Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Arrested without Miranda Writen, and Cell Phone Taken Away with Force

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StanislavO

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Hello,
I had a large question and hope someone can answer it. Please help me, i am a bright kid with a great future ahead just did something really stupid thanks....

My name is Stanislav. I live in Santa Clara County, In San Jose CA.
My friends and I were really bored and did something really stupid. And now i am here asking for any help which i can get.

THE STORY
Tuesday morning we went out to an appartment complex and we were checking for cars which were unlocked to get small change and nothing greater then that. We found only one car which was unlocked and the other two cars my friends cut open soft tops. I know this was not the smartest things to do. We are all really good people which happen to make a big mistake which can cause failure to us in the future.

What happen was when the alarm went off we all ran, the 5 of us. Two of us got away from the security which notified the police right away. My friend and I ran not to far and the other 3 got caught. All they had on them was a knife, a few pens, and a glow stick.

When i went back to see if they got caught, not having any stolen property on me and a new set of clothes one of the cops asked me what i was doing and i told him that i was looking for my car. He told me that there was a burglary going on and he just wanted to make sure that i was not part of it. So he asked me where i was comming from and all that other stuff and i told him i was just looking for my car it was parked somewhere in the apartments.

When he asked the security guard to come and see if i was one of the suspects the security guard told them 100% sure that I was not part of the group he saw, and that they were all asian.

My phone went off as a text message and the cop asked me who it was and asked me if i can show him my phone. When i asked him if he can legally look at my phone, he put me in an arm lock for no reason and told me there was an investigation going on and asked me for my phone after he let go of the arm lock.

I gave him my phone but my phone was LOCKED with a password. He told me if i dont give him my password i was going to go to jail. So i had to unlock my phone for him and he read the text message from my friend which said DID YOU FIND THEM YET? can he legally use that against me, Also can he put me in an arm lock if i didnt do anything wrong to his knowledge.

They put me in hand cuffs and told me that if i dont cooperate with them then they will bring me to jail, he had me show him where one of the cars was. He told me that if i showed him they would let me go. Then out of no where we started going to down town, STILL NOT KNOWING MY RIGHTS, They told me that i had to write an APOLOGY Letter to the owner of the cars or to whom ever i want. So i told everything except the car tops which they later found.

Can somebody please tell me what i can do. I was in Jail for 4 days and bailed so i can do anything in my power to get my self out of this bump in my life.

My questions:
*Can they really take my phone with force like that"?
*Do they have to read me my Miranda Rights?
*Can i trust the Public Defender?
*Can they use what was on the Cell Phone?
*Can they use the "Apology" letter against me?
*What can i do if i cannot afford a Lawyer?

With out the phone there was no way they can link me to the crime until i wrote the confession letter not mentioning the soft tops.

I got 2 felony Charges

1)Burglary of 3 counts
2)Vandalizm of 2 counts.

I already know My friends and I want to pay restitution to the people for their soft tops, but can they use any of the info i gave them because without my cell phone they cannot link me to the crime.
 
Since you posted this multiple times, I'm going to wait for the moderators to decide which one to keep up before I answer your question more in depth.
 
Tuesday morning we went out to an appartment complex and we were checking for cars which were unlocked to get small change and nothing greater then that.
This is called theft.

We found only one car which was unlocked and the other two cars my friends cut open soft tops.
This called vandalism and burglary.

I know this was not the smartest things to do. We are all really good people which happen to make a big mistake which can cause failure to us in the future.
A "mistake" is knocking on the wrong apartment door ... this was NOT a "mistake". Poor judgment, perhaps, but anything but a "mistake". A mistake is an unintended act ... your actions and those of your friends were intentional and, thus, not a mistake.

So he asked me where i was comming from and all that other stuff and i told him i was just looking for my car it was parked somewhere in the apartments.
You're lucky it wasn't the cops ... we tend to be a lot more suspicious. I would have asked a lot more pointed questions ... plus, I know that suspects often come back to see what's going on.

I gave him my phone but my phone was LOCKED with a password. He told me if i dont give him my password i was going to go to jail. So i had to unlock my phone for him and he read the text message from my friend which said DID YOU FIND THEM YET? can he legally use that against me, Also can he put me in an arm lock if i didnt do anything wrong to his knowledge.
You can report the security guard to the police and ask they charge him with assault and battery (PC 242). But, unless he was acting at the direction of police, it is very likely that his testimony of the message he saw - or the phone in its entirety (if seized by the cops) - will be admissible at trial.

They put me in hand cuffs and told me that if i dont cooperate with them then they will bring me to jail, he had me show him where one of the cars was.
Was this the police or the security guards?

After you were arrested by the police, if you were interrogated without Miranda rights, anything you said - and anything you showed them - will not likely be able to be used against you at court. Your attorney can seek to have any statements suppressed.

*Can they really take my phone with force like that"?
The security guard? Sure. He's liable for damage, and potentially for assault and maybe even robbery ... good luck on getting the DA to file on that one, though.

*Do they have to read me my Miranda Rights?
The security guards do not. The police only have to Mirandize you after you are in custody and they are interrogating you (or taking you around to show them where you committed crimes).

*Can i trust the Public Defender?
As well as you can trust any attorney. If you expect him to look busy all the time on your case, then, no. An attorney that you pay by the hour will do all sorts of things to look busy even if they do not stand a snowball's chance in Hades of success. If you can afford a private attorney, then you will not likely be allowed to have a public defender anyway.

*Can they use what was on the Cell Phone?
Probably. But, that will be up to the court to decide.

*Can they use the "Apology" letter against me?
Possibly. That will be up to a court to decide after taking in the totality of the circumstances. If you were under arrest and never Mirandized, my gut would be "no". But, there may be some other circumstances in play here.

Were you in handcuffs? Were you told you were under arrest? Were you ever told you did not have to talk to the police?

*What can i do if i cannot afford a Lawyer?
At your arraignment you can ask the court to appoint defense counsel.

With out the phone there was no way they can link me to the crime until i wrote the confession letter not mentioning the soft tops.
Unless your friends dimed you off. There may be other ways to tie you to the crimes.

Consult legal counsel.

- Carl
 
All of this stuff happened with the cops and not the security guard. The security guard said that all the suspect were asian and i am white. Also, he said he saw 4, i was the fifth person. He told the police 100% sure that it was not the white guy because they were all asian cats.

Then when the police were about to let me go, my cell phone went off because i have received a text message. When the cop said who is that, i said i dont know. Then the cop said give me your phone. When i asked him if he can legally do that he put me in an arm lock and took my phone from me.

He let me go and asked, "Do you want to go to jail?" And then i said no. So he turned my phone on but there was a password. He told me i HAD to put in my password so he can see because there was a crime in the area.... ALL THIS AFTER THE ONLY WITNESS SAID HE WAS 100% Sure that it was not me.

Then he asked DO YOU WANT TO GO TO JAIL and i said No, then he said then i HAVE TO PUT MY PASSWORD IN.

Still not reading me my MIRANDA RIGHTS and NOT TELLING ME THAT I WAS UNDER ARREST he took me down town and said that i must write a letter of appology to the people of the cars. I DID NOT MENTION in my letter that we had cut open tops because it was not me. I talked about the two cars which were unlocked. also saying in my letter that nothing was taken out of those cars.

I myself do not completely know my miranda rights at that moment, so i just did what they told me to do. They told me that i would be in the holding cell for only a few hours at most then i would be able to go home. Then they booked me 4 hours later. Still never saying i was under arrest or anything i was in jail....
 
All of this stuff happened with the cops and not the security guard.
I was confused because you wrote it as if the security guard was grabbing the phone and all.

The security guard said that all the suspect were asian and i am white. Also, he said he saw 4, i was the fifth person. He told the police 100% sure that it was not the white guy because they were all asian cats.
Asian "cats"? Okay ... I'm having a 60s flashback ...

That lack of identification will play in your favor if this goes to trial, but the prosecution might just argue that it was dark and the guard did not get a good look. If they have nothing else, then you might be clear ... of criminal charges - maybe not civil restitution if the owners want to sue you for damages.

When i asked him if he can legally do that he put me in an arm lock and took my phone from me.
If it is as you describe, chances are your attorney can get that text message suppressed. However, I suspect the police will have another account of the event.

Still not reading me my MIRANDA RIGHTS and NOT TELLING ME THAT I WAS UNDER ARREST he took me down town and said that i must write a letter of appology to the people of the cars.
Were you transported anywhere? Were you in handcuffs and in a police car before you were asked to write the apology?

If you were driven from the scene or "cuffed and stuffed", then there might very well be a Miranda violation. Again, this is something for your attorney to address.


- Carl
 
If it is as you describe, chances are your attorney can get that text message suppressed. However, I suspect the police will have another account of the event

I definately agree with CdWJava on that count. The cop will have a version of the events that somewhat resemble the twilight zone to you.

Were you and your friends drunk or on drugs?

If you can afford a lawyer, you definately need to get one as soon as possible.

The apology letter, to me at least, was just a trick the cop used to get you to confess.


You write that you went back to the scene of the crime, and told the officer you had your car parked there, Did you have your car parked there?

Do you know if any of your "friends" told the officer you were involved?
 
I think they said that i was with them, but in court they would not testify against me. Well i went to jail and they made me write that confession letter without telling me that i was arrested. They told me if i write it i would go home hours later.. They never told me about my miranda rights which i had no idea about.
 
The police completely conned you. You didn't have to show them your phone. Going and showing them the location of the cars is a horrible idea. When they say "if you don't cooperate, you're going to jail" they're just trying to scare you. What are they gonna arrest you for? "Failure to cooperate"? You basically built a case against yourself.
 
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