Q: Rented rims from rent a tire now felony theft charges
In Aug I was put in the hospital with covid and kidney stones. Told them in Aug to come get the rims. Never got a letter in the mail only text messages and they never came for the rims. I paid over half of what was owed. Only owed 1600 in Aug. What can I do about them pressing felony charges. I also about two weeks ago I told them to come get the rims.
A: You can't really DO anything about the fact that you were accused. Anyone can be charged with any crime. However, you can only be CONVICTED if you enter a plea of Guilty or No Contest or if the prosecutor can prove EVERY element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury. The defendant's INTENT is one of the elements of the offense of theft. Hire a criminal defense attorney who understands this and is willing to force a trial to make them prove it if they won't dismiss the case. Unfortunately, a trial is expensive so all of the cheap attorneys and most of the court-appointed ones are primarily concerned with negotiating a plea agreement. If you lacked intent then you are innocent of theft so a charge reduction to misdemeanor theft or deferred adjudication is not a "good" negotiated result, especially when you consider that being labeled a thief will seriously impact your career options in the future... for the rest of your life.
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