I have been a member of this site for 6 months now. I got my maxima just 6 months ago. I was planning, in fact i already acquired the front bumper skyline, ionice rear and sides, but my car is the least of my worries now. I remember how you guys gave me a lot of support with whatever problem i ever had. And i appreciate it all. I just need to tell eveyone my situation now.

Well, ive been released from jail in supervised O.R. It had been last monday when a student from my school told on me. He knew i had a knife in posession and i had it in the spot (parking lot of my school is considered school grounds). Well, then later i hear that the kid tells the Cop that i tried to slash him with it and run him over, obviously he set me up. One of his best friends left a knife in my car a few weeks ago. They always harass me to ride in my car because they love my maxima. Well, the cop knew this information on the day of the arrest and took it as evidence, saying he has the weapon as main evidence. He took down all the information without reading me my rights. (I have a feeling thats thats not proper procedure, he gained all the evidence and info before he told me that i have the right to remaint, blah blah blah) Well, the school expelled me, im 18. And i stayed in jail for a day, and it was the worst experience. The food, the people were supportive ( but were criminals ). They (people in jail) told me that all i did was have a weapon, i can never get assault with deadly weapon unless there is evidence of a direct assault. I guess i believed this inmate. TUesday at 3pm i got post bail by the judge.

Im here at home in supervised O.R(own recognisance), took care of all my information about the new school im trying to enroll in. Trying to get into a school, because my grades have remained 3.66-4.0 my whole high school year. I was planning on going to college and getting a degree in art before this incident with the people at school. I was just about to graduate before this incident with a knife on school grounds that a mexican guy from my school left, i think this guy that told the prinicipal that i had a knife in my car, knew it, and remembered that his friend left it their.

Now here is the prayer part, well i have a lawyer, unfortunately its going to cost about 7,000 dollars. Im a high school students and with my parents help, love, and prayers i will get out of this mess. The officer marked me with a convicted felony, but, i pray that since i have a clean juvenile record, get good grades, am planning to go to college will understand that "this is not me". I am not a criminal, and i dont belong in jail because i gave a ride to a few mexicans who harassed me to give them rides or they will do damage to me (these are also students) went and told that there was a knife in my car. Pray that they will lower this case to a misdemeanor, and not a felony. Pray , please eveyone please pray for a victim of society's worst, pray that they will call it a misdemeanor, this is all i ask of you, all my friends here. I might have to sell my maxima, but thats when worst comes worst.

please pray for me, my hearing is on the 24th of feb, please, this is all i ask of you is a single prayer for that day. Thank you all...

 

Good luck man I hope it all works out.

 

Geez...good luck to you.

 

is this a joke? They harass you because they love to ride in your car? Someone claims you tried to slash him so you'd go to jail???

Either there is more to this than you're letting on (and there always is) or something is seriously wrong with where you live.

edit: oh, and IBTL

 

no this isnt a Joke. This is my life as of right now. A week before i gave these guys a ride. They were kids at my school who lived in downtown san jose, i just did it because of friendliness. Well, they left a knife in my car, and i guess they remembered it and i didnt and a cop was told this information. As of now there is one witness, and me. Well, he claims his story, while is stick to the truth. I never did anything at all to harass him, he just has the evidence that there is a knife in my car, which is not his word against mine.

 

and it was on school grounds because my car was in the parking lot.

 

how old are you?

 

Read the whole post before asking questions

 

he's 18. good luck man.

 

If it was me....and that kid set me up.....even though I didn't have felony upon indictment, I'd have one once I was released because that kid would be d-e-a-d.

However, best of luck

 

Wow, where to begin???

OK, first of all, the Officer did not have to read you your rights to arrest you for possessing a weapon on school grounds. Any time you are on school grounds, you and your property are subject to search at any time, with or without reason. My question here is: what were you actually arrested for? What were the charges? Was it simply Possession of a weapon on school property, or did they actually arrest you for aggravated assault as well?

Second, you NEED a lawyer. $7000 is SUPER high, but then again, I live in Tennessee, not Cali. A lawyer, as much as we all hate to admit it, is 1000 times more likely to get your charges taken care of in a way that benefits you than you would be able to do yourself.

Third, NEVER listen to inmates. Of course they are supportive... they're all innocent in their own eyes. 90% of all inmates seem to think they know the law, and that they know God better than the rest of the world. It's a fact that, if you were to get arrested again in a year or two, about 70% of those same people you saw in jail would have been arrested again. Recidivism is a beyotch!

Next, you ARE NOT a convicted felon, or a "convicted" anything yet. That's why you are going to trial... to determine whether you are going to be convicted of a crime. Right now, because you have been released from jail, you are just as free as the man next to you.

Finally, with the grades you have and the lack of a juvenile record, your lawyer should be able to obtain some type of pretrial diversion. What this does is allow you to basically avoid a criminal trial for a predetermined length of time. During that length of time, you will basically be on probation. You will probably have to check in with an officer of the court periodically, and prove to the court that you are behaving, and that you are maintaining both your grades and your goals for college. After that period of time has elapsed, usually, you have to appear before the judge again, and he makes a determination as to whether you will face trial or remain free. If you have performed the tasks required of you, and have not gotten in any trouble, MOST of the time, the charges will be nollied (dismissed).

I'm sure this is a nerve-wracking experience for you, and it should be! Possessing a weapon on school grounds is stupid. But... if you are telling the truth, and things went down the way that you describe them, then you should have a good chance of putting this all behind you fairly soon.

Good luck.

 

Good Luck man, you got my prayers

 

Just to clarify - make sure you get the sequence of events right here
when you talk to your lawyer. You are likely subject to search w/o
cause, let alone a formal complaint against you. However, if you
were actually arrested, not just cuffed and detained but arrested,
your rights have to be read to you at the time of arrest - PERIOD.
So, when the officer said, "I'm placing you under arrest for XXX" he
is compelled to read you your rights. Not doing so puts the states
case in jeopardy - specifically anything you said until you sought
and received counsel.

Cheers,

JK

 

they did finger print the knife to match yours, or the kid who dropped it in ur ride?

this makes no sense

 

 

WRONG.

An officer is not "compelled" to read anyone their rights during the course of most arrests. In fact, 90% of all arrestees never have their rights read to them. Television has screwed a lot of people up regarding the law, and this is THE most common error. If probable cause and the preponderance of the evidence are the causes for arrest, then a person may never be read their rights, because they aren't being questioned, nor is the incident being investigated further. In other words, if the officer in this case got information that there was a weapon in a car on campus, and a subsequent search (again, with or without cause because it's on school grounds) turns up a weapon, the defendant probably WILL NOT be read his rights because there is no need for further investigation before the arrest is made.

 

More TV crap.

They would not do that as a routine order of business. Generally, the only time fingerprints are taken is when there is an actual crime scene to be investigated, and there are few or no other clues as to the perpetrator's identity.


By the way, I'm not trying to sound like a know-it-all in these posts. It's just that, in the last 9 years, I've made several hundred arrests, so I'm kind of familiar with the way these things work. I just don't want anyone to get screwed up by thinking that things happen the way they happen on TV.

 

 

Good luck man, i hope everything goes well for you

 

Wow, you never know whether or not to believe stories like this. Apologies if what you said is the total truth; you just hear so many stories like this that aren't.

Anyway, assuming it is true - take a look at some of the advice here, and also try to relax. Your stress level is going to be high during this ordeal, so don't let it get to you to the point that you do something stupid because you need to blow off steam (i.e. don't get busted doing 140 on the highway...). Take care of this stuff when you need to, and otherwise get back to your normal life.

Easy for me to say I know, but if you get back involved in your typical activities it'll help in a lot of ways. Good luck!

 

i get the feeling u knew something about the law on ur first couple of post...come to find out u are the LAW...sweet...

 

good luck

 

Sounds like you need two lawyers.. The first one you have for the criminal charges but the second to sue the kid/parents for defamation of charachter.

Use proceeds from #2 (fingers crossed) to pay for lawyer #1. Of course this will take years.

 

Honestly $7000 is alot of money to anyone, but with using a lawyer and something like this which has criminal implications, and alot of time and effort will be put into this case, 7000 as a flat rate isn't bad. I am surprised it's not 5 figures to be honest. Best of luck my man, if you didn't do anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about....