The Grand Theft Auto Defense Attorneys at Rossen Law Firm got the State Attorney to realize the problems with the case and drop the GTA charge, drop the felony conviction, and allow Jeff to resolve his case as a minor misdemeanor of trespass without a conviction. This allowed Jeff to seal this event off of his record and put all the drama behind him.
Jeff bought this car through what he thought was a trusted source. Once the police showed up and arrested Jeff, he was worried he would be blamed for something he didn’t do. That being said, he cooperated with the police and voluntarily showed the detectives his phones, messages, and communications. Overall, Jeff did not want to be associated with the stolen car since he had no idea it was stolen in the first place. Jeff had never been arrested before and was terrified at being branded a “criminal” and a “thief”.
For our client, Jeff N., it took him years to build-up money to use as a deposit for a vehicle. Jeff’s friend set him up with a connection who was believed to be an automobile auctioneer/buyer. This buyer told Jeff to give him $5k as a deposit and then he would finance the remaining $15k for a lightly-used car. Jeff emptied his bank account, signed some papers, and that same day he got his first car. He was told that the registration and plates would be coming in the mail in a month or so.
In late 2017, Rob Lamdin’s University Dodge reported a car as missing/stolen from its lot. Further investigation revealed that the car was obtained through fraudulent means. The car was equipped with a GPS device and it was traced to Jeff’s place of employment in Davie, Florida.
Detectives barged into Jeff’s workplace and took him to the police department for questioning. Jeff was questioned by two detectives for more than 2 hours about how he came into possession of the vehicle. Jeff maintained his innocence through the entire interrogation. The detectives still arrested and charged Jeff with the Felony Charge of Grand Theft Auto. Jeff’s first car with returned to the dealership and Jeff was out the $5k he paid as a deposit, plus the payments he had been making.
The Rossen Law Firm fought for two whole years to prove Jeff’s innocence. Adam devised a plan to collect as much evidence as possible, and Manny took the deposition of 3 different detectives in the case. There was a glaring problem with the detectives’ investigation which will come as a shock to most. The lead detective’s report contained the following line: “Dealership provided me with an email showing surveillance of the male that conducted the fraudulent purchase transaction. The male that was observed completing the fraudulent transaction is not Jeff.” The detective did not collect/preserve that video because he said it added no value to the case.
Instead of going after the real perpetrator, the detective was more concerned with finding evidence that would prove Jeff was guilty of a felony. That person seen on video was never investigated, never arrested, and never charged with anything.
Manny wrote and filed a Motion to Dismiss the case against Jeff because his Constitutional Due Process Rights were violated by law enforcement’s failure to preserve key evidence in this case. The Motion to Dismiss was set for a hearing in September 2019.
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