Q: Can a person be charged with knowingly CONCEALING stolen property.. If the item was not REPORTED stolen till 3mo later?

A: The State has to prove that you knew or had reason to believe that the item you bought or received from someone else was an item that was stolen, embezzled, obtained by false pretense, or was from a robbery. However, there is what is called a rebuttable presumption in these circumstances. That rebuttable presumption works like this: If the circumstances of the transaction or receipt of the property were such that they would have caused a reasonable person to have made a reasonable inquiry to determine if the person from whom they were receiving the property had the legal right to sell or give you the property and you did not make a reasonable inquiry, you are presumed to have known the property was stolen. This presumption can be rebutted with evidence that you either did make a reasonable inquiry and were supplied proof of the seller's legal rights or the circumstances did not warrant an inquiry,

However, because you have already been charged, I would take this matter very seriously. You should not attempt to contact law enforcement or the prosecutor on your own. You need a criminal defense attorney. Once you hire an attorney, you and the attorney can discuss the specific facts surrounding your purchase of the items and the best strategy to resolve the matter. If the charge is in or around Oklahoma County (central Oklahoma), feel free to contact me to discuss further.

A: I can't wait to see the police report and interviews on this one. Particularly, I want them to explain how the vehicle was released from impound to you, if you weren't the bonafide owner. Sounds like a great case to fight. If you are in Tulsa or surrounding counties give me a call.