Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft Possible arrest warrant for a phone left in my car

V

Victor Garcia

New Member
Jurisdiction
Florida
My question involves criminal law for the state of: Florida. I work as Uber driver and a customer left their phone in my car. I contacted Uber so I could get a hold of the person. The person called me and advised I would like to give them the phone back but I asked if they could at least give me some money for the trip to return the phone and my time. The person got upset and called the cops. About an hour later I get a called from a officer and he wanted to find out what happened. I told him what happened and I advised my intention was to return the phone. The officer got upset and said that I am depriving someone of property value of $1000 and he said he was going to create an arrest warrant. At this point I do not know what to do and I wanted to get this problem resolved as soon as possible. I have done some reading online about Felonies charges for something like this and I do not know what to believe What would you recommend me to do
 
Victor Garcia said:
What would you recommend me to do
Click to expand...

Return the phone to Uber ASAP, apologize, and say the entire thing was a result of poor communication on your part.

Poor communication works well especially if your native language in one other than English, or your customer's language was other than English.

It works like a charm if both of you have a native language other than English and different from each other's native tongue.

Don't ask the person for any money to return their property. If what you said can be proven by the person losing the phone what you said could be interpreted as a crime.

More than likely if you had simply taken the phone back to the person, or turned it in to Uber's "lost and found" as drivers are required to do, none of this would have happened.

Beyond the possible criminal charges that might be lodged against you, Uber might terminate your ability to drive for them.

Why?

Uber's policy is to charge the person claiming lost property a $15.00 fee to ensure the driver is compensated for time and gas.

Contact driver about a lost item

Lost item return fee



Contact driver about a lost item
The best way to get your item back is by contacting your driver.

If you left your item on a trip that someone else requested, that person should report the lost item through their own Uber app. This helps us connect to the right driver, faster.

A $15 fee is charged to your account once your lost item is returned to pay a driver for their time.
...

HOW TO CONTACT YOUR DRIVER

1. At the bottom of this page, enter a phone number where you can be contacted

2. We'll call the number you enter and connect you with the driver

3. Once you're connected with the driver:
- If they answer and confirm they found your item, find a mutually convenient time and place to coordinate a return
- If they don't answer, leave a detailed voicemail describing your item and the best way to contact you

NOTE: If you leave a voicemail and share a contact phone number with your driver, you understand that the driver may then contact you directly through that phone number. Your driver will then have that number indefinitely and/or as long as they choose to retain it.
. . .

Please be considerate of your driver's personal schedule - it may be affected by taking time out to return your item.

Drivers are independent contractors. Neither Uber nor drivers are responsible for the items left in a vehicle after a trip ends. We're here to help, but cannot guarantee that a driver has your item or can deliver it to you.
 
You are not depriving the owner of anything. If the owner comes to you simply hand it over.
If you have to take it to the owner then collect Uber's fee.
This is not a criminal matter, and based on the circumstances you have given I can't imagine a judge would approve any arrest warrant.

Arrange through Uber to get the $15 fee. This is something the owner agreed to when choosing to use the service.
 
adjusterjack said:
Disagree. OP asked for money as a condition of returning the phone. That's extortion.
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Well...not really. If the confirmation had gone like this, it would not be extortion:

Driver: Hey, I found your phone.
Passenger: Great. Can you please bring it to me.
Driver: Ok, but will you compensate me for my lost driving time and mileage?
Passenger: No.
Driver: Ok. I'll have it to you later today.

There's nothing wrong with merely asking and, had the passenger not overreacted to the request, then this would be a total non-issue. Unfortunately, the OP didn't bother to tell us anything about the rest of the confirmation after the passenger rejected the request for money. The OP may have said, "fine, a--hole, then you'll never see your phone again! [evil laugh]" If that's what happened, then yeah, that's extortion. But we don't have enough info to know with any certainty.
 
zddoodah said:
Driver: Hey, I found your phone.
Passenger: Great. Can you please bring it to me.
Driver: Ok, but will you compensate me for my lost driving time and mileage?
Passenger: No.
Driver: Ok. I'll have it to you later today.
Click to expand...

I don't think it went that way, else the customer wouldn't have likely have called the police.

Victor Garcia said:
advised I would like to give them the phone back

but (implying a condition that if not met would result in no phone.

I asked if they could at least give me some money for the trip to return the phone and my time.

(I would be interested in what was said between that^ and this):

The person got upset and called the cops.
Click to expand...
 
adjusterjack said:
Disagree. OP asked for money as a condition of returning the phone. That's extortion.

He can probably correct that without consequence by returning the phone quickly.
Click to expand...

No, he asked for compensation for his time to return it. It is no more extortion than Uber's $15 policy, although it is Uber's policy that should be followed here rather than negotiating directly with the owner. The owner needs to make the request through Uber and be subject to their fee. The owner can certainly pick it up where it was left without cost of desired. The driver has no obligation to make a special trip, uncompensated, to return property.
 
adjusterjack said:
I don't think it went that way, else the customer wouldn't have likely have called the police.
Click to expand...

I've been called for dumber reasons than that. I bet the owner made no effort to get the phone and expects it to be delivered. It certainly is not stolen, and apparently not yet reported as lost to Uber. Everyone wants something for nothing, and police are the first to be called when they don't get their way.
 

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