[Suthrndreamgirl]

A little background info *I have a young man that I have "taken under my wing" after being released on probation for a charge he plead quilty to a lessor charge to... & was placed on 4 yrs. Probation with time served (he had served 8 months in juvenile detention). Note *He was charged as an adult in the first charge... so he was also charge as an adult in the second alleged offense.
He had been residing with me after being released on probation. I've taken in & helped many displaced juveniles over the yrs. In order to give them support & guidance to stay on the right track. On the day he had been arrested for the alleged 2nd offense, he had asked me to take him by his grandmothers house to pick up some clothes. I had an appointment & told him I could take him as soon as I got back. A friend (who is a pretty straight laced kid... never been in any trouble, attends college classes, etc... ) offered to give him a ride. On the way... another individual called the friend & asked could he give him a ride somewhere. It was on the way, so the driver stopped & picked him up too. There was NO connection or prior communication between the 2 needing a ride. They stopped at a house (where the 2nd individual requested to go) first. While there, the boy that resides with me recognized another mutual friends vehicle there & decided to go in & see him. Upon entering the house... he noticed the mutual friend & the one they gave the ride to whispering back & forth. Then the one they gave the ride to pulled out a gun & robbed 2 other individuals that were in the house. Appearantly, those 2 individuals (one an adult, the other a juvenile) are known "wanna-be" drug dealers. The mutual friend that was in the house & the one they gave the ride to had conspired prior to the robbery. The boy that resides with me truly was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He called me immediately after the incident occurred. Within a few hrs... a detective contacted him to come in & speak with him. I advised him NOT to talk with him without an attorney present! He felt he had nothing to hide, so he voluntarily met & talked with him. The detective told him he just needed to verify what happened... that he knew he wasn't involved... & then he could go home. Yeah right! They took him immediately to Juvenile Detention. He has sinced turned 18 & has been moved to the county jail. The guy that actually committed the robbery told the detective (we have it in writting) that the young man that resides with me had NO prior knowledge of the crime before it was committed. That he truly was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Even one of the victims stated to a family member he wasn't involved. Because the young man that resides with me has a prior record, the detective is gung ho to stick it to him... including him as a willing participant... charging him with aggravated robbery (he never had a weapon... was just present). The friend that drove them to the house wasn't charged. Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated as to how to go about providing the best defense possible considering the circumstances.

[MsMewiththat]

You will need to obtain an attorney. Is this a same or similar crime to the one he was charged with the first time? The problem with this is him getting in any trouble most likely violates the terms of his probation. You need to get him an attorney.

[Suthrndreamgirl]

You will need to obtain an attorney. Is this a same or similar crime to the one he was charged with the first time? The problem with this is him getting in any trouble most likely violates the terms of his probation. You need to get him an attorney.

Thanks for your quick response. Yes, unfortunately it is similar. The first charge was Aggravated Robbery... but was reduced to a lessor charge (a misdemeanor rather than a felony). That was the only trouble he has ever been in.
I'm currently in financial ruins (literally) & have exhausted all means available to me just to pay my basic living expenses. That's why I'm doing everything possible to try & assist his public defender with any & all information I can come up with related to his case. I'll do as much leg work as I can... & am staying ontop of every aspect of his case.

[Fr_Chuck]

Let me see, he was present when a robbery took place?? And then left with the other people that did the robbery??

The minute a crime took place, he needed to get out of the car,and be there as a witness for the victims, riding away with them knowing they did the crime, then not turning them in the minute he got away, made him guility.

He needed to have reported the crime not doing so really adds to the guilt.

Sorry but by TN law, if one of the people had a gun or knife, he is guilty of the larger charge also.
He needs a really good attorney, since what you just told us, shows he was part of the crime when it happened, did not turn it in, as soon as he could, showing he was hiding the crime.

In TN he can also be expected at 17 when crime happened to be chanrged as a adult also.

Sorry lawyer and a good plea deal is about the best I can say, esp after he confessed.

[Suthrndreamgirl]

Let me see, he was present when a robbery took place ??? and then left with the other people that did the robbery ???

The minute a crime took place, he needed to get out of the car,and be there as a witness for the victims, riding away with them knowing they did the crime, then not turning them in the minute he got away, made him guility.

He needed to have reported the crime not doing so really adds to the guilt.

Sorry but by TN law, if one of the people had a gun or knife, he is guilty of the larger charge also.
He needs a really good attorney, since what you just told us, shows he was part of the crime when it happened, did not turn it in, as soon as he could, showing he was hiding the crime.

In TN he can also be expected at 17 when crime happened to be chanrged as a adult also.

Sorry lawyer and a good plea deal is about the best I can say, esp after he confessed.

Basically yes. They weren't in the car when the crime took place. They had went in the house. The house is were the other guy they gave a ride had asked to stop by. When the young man that stays with me (I'll refer to him as "R") noticed a mutual friend was also at the house... he went in to say hi (hadn't seen him in awhile). Once inside the house... the robbery was committed. "R" was caught off guard in the middle of a situation he quickly realized he didn't need to be in. He called me immediately after they left & dropped off the guy that committed the crime (was scared to say anything to anyone in his presence as to what had taken place). The boys that were robbed left the residence to hide their stash of drugs... came back & called the police. They failed to tell the authorities that they were dealing drugs... just that they had been robbed. "R" was scared to come forward & call the authorities because #1 he was on probation & knew he wouldn't be believed. #2 the "snitch" factor comes into play. Shortly thereafter... the authorities contacted his grandmother looking to speak with him. Within 20 minutes he was at the police station... of his own free will. Even the detective said he was extremely forthcoming & cooperative. Of course he naively believed the detective when he stated all he needed was his side of the story... then he would be free to go home. He went willingly & without an attorney (against my advice) to talk. He felt because he hadn't done anything wrong... he had nothing to worry about in talking with the detective.
He would be charged as an adult regardless, because his last (& only other charge he's ever had) he was charged as an adult... therefore he would automatically be charged as an adult with any other charge he may receive. I did go speak with the best criminal defense attorney in town. He knows this detective & stated that he's wet behind the ears... hasn't had any "big" cases & is desperate to make a name for himself. He also stated he would take the case for $6000 plus. I want to help "R" obtain the best representation available... but I have truly exhausted all financial means I have, short of selling my soul to the devil. I'm in the midst of a nasty divorce. My soon to be ex left me in financial ruins. Car was repo'd last month, house close to being in foreclosure, barely able to pay the utilities... hard times. I'm working 2 jobs & selling everything I have that I don't "need". I've devoted my life to helping others, but now that the shoe's on the other foot... seems people don't care to return the favor. What's the old saying... "No good deed goes unpunished". I now depend on my determination (& a lot of prayer & research) to do the best I can with such limited resources. I'm all about the fight though... & work best under pressure. *smiles
I appreciate the feedback & will take all advice with an open mind.

[Fr_Chuck]

He made several mistakes that led to this.

1. went to a house I am sure he knew were drug dealers,
2. did not , or at least did not have you call 911 to report what happened so he could be a witnes not a suspect.

And a side note, I wonder why they did not steal the drugs with the money ? That is more common and normally drug dealers don't call the police they merely hunt down and kill the people who rob them.

He is moving into bigger crimes and does not have the maturity to make the right choices from friends, he felt at the time it was worth the risk not to be a snitch, well to be blunt now he has to pay the piper for that choice.

I see no evidence that can be presented in court that shows he
1. did not come in with the others
2. was not present when robbery took place
3. appears he left when robbery was over

I do see,
1 he was at a known drug dealer
2. did not report a felony that happened


My best suggestion is a good attorney and to keep his trial and that of the other suspects separate.
Also he will need to get the victims to testify at this trial that he was not one of the robbers. But to be blunt even then the court may not believe the word of a drug dealer.

Now the bad news "worst" even if they would drop the new chnarge, this would be a serious violation of his probation, going to a drug house, hanging out with drug users.
So you can expect him to go away anyway for some time just for that

And it is very possible that the friend who drove him made a early deal to testify against everyone ( who knows)