criminal damage

[crystalbee27]

my husband and i voluntarily attended the Police station following allegations from our landlord that we had entered one of his empty properties and damaged an internal door while looking for our cat which had gone missing. We were arrested and questioned under caution and fingerprints taken. We were released on bail and when we returned were re-interviewed as my fingerprint had been found on an external door of the property (which i admitted in the first interview may be found as I did try the garage door to see if it was open) and husbands had been found inside the garage. We were both told by our solicitor to make a 'no comment' second interview, answering either no comment or 'I have already answered this question in the previous interview' . We were NOT CHARGED and released on bail pending CPS advice. There are no witnesses, though the landlord claims I told him I would break in to get the cat if he did not come to the house with the keys - this is totally untrue and in fact the night of the incident I called the Police to see what the best course of action would be - they then called the landlord to try and persuade him to come out and he refused . My question is: is it likely the CPS will prosecute this case - neither of us has ever been in trouble with the police before not even a traffic offence. If they do decide to prosecute on the grounds of the finger print found in the garage -would i be prosecuted along with my husband even though they have no forensic proof i was there? it has been hinted by our solicitor that if my husband pleads guilty he will at most get a conditional discharge -but why should I plead guilty to something i did'nt do?

[bednobs]

i think you need to be led by what happened. If you did it plead guilty. If your husband did it, he pleads guilty. If you didn't do it, plead not guilty.

[crystalbee27]

thanks bednobs -we have'nt been charged with anything yet so have not been asked to plead - my main question is whether the CPS will think there is a case, or drop it because of insufficient evidence. I will plead innocent if i'm charged as I have not done what i was charged with (criminal damage) - they have no evidence, either witness or forensic, to place me at the scene of the crime - but if they do go ahead and prosecute my husband - who will plead not guilty -can they then charge me as an accomplice or do they have to have concrete evidence ( witness/forensic) to prove i took part.?

[bednobs]

it's impossible for anyone to say what evidence the CPS have. Did your husband do it? If so they may have more evidence than you think. Of course if he didn't do it then they can have no evidence so i can't see how a prosecution could go ahead.
So did he do it or not?

[crystalbee27]

@ bednobs its not impossible to know what evidence the CPS have - the police were quite open about what they have and told out solicitor - they have no witnesses but a statement from our landlord saying i threatened to break in if he did not come and open up the empty property-only his word. They have a finger print of mine on the outside door handle of the garage -which I admitted I touched to try it to see if it was open it was'nt -and a finger print on the inside of the garage from my husband - who
swears he does'nt know how they could have one and frankly thinks the police are making this up to try and get a guilty plea as the landlord is pressing for compo.

[wolf63]

Did you find your cat?

[crystalbee27]

@wolf63 thanks for asking that ;-) - yes she returned later that night -think she was let out of the house by someone who was illegally squatting there (and who probably did the damage we are now accused of) - or else she was on the roof and we could'nt see her in the dark - little madam -she's worth it though

[Trotbot]

I am amazed that the Police went to the trouble of taking fingerprints for a case of damage to an internal door. Is there something more to this that may affect the comments given?

[bednobs]

but did he do it?

[crystalbee27]

@trotbot -absolutley not - story is as story told -landlord is trying for compo and we are easy targets it seems. We were contacted by police 8 weeks after 'incident' occured, made an appointment to go to the police station 3 weeks later and were promptly arrested despite being quite willing to give statements and fingerprints voluntarily. We are both in our fifties, never been in trouble with the law before and were only renting the house until our renovation project was finished. Only other isuue is we are suing landlord for return of our security deposit as he is not allowing DPS to release it as he says we damaged the front room carpet and wants 500 pounds to replace it ( we have pics and witnesses to the contrary and it was on its last legs when we moved in) -he also told the police the damage to the door was worth 600 pounds - it beggars belief really that the police have taken it this far but they have.

[Barmaid]

Just a minute Crystal - are you saying that the property you were alleged to have broken into you previously rented? Did you have access to the garage when you rented it?

[dotty.]

what internal door costs £600 to totally replace?

[crystalbee27]

@barmaid -no- read the original post - we were renting the house next door to the one that got the damaged door - different house,same landlord

[bednobs]

so did he do it?

[Barmaid]

Well that's told me then, but to be fair it is not entirely clear from your original post that it was the property next door you had access to.

Is the garage attached to the house? Do you know which internal door has been damaged?

My view is that the CPS are unlikely to proceed with a charge against you since there is nothing to place you inside the property.

It is unlikely that the police will make up evidence but there could be a quite reasonable explanation for your husband's print being found inside the garage. For instance, he may have been in the garage one day when it was open but may not have remembered or it could be on something that had been removed from the original property and thus that could be an explanation for your husband's finger print being there. The devil is in the detail in these cases and there just is not enough detail here. However, you have a solicitor and he should be able to advise on the evidence.

The basic fact is though you should not plead guilty to something you didn't do.

[dotty.]

why would the CSI team finger print the garage when the internal door was in the house?

[Barmaid]

They will normally fingerprint if there is a known suspect (as here) and if the garage is a potential "point of entry" or if the complainant says "that toolbox (whatever) has been moved".

[crystalbee27]

@barmaid - sorry if i sounded sharp -stress levels are through the roof -after spending one hour locked in a cell last night while they interviewed husband I'm about ready to crack. Just to clarify - the house next door broken into and the house we were renting belongs to the same person -they are semi-detached. Both houses have garages and we do not have access to the garage next door, but I know husband has been in there on one occasion when the previous tenant was moving out and needed help lifting something. My solicitor is talking about suing police once this is over as she reckons they had no need to arrest me - if I get a NFA phonecall I think i'll just leave it as I've had my fill of police for the rest of my life.....

[NOX]

One of my current tenants had a similar but much more serious sort of allegation made last year by her previous landlord. I weighed it up and didn't believe a word of the allegation against her to be honest and in the end no criminal charges were ever brought against her and I have to say she's been a model tenant. I think tha some landlords really do think they are god and sometimes need a criminal conviction to get their insurance company to pay out. I would consider it unlikely that the cps would proceed with what you say they have- hope not anyway, but I am not authority on the law I'm afraid.
If you are interested the thread regarding my tenant's problem is here:-
http://www.theanswerb...l/Question663165.html

[Barmaid]

Well there's your answer Crystal. Yes your husband HAD been in the garage before (quite legitimately) and that is a potential explanation for the fingerprint being there. I'd stand my ground and not plead to anything you didn't do. With a bit of luck the CPS will drop it. Sounds tenuous to me anyway.

[crystalbee27]

@nox -omg this situation is so very much like the thread you posted - landlord is local 'big wig' and his property empire seems to be crumbling because of the current economical downturn - I am sure he is putting pressure on local (very small) police station and your comment on criminal conviction and insurance claim is very interesting. i think the comments some people have made on here "- well if you havent done it there is nothing to worry about " are a bit naive really -when you get arrested, have all your belongings taken off you and get slammed in a police cell without knowing when you are going to be released of if your kids will be taken into care...you worry -slightly ;-)