Burglary, Arson, Home Invasion Arson -- arrest -- charges -- confused!

[tello]

On Feb. 18 my husband and I had a fire in our home. During the next two weeks we worked with insurance and the detectives -- we were told that the fire was not caused by an accident. On March 10 the detectives called me at work and asked if my husband and I could come in for a meeting. We did -- AND WE WERE ARRESTED! We were charged with aggravated arson and spent the weekend in jail. That following Monday we were arraigned and both posted a $5000 bond. Three weeks after that the case had not been to the grand jury for possible indictment. We found out last week that the case was dismissed without prejudice; I know that means they can refile the suit. Then today the detective called my husband and asked if we would come in for DNA tests. We are so lost and confused about so many things:
1. If the case was dismissed, does that mean the charges were dropped?
2. We cannot afford an attorney. We were told we could not apply for a court-appointed attorney unless we were indicted. Is that true?
3. We are scared that going in for the DNA tests is a ploy to arrest us again, although we have nothing to hide. Can they arrest us again and put us in jail again?
4. On the municipal court web site it said on our case file "case dismissed felony only." What does that mean?
5. We are going to tell the detective that we would like to wait to take the DNA tests until after we have talked to an attorney; we are going in for a consult for a minimal fee. Is it a good idea for us to wait on the tests until after we talk to someone?

We have felt that everybody is against us and nobody wants to help us. Anything you could tell us to help us understand what is happening to us would be much appreciated. We have not been in any sort of trouble before except for speeding tickets!

Thank you so much!

 

[NYClex]

1. Yes, that is the same, the case will not go forward for now. But there is a little difference in the nuance, as you can see: if charges are being "dropped", the prosecutor has decided it does not make sense to charge. If teh case has been dismissed, this indicates it was against the prosecutor's will, so the probability is greater that they will continue the investigation.

2. That depends on the local rules and laws.

3. They can arrest you any time if they feel they have enough evidence to make the charges stick, whether you go for the test or not.

4. I am not sure since I haven't seen it, probably it means the same as 1.

5. Yes, you definitely should seek legal advice before you deal with the detectives again. They cannot force you to to come in or have a DNA sample taken without a court warrant. Since it seems to be obvious that they consider you the suspects, any cooperation with them without legal representation probably would be detrimental to your case.

 

[tello]

We have made an appointment for a consultation with an attorney as I stated; I put in a call to him last night regarding the test. This morning he called us back and suggested that we do not go in voluntarily for the test; he said that the detectives should have to get a court order for that. He also said that we are not even obligated to call the detectives back and tell them that we are not going in for the test; he advised us to not contact them and that if they contacted us to tell them that we have been advised to wait until we consult an attorney to talk to them further. So right now we are just kind of waiting until we talk to the attorney next week and hoping that the detectives don't come after us again.

I asked about the charges being dropped because of myjob. I am a teacher and since I was charged with this I have been on paid administrative leave. I submitted my dismissal paper to the district, and their attorneys still don't want me to come back to work since they are still investigating. Their feeling is that they don't want me to come back to work until they are sure that the case is no longer being pursued. I was hoping that the charges being dropped would be enough for me to return to my job and my students but apparently it isn't. Does that sound right? By the way, this is in Ohio.

This is just such a nightmare for us; neither of us was even home when the fire started. I came home and discovered a house full of smoke.

Thank you for your advice!

 

[tello]

update

Okay, we have an update on our situation. First of all, I have been permitted to return to my job and all is pretty much back to normal there. But -- today I got a call from the fire inspector and he told me that they have a warrant for my husband to take a DNA test. I assume that is the same as a court order. Does my husband have a right to actually see that warrant before he submits to the test? We simply don't trust these people; they have lied to us about things already and we are afraid that maybe they would just say they have a warrant as a ploy to get my husband back in there. Also, if there is indeed a warrant, do you think it would be necessary for him to have an attorney present when he does take the test? We have a call in to the attorney we consulted with (of course the detective called and told us all of this after business hours) and hopefully we will hear from him in the morning.

Since all of this has happened, the biggest thing that has really haunted both my husband and me is how we were pretty much tricked initially into coming to the police station for a "meeting" and were arrested after we got there. Being arrested and then in jail for three days was terrible for us. My husband is really afraid that they will have him come in for this test and then just arrest him. I told him that I doubted they would arrest him because they don't have any DNA results yet; I figured that if they would ever arrest him it would be after they got the DNA results back and they filed more crazy charges against him. Do you think that they could arrest him at the point where he is taking this test?

Any advice or info you could offer would be so much appreciated! Thank you!

 

[NYClex]

I only read this now, but notify your lawyer asap of any warrants. Ask to see the warrant before you consent to anything. Try to have your attorney to find out what exactly the warrant says.

 

[tello]

Thank you for your reply -- we did contact our lawyer and he basically told us what you suggested. He said my husband should certainly see the warrant but beyond that there really was not much else he could tell us except to not answer any questions. It ended up that the detectives came to the place we are staying and got my husband's DNA. They gave him a copy of the warrant before they took his DNA. He was not arrested or anything. So I guess now we just wait to see what happens with this test. We are praying that they don't come up with any other bogus charges against my husband or both of us like they did before. In the meantime my husband and I are trying to live our lives as normally as possible; we are both going to work every day and trying to stay in some sort of routine, in particular for my 15-year-old son. And of course all of this is preventing insurance from taking any action other than their own special investigation which is an entire other ball of wax -- perhaps I'll post that on insurance; we do, however, have an appointment with a civil attorney on Monday to discuss that.

I want to thank you so much for your valuable advice and information. I have spent some time reading through these forums, and I think it is so wonderful that you and the others on this site are providing some good advice/suggestions for people who are frightened and not familiar with legal issus, like myself. I do appreciate your kindness -- I will get back with you when/if anything else develops. Again, thank you for such a valuable and needed service!