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A burglar is arrested while in possession of items he stole. Fearing a long prison sentence he agrees to cooperate with police. The police give the stolen goods back to the burglar and, while under surveillance, the burglar sells the goods to his regular fence. The fence is then arrested on the charge of receiving stolen property. Would this arrest be valid? Would it stand up in court?

2006-07-23 07:38:21 · 19 answers · asked by Wayne W 2 in Politics & Government Law Enforcement & Police

G-dogg,
A "fence" is an individual that offers to buy property that he knows to be stolen. Typically the fence pays the thief pennies on the dollar for what the property would cost. The fence then turns around and sells it for a profit to unsuspecting buyers. The original thief likes dealing with a fence because it lessens the risk of him being caught and the fence makes money off the deal.

2006-07-23 16:00:35 · update #1

19 answers

yes, this is actually how it is done every day.

drug dealer 1. is caught. he gives info on drug dealer 2. police give dealer 1 marked money and sends him to buy from dealer 2. Police arrest dealer 2 with marked money and testomny of dealer 1.



This is not only a valid but by the book arrest. 1. the DA would have made the deal with the theif,not the police. 2. the stolen goods would be marked and serial numbers recorded to prove crime. They woul not even have to use survelliance to make that arrest.

2006-07-23 08:34:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2 1

Yes sadly this is the way our system works. The police like to use people like the "burgler" as a pawn to catch other people. They use this technique a lot. Sometimes they catch drug dealers but give them a break so they can set more people up to get caught.

If the buyer of the stolen goods has some money and a good enough lawyer I'm sure he would be able to get off saying he didn't know they were stolen.

2006-07-23 07:43:05 · answer #2 · answered by scarletbegonias9 3 · 0 0

Absolutely. This is the same concept of the police using drug informants to catch the dealers. They catch someone using or selling a small quantitiy and have their charges reduced if they assist the police in catching the "big fish." They use this tactic whenever they are looking for someone at the head of some organization or crime ring.

2006-07-23 09:52:57 · answer #3 · answered by Country Girl for Life 5 · 0 0

yes the arrest would be valid. It was a sting and the fence did purchase the stolen property.

2006-07-23 07:43:28 · answer #4 · answered by zowulf1958 2 · 0 0

Why wouldn't the arrest count? The defendent may get a reduced sentence if the police work with the courts, but who knows.

2006-07-23 09:46:16 · answer #5 · answered by DT 2 · 0 0

That is what they call a sting operation. It is very legal and will stick in court.
You do the same thing with drugs. Catch a user and make a deal to get the dealer. Hopefully when you get the dealer, you make another deal to get his supplier and work your way towards the top.

2006-07-23 09:14:14 · answer #6 · answered by Jerry 6 · 0 0

the arrest and trial are not necessarily mutually exclusive. you broke the law in the first place. the goods were stolen from another persons dwelling. AS I SAID-you need a better hobby.

2006-07-23 08:51:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Yes. This is common practice in our law enforcement and judicial systems in this country. Criminals constantly cop pleas in order to lessen the sentencing of their crime so they will turn state's evidence on someone else so that they can reduce their punishment. It is legal and happens often. The thing that you have to remember is that criminals have no true friends and it is best to watch your own back.

2006-07-23 07:44:27 · answer #8 · answered by Tytania 4 · 0 0

Absolutely. The fence committed a crime. Entrapment defences have a pretty narrow scope.

2006-07-23 07:41:54 · answer #9 · answered by Charles D 5 · 0 0

Yes a crime was committed. Its no different than when a Police Officer poses as a hooker or John and someone is arrested.

2006-07-23 07:42:07 · answer #10 · answered by ? 5 · 0 0

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