to take it, I just don't want that felony on my record, But then again if I plead innocent and I'm found guilty then I get a punishment and felony on my record so I just don't know what to do. So I really have NO IDEA AT ALL what to decide and I really need some peoples input please please please. Thanks you everyone who helps. Thanks
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- Thread Starter helpplz1
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CdwJava
Moderator
So, did you tell the police where you got the motorcycle? How DID you get the motorcycle? Unless it magically appeared in your yard, I suspect you purchased it or got it from someone ... and if you say you got it from "some guy" whose name you do not know, and you don't know where he lives, then you have some serious problems if you go to trial.
So, where did it come from?
- Carl
So, where did it come from?
- Carl
I'm sorry, you misunderstood what I said. I was never in possession of the motorcycle. Some kid 4 miles from here was. When he was caught with it he told police he bought it from me and gave my name and address. I was NEVER in possession of it.
CdwJava
Moderator
Ah ... okay ... so, how do you know this kid? Why would he give you up?
Do they have anything besides his say-so?
- Carl
Do they have anything besides his say-so?
- Carl
I have no problem repeating myself, but if you don't mind reading what I already said I wouldn't have to.
Yes, I knew him from school and other people.
I'm sure he blamed it on me to keep from getting in trouble, as he didn't even get a ticket!!!
No they have no other evidence besides his word, and his 16 year old girlfriends word.
CdwJava
Moderator
It's very difficult to read a solid block of text ... makes it hard to follow, to discern details, and it makes the reader not want to read further. Besides, you'd be surprised how many times someone asks, "Is that all they have?" and the response is something like, "Yeah ... well, that and the video ... and the guy across the street ... but they couldn't have seen nothin'" ... hence the reason I ask.
If the state has no other evidence, I am surprised they are going through this. But, maybe the DA thinks that this kid is a more credible witness than you will be on the stand. Hopefully for you he articulates a day and time of the sale or transfer that you can show you were not available. Maybe his girlfriend is a paragon of virtue and her story corroborates her boyfriend's. Your attorney will have to cast doubt on their stories to succeed.
- Carl
If the state has no other evidence, I am surprised they are going through this. But, maybe the DA thinks that this kid is a more credible witness than you will be on the stand. Hopefully for you he articulates a day and time of the sale or transfer that you can show you were not available. Maybe his girlfriend is a paragon of virtue and her story corroborates her boyfriend's. Your attorney will have to cast doubt on their stories to succeed.
- Carl
They lived together so yes they have about the same story. He is a drug dealer and has a criminal record (most juvenile), an adult arrest of over 20 grams of marijuana but wasn't charged due to mistakes the police made, and arrest for child abuse but I don't know what happened with that. I am a clean cut person and he is quite the opposite... Not very credible. So you think I should just plead innocent? Are you saying that I will most likely win?
CdwJava
Moderator
If all the state has is the word of a credibility-impaired potential suspect, then the DA should have his head examined for proceeding forward.
I think you ought to heed your attorney's advice as he is the one who will have read the whole case file and knows the local system. However, if it were me, and I did not do it, then I would plead "not guilty".
- Carl
I think you ought to heed your attorney's advice as he is the one who will have read the whole case file and knows the local system. However, if it were me, and I did not do it, then I would plead "not guilty".
- Carl
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