Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Return of voluntarily surrendered computers

[winfresa]

Three days ago two detective showed up at our home and accused my husband of cheating someone out of $3,000 in an Ebay motorcycle scam. They had him go to the station, mirandized him and used regular intimidation tactics on him. He is innocent and was very upset so he agreed to voluntarily give up our three computers in order to clear this up. He was informed that they would be sent out of town the following morning and returned to us in one week. I was at work but I remembered something about Ebay contacting my husband about a fake listing for a motorcycle so I checked his Ebay account and found the invoice for the month in question which showed the charges for listing the bike and the credit we were given for those charges. Ebay does not issue this type of credit unless an ad is bogus because listing charges are nonrefundable. My husband took a copy of the invoice and a copy of Ebay's listing policies to the police station and found that our computers are still there, sitting on the floor in the office, unsecured and untagged. My husband explained the invoice and Ebay's policies to the detective who basically thanked him and sent him away. Since this invoice proves that my husband's Ebay account was hacked and that Ebay was aware of the situation and took action to correct it shouldn't we be able to get our computers back? Do we have a legal right to have our property returned at this point?

 

[seniorjudge]

The computers are being held for evidence.

This is very frustrating but these investigations often take a long time.

Make a formal request in writing with the prosecutor that they be returned. But don't be surprised if he turns you down.