lawyer said not to interfere??

[rrruuunnn]

the cops caught two burglars at one of our restaurants.

the mother called the manager wanting to pay for the window.

so, i called my lawyer. he said if i give info to the mother or accept money directly from the defendants, i would be interfering with the case. and i could end up in jail and/or fines. all restitution will be handled through the DA's office. of course, i told the manager not to give any info or accept any money or call her. she called back once.

a month or two later someone burglarized that location again, but got away. we noticed that the 2nd burglariy had inside info of the place. the first burglar's girlfriend used to work in the restaurant. i'm quite sure the 2nd burglary is retaliation because i did not interfere with the case.

A month later, the DA's office has sent us a form for restitution of window repair. i was not going to have the burglars pay for the window. now, i'm considering making them pay for the window. if they get prison time, they won't be happy paying for the window too. how many would demand the burglars pay for the window through the DA.

added:
the lawyer said that the DA has to handle all restitution and i can not take any money directly from the defendants.
since then, the DA's office has sent us a form to fill out all damages that we would like to have paid for by the burglars.

 

[Shade00]

I would have the burglars pay through a civil action. Restitution, and I'm not talking having them pay for something outside of the court.

 

[rrruuunnn]

the DA's office has sent us a form to fill out all damages that we would like to have paid for by the burglars.

i have the forms and receipt in my car and can't make my mind up.

 

[Guzzizzit]

Listen to your lawyer. They get to charge so much for a reason. If/When the case goes to court you should be able to get restitution then.

You might want to have your lawyer clarify this a bit tho. My guess is what he meant when he told you not to let the mother pay for the window was that accepting money WITHOUT A COURT JUDGMENT would be interfering with the case.

 

[rrruuunnn]

our lawyer said that only the DA should handle the restitution. i can not accept any money directly from the defendant. if i accept any money directly from the defendant the case could be damaged. so the DA has sent us the forms for restitution. i can either mail it or forget about it.

maybe, this sounds like a silly question. i usually, don't return these forms because these burglars are facing time in prison. this last burglar seems like the retaliation type.

 

[Treo]

Ruuuuun, Same question as always.
How is it that most of us go through life W/out one such incident, yet you routinely have people confessing murder to you. You catch burglars in your store every other week. In the off weeks you have people trying to rob you. You have physcos stalking you in firing range parking lots and, if I remember right, parking garages.

Did you ever wonder if maybe you're not doing something to draw all this?

Or are you maybe exagerating just a little bit?

 

[rrruuunnn]

first of all, my family has successfully run the restaurants for 45 years. we have 9 locations. no one in my family has a criminal record or a misdemeanor. everyone has graduated college. i have a spotless record which is why i have my concealment permit. i work almost everyday. i am not exagerating robbery, burglary, mugging, etc. maybe, it is where i live compared to where you live. i don't watch the news alot. but the family dollar next door has been robbed three times, twice in one week. the subways down the street was robbed. at our other location a convenience store was robbed and the occassional beer run. if you heard the stuff my employees have been through, you wouldn't be surprised. when you work along these employees for just a few hours a day, they will tell you things that they wished they didn't. one admitted to carrying a gun to school. another said she was in a rolled car and has a stab mark. one of our employees's daughter is on the run because a gang shooting occured. i guess it's the nature of running a restaurant. it's not uncommon to work with someone who's been in prison. now, i know that some of yall think that we shouldn't hire an criminal records and i agree which is what will change when i take over.

by the way, the burglar in the original posting was a waiter. his record includes a drug offense and two other criminal causes. in fact, the three burglars and one robber all had drug offenses on their record. some of our employees have drug offenses on their record. three of our past employees that are not with us anymore were ex drug dealers. i've been informed that one is still dealing. it's just one messed up world.

 

[RobTzu]

When you pay at or near min wage, this is what you have to deal with. Do what ever the lawyer says. This is a no brainer. Fill out the form and get the money eventually. Prison jobs do not pay much.

 

[markk]

Put in for restitution through the DA. If you're afraid that making them pay will bring about more retaliation, and it sounds like that is your dilemma here, you have to realise that you can't ever know what a criminal will think next. You may chose not to make them pay and they might retaliate anyway, there is just no way to know, and that would just leave you doubly lost. You should not lose out on the cost of damages for fear of what might happen anyway...

 

[Z-Michigan]

I would always seek restitution. All you really do is fill out a form, the rest of it is the prosecutor's job, and it's not that much extra work for them either.

However, while restitution may be awarded, don't assume you'll actually get paid any significant amount of it. If significant money is involved, AND the defendants have money to pay you, you'll probably need to file a separate civil lawsuit and have your attorney go looking for assets to seize. This is normally prepared while the criminal case is ongoing, but actually filed after the defendants have been convicted (or, sigh, acquitted). I'm not sure whether your lawyer is correct in saying that anything else would be interfering with the criminal case, but at the least it would get you little benefit and likely annoy the prosecutor. Based on your background statements it sounds like you need to be good friends with the prosecutor.

 

[Geno]

How is this thread related to Strategies and Tactics?!

 

[springmom]

It isn't. But before you lock it (and rightfully so) let me tell rrruuuun...

Do what the DA says. Your lawyer is correct, you get restitution through the DA. My youngest son was mugged in junior high (poor kid, he's had his share) and the thug had to pay him back through the DA. It becomes part of their official punishment that way. You interfere by doing it privately, you mess that up.

Listen to your lawyer. THAT is a good strategy.

Springmom

 

[Wheeler44]

everyone has graduated college.

And they didn't teach you about capital letters?

it's just one messed up world.

I guess so.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Asked, and I think, adequately answered.

Folks, PLEASE leave off the sniping, nitpicking, nattering and generally unconstructive and nonhelpful stuff. I seriously do not like what it does to the tone of this particular subforum and to THR as a whole.

It is the quality of EVERY SINGLE RESPONSE posted on THR that makes or breaks the board as a whole. If you have a problem with a particular post or poster, let staff know. It's our job to fix stuff that needs fixing.

Anything else only contributes to the problems staff has to fix. First thing I ever got taught in EMS training was, "Don't become part of the problem."

Please think about that.

lpl