Q: why isn't anyone being charged with criminal property damage to my property? Lots of evidence as to who it was.
We called the police after someone went into one of our outside buildings and destroyed most everything, broke windows, threw TV and other belongings down a stairs, busted mirrors, along with many other items. The person cut themselves so the police took the blood sample. The police also said they are pretty sure they got the guy, on a DWI earlier. It's been almost 5 months and the guy hasn't been charged. We've contacted the police several times and they said waiting for DNA blood, to come back which could take 2 months. We've tried to contact them again through email and The guy that possibly did this left his tire tracks in our yard, flew off our driveway and parts of his car were found in the ditch. Wouldn't that be good enough to charge him, especially if he had cuts? He's our neighbor, and he's gotten 2 more DUI's since the break in, and always released on 500.00 bail. We are the ones being harrassed since this happened, by the police.
A: The police investigate events for potential criminal charging. Only the prosecuting attorney can file a criminal charge against a person with the court. The prosecuting attorney will wait until the police complete their investigation and submit the results of that investigation to the prosecuting attorney, who will then considering making a criminal Complaint. It sounds like the case involving you is still in the investigation phase. Police don't always communicate with people who have suffered a loss in a potential crime. You can try various things to reach out to police in an attempt to be better updated. Some police departments have a Community Policing Officer to help with that. Otherwise, if the investigating officer is not available, you could try police administration,the police chief's office. Remember to communicate in a calm and polite manner. You could also take a look at Minnesota's Victims Rights statute, Chapter 611A, available online.
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