thejokester43
New Member
A few weeks ago, I made a really stupid decision to hold on to property belonging to a former coworker for him. This property was in the form of 4 empty bank bags. I never questioned why. I simply put them in my lunch pail at the time then later threw them in my vehicle.
Last week, I was in Ontario, Oregon at just before 5:00 am waiting for a coffee shop to open. I was in the area to inspect another job site, drop off materials, then return to my current job site by 7:00 am, which was about 45 minutes driving time away. The vehicle was turned off, keys were in my pocket, and I was leaned back in the car resting until the coffee shop opened, when 2 police cars approached my vehicle - one from the front, and one from the back.
Both officers approached the driver side window and asked what I was doing. I replied "waiting to get a cup of coffee". Next, they asked if I had any drugs or weapons on me, to which I replied, "no". They then asked if I would mind getting out of the vehicle to search me, and I agreed to that. They found nothing, but did see that I did not have a licence to drive (I'm suspended, though that's another story due to a court's booboo). They asked if I had any drugs or weapons in the car, and I said no. They asked if they could search, and I told them "go ahead". At this point, they had me sit near the rear of the vehicle on the sidewalk.
While sitting on the sidewalk, while one cop searched my vehicle (keep in mind that I am not the owner of the car - my girlfriend is), the other officer told me that it was a coincidence that I was sitting in front of a coffee shop that had recently been broken into. He said that he felt that I had done this, and told me that "it's only a matter of a few hundred dollars, it would be best if you come clean and work something out with us to pay it back, or you can keep lying and telling us stories and I can arrest you on suspicion". My simple reply to this was "so what you're telling me is that I can admit to a crime that I didn't do, or continue to tell the truth and cooperate, and get arrested." He then told me, "that's not what I said".
To make a long story short, they found the bank bags during the search, I volunteered my fingerprints, and they ticketed me with "Driving while suspended INT", along with expired plates, and towed my car because I would not overturn possession of the bank bags.
Since then, the car has been searched twice while in impound, although no search warrent has been given to my girlfriend (the owner). They are now accusing me of several other burglaries in the Boise, ID area, along with Ontario, Oregon. I voluntarily allowed them to search my house so they could look for items from the burglaries. They found nothing, but took my shoes. They also searched my girlfriend's grandmother's house without permission, along with my girlfriend's mother's truck. They have required my girlfriend to be interrogated multiple times (to which she told them where the bank bags came from), and I was brought in for questioning once (for about 3 hours). I was never read my miranda rights, and though the officers at first said I was free to leave, the door was constantly closed, and I honestly feel that if I had tried to get up to leave, I would have been arrested, and when they were going to follow me to my house to conduct the search, my girlfriend asked if I could accompany her to her mother's house (5 min away) to get her cell phone charger before the officers followed us home, and they would not allow me to go with her.
Now that you know the facts, my questions are: can I get a driving while suspended ticket for sitting in a parked car? Can I get a ticket for expired tags if the car is not mine? Do they have to provide a copy of the search warrant before, during, or after the searches (on the car)? With the voluntary search of the house, are they allowed to take my shoes if they are looking for items FROM a burglary? Can they search the property if they only have permission to search the house? I honestly feel that had I not given them permission to search my home, I would have been arrested. Doesn't this constitute police coersion to obtain my cooperation? Do the police have the right to lie to my girlfriend in order to get her cooperation? She has caught several officers in multiple lies thus far.
No arrests have been made as of now, but my girlfriend was questioned again today when she went to get the car. What on earth should we do? Where do we even begin? I have a 4 1/2 month old son, and am the sole provider for our household. We cannot afford an attorney.
I sincerely apologize for such a lengthy post. Keep in mind I've abridged the story to condense it as much as possible. Thanks for any help.
Last week, I was in Ontario, Oregon at just before 5:00 am waiting for a coffee shop to open. I was in the area to inspect another job site, drop off materials, then return to my current job site by 7:00 am, which was about 45 minutes driving time away. The vehicle was turned off, keys were in my pocket, and I was leaned back in the car resting until the coffee shop opened, when 2 police cars approached my vehicle - one from the front, and one from the back.
Both officers approached the driver side window and asked what I was doing. I replied "waiting to get a cup of coffee". Next, they asked if I had any drugs or weapons on me, to which I replied, "no". They then asked if I would mind getting out of the vehicle to search me, and I agreed to that. They found nothing, but did see that I did not have a licence to drive (I'm suspended, though that's another story due to a court's booboo). They asked if I had any drugs or weapons in the car, and I said no. They asked if they could search, and I told them "go ahead". At this point, they had me sit near the rear of the vehicle on the sidewalk.
While sitting on the sidewalk, while one cop searched my vehicle (keep in mind that I am not the owner of the car - my girlfriend is), the other officer told me that it was a coincidence that I was sitting in front of a coffee shop that had recently been broken into. He said that he felt that I had done this, and told me that "it's only a matter of a few hundred dollars, it would be best if you come clean and work something out with us to pay it back, or you can keep lying and telling us stories and I can arrest you on suspicion". My simple reply to this was "so what you're telling me is that I can admit to a crime that I didn't do, or continue to tell the truth and cooperate, and get arrested." He then told me, "that's not what I said".
To make a long story short, they found the bank bags during the search, I volunteered my fingerprints, and they ticketed me with "Driving while suspended INT", along with expired plates, and towed my car because I would not overturn possession of the bank bags.
Since then, the car has been searched twice while in impound, although no search warrent has been given to my girlfriend (the owner). They are now accusing me of several other burglaries in the Boise, ID area, along with Ontario, Oregon. I voluntarily allowed them to search my house so they could look for items from the burglaries. They found nothing, but took my shoes. They also searched my girlfriend's grandmother's house without permission, along with my girlfriend's mother's truck. They have required my girlfriend to be interrogated multiple times (to which she told them where the bank bags came from), and I was brought in for questioning once (for about 3 hours). I was never read my miranda rights, and though the officers at first said I was free to leave, the door was constantly closed, and I honestly feel that if I had tried to get up to leave, I would have been arrested, and when they were going to follow me to my house to conduct the search, my girlfriend asked if I could accompany her to her mother's house (5 min away) to get her cell phone charger before the officers followed us home, and they would not allow me to go with her.
Now that you know the facts, my questions are: can I get a driving while suspended ticket for sitting in a parked car? Can I get a ticket for expired tags if the car is not mine? Do they have to provide a copy of the search warrant before, during, or after the searches (on the car)? With the voluntary search of the house, are they allowed to take my shoes if they are looking for items FROM a burglary? Can they search the property if they only have permission to search the house? I honestly feel that had I not given them permission to search my home, I would have been arrested. Doesn't this constitute police coersion to obtain my cooperation? Do the police have the right to lie to my girlfriend in order to get her cooperation? She has caught several officers in multiple lies thus far.
No arrests have been made as of now, but my girlfriend was questioned again today when she went to get the car. What on earth should we do? Where do we even begin? I have a 4 1/2 month old son, and am the sole provider for our household. We cannot afford an attorney.
I sincerely apologize for such a lengthy post. Keep in mind I've abridged the story to condense it as much as possible. Thanks for any help.