charged and arrested

[jasmine13]

My hubby was arrested and charged with the theft of coal logs and wood from a neighbours shed on Saturday. We are still in a state of shock as the period is from MAY 2010 to present day. To start with the witnesses who say he did it can't give a date when they saw him and apparently they had a coversation with him. The fact is my hubby was off sick most of last year with depression and anxiety and major panic attacks. The neighbours who have made the statement terrorised us and vandalised our garden and have verbally abused us. At the time we ignored them as for me getting hubby well was my priority. My policy was to ignore and they will get fed up.Hubby was completely shell shocked and didnt have a duty solicitor thinking it was all going to end. I have dug out coal receipts proving we buy and pay for coal regualary plus a statement from our wood merchant. We even paid to get medical records as physically he could hardly get out of bed, cried all day and was prescribed medication. for us its lies and rocked our quiet existance. I am a teacher and hubby is in insurance. court is next friday and yes its going to cost a lot of money to prove he didnt do it. We can't sleep with worry and our reputations are shattered. please advise. we are still waiting for a solicitors appt as they are very busy.

[bednobs]

has he even been interviewed? what did he say while being interviewed? it seems prety speedy to get to court next week. If your preferred solicitor takes over a week to see you, perhaps you should go to another one?

[beso]

What evidence is there? Did they take your coal away for forensic examination to prove it was from your neighbour's load? Do they have photographic evidence. DNA or finger prints perhaps. Of course not.

Unless they have hard evidence it is entirely their word against your husband's.

The "witnesses" will have a hard time making a convincing case when they cannot name dates and times. Moreover it begs the question why they have taken so long to come forward.

While you are waiting you could get some character references that show that your hubby is not the kind of person who would steal.

[beso]

A good solicitor will point out in court that the unwillingness to provide dates and times is ploy to avoid any chance of being caught out falsely accusing your husband of an offence at a time when it can be proved he was elsewhere.

[factor-fiction]

^"yes its going to cost a lot of money to prove he didnt do it".
I would have thought the onus was on the police/CPS to prove he did do it.

[jasmine13]

Hello everyone thanks for your replies. We have listened to the Cd and both witnsses cannot name a date and he says it was at midnight and she says it was 11pm. apparently they all had a full blown conversation with my hubby. How he stole 6 50kg bags of coal with a walking stick in one hand and an angina spray in the other and climb over a 6 foot wall... his medical records state extreme anxiety fatigue etc and a weakness on the left side.... this beggars belief. His mental state was so fragile I nearly lost him with a at a threatened overdose in Aug 2010 and it even mentions stresses from neighbours. ewent back to work in December and never looked back... infact does all the banking for his company and handles large amounts of cash.

[factor-fiction]

Sorry, your last sentence lost me in your latest post, jasmine12- the bit that says "ewent back to work in December and never looked back... infact does all the banking for his company and handles large amounts of cash. "
Are you talking about teh neighbour? I anm not sure what point you are making

[bednobs]

i mean this in the nicest possible way, but is there any chance that his altered mental state could mean he dosen't remember doing it?

[jasmine13]

what i mean is my husband went back to work and all is hunky dory. had a first class appraisal and handles all the banking of the company, cheques and cash..... we have no reason to steal logs and coal when I am busy ordering them and paying a local supplier and are financially stable. This is just a bullying tactic from the neighbours to humiliate us.

[jasmine13]

hubby was just very low and prescibed Prozac.... he had no interest in anything other than sleeping and crying. stopped gardening so I paid for someone to keep the lawn mowed.Just abt held it together to take our daughter to uni in sept 2010.

[chrissa1]

This doesn't make sense. What is happening on Friday, not the trial surely?

[factor-fiction]

Can you think of any reason why the neighbours would want to lie and humiliate you?

[jasmine13]

our neighbours are the sort you see on jeremey kyle and have already threatened violence to a local cafe owner. T his is a predominanatly quiet rural village and no one bothers with them. she vandalised our trees last year while we were away and thankfully I took photos plus was verbally abusive. To set the scene we are on shared access with 5 cottges and she has caused alot of upset on the row .We dont use our garage anymore because they make it impossible to drive round with barricades. We dont rise to it and quite frequently we have heard them say Snobby bitch ...she has a habit of suing and i can see this as a money making venture.

[chrissa1]

I would have thought that the police would find out if these people had a "history". Do they know about the cafe owner? If not, make sure you let them know the sort of people they are.

[welshlibranr]

Oh jasmine!.........Really feel for you!.......what a situation to be in!.......hope it works out for you!....really think you should try to move home asap!.......

[nilesquimby]

All sounds "civil" disagreement to me! She damaged your trees, you stole her coal (or so she is claiming).

Doubt the police will follow up at all. Sleep well.

[TonyV]

Jasmine - have you asked for some advice / guidance from you local police?

[factor-fiction]

Hi nilesquimby- you said you doubt the police will follow this up but jasmine13 says her husband has been charged.
He should get a solicitor.

[NOX]

You listened to what cd? The CPS won't give you access to a recorded statement, what are you referring to?

[exdc]

Hi jasmine

It is highly unlikely to be charged with a criminal offence without here being sufficient admissible evidence for a prosecution to have a realistic prospect of a conviction. Listen to the interview CD in great detail and try and establish what is the corroborating evidence (if any!).

Any questions please ask.

[exdc]

(NOX, a person charged or reported for an offence is entitled to a copy of any recorded interview).