What would you do about this police chief?

Question

In August my son's car was vandalized. All of his windows were smashed and his rims and tires were stolen. My son's friends found out who had vandalized the car and turned the info in to the local small town NH police chief. The police followed up on this info and sure enough they found the rims and tires in the possession of the guy my son's friends said would have them. The police officer took the rims into his possession and called my son to come and get them
BUT he still says there is no proof that this is the person who vandalized the car so he cannot make an arrest.
There was $1750 damage to the car plus the missing rims and tires.
Any idea what my son should do now? If the guy had the rims and told the police officer my son gave them to him wouldn't that prove SOMETHING? Does this cop think my son smashed his own wondows and gave away his rims and tires just so he could file a police report?
Any suggestions?

Answer 1

File a civil suit. You WILL win!

Answer 2

This is difficult to answer without all the facts, but based on what I have read, the police could proceed with charges of receiving and concealing stolen property. Being in possession of property that a person knows or reasonably should know was stolen. What they can not prove at this point is that he actually was the one who took the property or that he was the one who damaged the property. This would require more information such as a witness, video, confession or other compelling evidence. Making a case strong enough to take to a prosecutor takes alot of investigation and very probably this department is too small to spend much time on this case. Try meeting with the police chief and see if he will take the case to a prosecutor for the R & C charge. This may be all that you will get against this person. Your other option is to file a civil suit against the suspect and try to reclaim money for damages. In a civil suit all you need to prove is preponderance of the evidence (51%) and not proof beyond a reasonable doubt (which is a higher standard of proof) like in a criminal case.

Answer 3

The police chief is right - to an extent. You have to remember that the justice system leans in favor of the bad guys (innocent until proven guilty). Merely being in possession of the wheels doesn't mean he vanalized the car or even that he stole the wheels. It is entirely possible that someone else did these acts and then gave or sold the wheels to this guy (Of course, we both know thats not what happened, but remember we are thinking what can be PROVED in court).

BUT- there should be a law such as "Receiving Stolen Property" which makes it illegal to buy, recieve, hold, possess, etc property that you know is stolen or that you SHOULD have known was stolen. This is the crime that should be charged here.

THEN you should file a civil suit where it is MUCH easier to prove your case than in criminal court (preponderance of the evidence as opposed to guilt beyond resonable doubt). That will get your son his money back.

No, I don't think the police chief thinks your son did this. He is just used to dealing with our difficult legal system (difficult from the prosecution point of view anyway).

Answer 4

Unfortunately, the only thing that has been proven is that the kid had the rims. Check the local laws regarding vandalism, but if your police report was filed before the kid was found with the rims about the only thing he can be charged with is receipt of stolen property. Everything else is 'he-said-she-said', which is not hard evidence. Best thing for you to do is consult a lawyer, and think about a good alarm for the car.

Answer 5

Yes, contact the local "state attorney's office" - they may be called something else in your area but it is basically the department of attorneys that "prosecute" the crimes. Tell them that you want the guy prosecuted for "the receipt of stolen equipment." Let him bring up his own defense in court and a judge will decide. Also you can sue him civily for the damage to the car and the wrongful taking of the rims (but since you got that back you would not get the value of the rims) but you may be entitled to some damages for having be wrongfully deprived of them. The standard of proof is lower in civil court than criminal court and you just might convince a jury or judge (if no jury is selected for those causes in your area) that this is the guy that did it (you don't need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in civil court just preponderance of the evidence - more likely than not). Also and finally, down here in the South we just break his legs w/ a tire iron. But you don't sound like the sort to do that - so try the first two suggestions first.

Answer 6

There may not be sufficient that the guy did the theft, but he crtainly is guilty of possession of stolen property . It is up to your County District Attorney to prosecute.It is not the police chief's fault. Contact the DA's Office. The police just file the report with the DA.You can bring a civil suit against the guy for money damages for the value of the property and the cost of replacement. It is a civil suit for the tort of conversion. Consult a lawyer. This is similar to the OJ case. He was found not guilty of the crime of murder, but he was found civilly liable for money damages for the killings.

Answer 7

Yes, there is something you can do. You can file an appeal to your districts' Board of Appeals and demand an answer. If this officer is still in the possession of your son's personal items, he may be in contempt for Receiving Stolen Property, among other things. Get yourself a good lawyer (I know, I dislike them too, usually) and make sure the defendent is going to pay for this malfiesance.

Answer 8

Unfortunately, there does need to be proof to charge him with the vandalism. The most the kid could be charged with is possesion of stolen property. Did they fingerprint the car? If they did and they got usable prints, they should be able to fingerprint the kid that had the rims. Your son's friends testimony is no good unless he saw the kid vandalize the car. I am very sorry this happened to you. Good luck.

Answer 9

There is no evidence the the guy who had the rims stole them or did the damage to the car. At most he is guilty of possession of stolen property. Sorry.

Answer 10

get a lawyer. I think there is enough circumstantial evidence to prove that his friend probably stole them.
Also, the problem with living in a small town is that everybody knows everybody. His friend might know somebody in the police department that's probably why they responded the way they did.
So, let your lawyer be the one to file a complaint against the police department. And, make sure that the lawyer isn't related some how to his friend.

Answer 11

possession of stolen property will get you in trouble in Ar. I think the chief knows the boy or his family and is trying to get him off as easy as he can. Take him to small claims court. That should stir things up a bit. Sadly, the chief and parents of this boy are NOT doing him a favor.. The crimes will get worse until he ends up in prison. And think of how many victims he will make suffer before that.