An Orlando, Florida man, Demetrius Washington, was arrested on June 1st, 2015 when he left his real name and address on a "pawn" receipt regarding copper and metal that he sold off from a local Orlando scrap yard. This information enabled Orlando law enforcement to locate him and upon their questioning of Mr. Washington he apparently admit to not only selling the air conditioner for scraps but to stealing it as well.
The tale of Orlando's own Mr Washington is a lesson to anyone that is facing potential criminal charges, it is almost always wiser to invoke your Constitutional right to remain silent. If the only evidence against Mr. Washington had been the sale of the air conditioning unit, it would have been hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that he was the one who stole the property. It is true that the Orlando prosecutors would likely obtain the presumption of recently stolen property in the jury instructions, but this could be overcome by a simple explanation that the defendant merely acted as a "fence".
Additionally, without this admission by the defendant, even the dealing in stolen property charge would have not been a slam dunk. The defense could have provided the suggestion that he may have picked up the air conditioner during an Orlando "bulk trash" night, or found it in an Orlando dumpster. Unfortunately for Mr. Washington, he has now provided the State of Florida and my former colleagues at the State Attorney's Office in Orange County, ample evidence to convict him of: Dealing in Stolen Property, Grand Theft (could be a serious issue with proving the value), and the Burglary charge (as the property was removed from a structure).
www.byrdlawfirm.org
No comments:
Post a Comment