Assault & Battery Can i press charges on the same person who pressed them on me first? ( NY )

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PrincessJ

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Its a long stupid story and the case is retarded so ill try to keep it short.

My ex and i broke up. We had a dog together which was bought for me on my bday by him but all her papers, vet bills and what not are in my name. He kept my dog at his house and wouldnt give her back unitll i signed an agreement from him to share the dog. Well 2 weeks go by and i got sick of having to do things on his terms since it was my dog so i went to his house when he was at work to get her along with my clothes, jewelry etc. I had keys to the apartment since i lived there for 3 years so i let my self through the first 2 doors then his door and on my way back down after getting her his brother met me at the front door and wouldnt let me leave. Everytime i would unlock the door he would lock it and kept his body pressed against it saying " i have to wait for my ex to get back i cant leave with my dog) Well needless to say after being trapped in the house i freaked out and started fighting to get him off the door so i could leave. It got so bad i started hitting his arm screaming like a mad woman for help but noone could hear me. He finally ripped my 4lb dog from my arms and went to run up the stairs with her- i grabbed his shirt and he pushed me so hard i went flying against the front door tearing his shirt. My friend was outside in the car waiting so after that i opened up both doors and told her to call the cops.
The cops came- and then my ex showed up. I had my dogs papers with me and i told them what happened. They said i could get arrested for breaking a and entering bc my name wasnt on the apt papers even though i had keys and lived there for 3 years (with parking tickets front infront of the house as proof). They asked the brother if he was pressing charges, hey asked me- both agreed on no and they told me to leave and go home and resolve this another day when things cool down. NO report was made.
That night the brother went tot he cops and made a complaint against me stating " she came to the house and tried to steal my brothers dog, she hit me , scratched me, punched me and bruised my right bicept). That was it and I get arrested for something he caused and i called the cops first!!!
I wanted to press charges but the cop told me he wouldnt accept a counter complaint. I was given a desk appearance but never read my rights. No one ever heard my side of the story. Now after showing up 4 x to brooklyn court and him never showing up- 2 days before the last court date- before it goes away he calls the DA and says he wants to proceed and doesnt agree to an ACD. Im so furious that I want to set the record straight and now press charges on him.
So my question is even though he pressed charges on me first- Can i turn around 5 months later and press charges on him since everything i did was out of selfdefense? He trapped me in the house, assaulted me and stole property out of my arms?

(I am 24, ive never been in a fight, im 5'7 105 lbs and my dog is 4lb yorkie. My ex is 32 ,245lb body builder 6ft and his brother is 6ft and 200lbs)

please help me:(
 
If you have been charged with a criminal offense then you will have your opportunity to defend yourself in court when the time comes. Whether you have a public defender or a private attorney, either should be able to make this whole thing go away.
There was nothing wrong with you entering the house to pick up your property- no "breaking and entering" charge would have stuck.
The brother might have made an unlawful arrest or false imprisonment when he restricted your movement... but under the circumstances that would be a wash as well.
Whether or not you were justified in trying to fight past him is questionable... depending what other alternatives you had, however once he was on his way up the stairs you should not have pursued him.

You were both partially right and partially wrong. This should all wash out.

I assume by now the property has been recovered and is no longer an issue. Let this thing die in court. Don't make it worse by trying to one-up him and add something to it. This is all very petty.
 
i only pursued him bc he had my dog in his arms.. He has no rights to her; all i wanted to do was leave. They gave him a 30/30 and the last appearance was 12 days short of the 30 days so they prolonged it another 45 days.. NOW he calls the DA 2 days before im suppose to appear which was today. Bc i dont live in the state anymore i had a 2 week notice or my appearance was waived. my lawyer went and they said he wants to procede so now i have to go in again in Feb?!?!?!? I dont know what he wants exactly or what he thinks is going to happen.. My lawyer initially said they were going to offer me a traffic violation and i would only end up paying a fine.. but how it is so easy and why then do i need to go back in feb ? Ugh so frustrating
 
i only pursued him bc he had my dog in his arms.. He has no rights to her; all i wanted to do was leave.

His possession of your dog was not legal justification for your battery against him. You started out potentially justified if he was trapping you in the house against your will... but the moment he cleared that path through the door your justification ended. If all you wanted was to leave then you should have.

Still... if you are facing battery charges then he will have to answer to having held you in the house... and he will have no way to prove that the injuries he received were not a result of you trying to get out of the house rather than inflicted afterward.

It's a wash... and you summed it all up in your first post: "the case is retarded"- and I mean that in the nicest way possible. It just has nowhere to go for either of you.
 
PrincessJ;11523 My lawyer initially said they were going to offer me a traffic violation and i would only end up paying a fine.[/QUOTE said:
why a traffic violation?
 
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