3 Unfortunate Ways People Get Charged With Receiving Stolen Property

Law Blog

You can walk the line and stay within the law as a good citizen and still find yourself in some pretty prickly situations if you're not careful. This is especially true when it comes to unknowingly possessing stolen goods or property. Every day, people who have no idea they have something in their possession that is stolen get in trouble with the law, so they have to have a good defense attorney help them out. Take a look at some of the unfortunate ways people get charged with receiving stolen property when they've done no wrong. 

You buy a phone from an individual that was stolen. 

Phones are probably one of the most commonly sold and bought phones on online classified sites and Facebook selling groups, but phones are also one of the most stolen electronics out there. When you have people walking around with phones that are valued at hundreds of dollars and easily accessible, it is easy to understand why they are stolen so frequently. If you buy used phones from individuals you don't know (or maybe even those you do), you really do have to be careful. Buying a phone that is stolen can mean it will be traced backed to you if a security alert is sent out when you try to use it. 

You allow someone to store stolen property in your home unknowingly. 

Your cousin comes by the house with a truckload of things he says he picked up at a thrift store. He needs a place to stash the stuff until he makes room in his garage, so you let him stick everything in your spare room. The next thing you know, you are getting a knock on the door from the police about the stolen goods you have in your home. 

You try to sell something stolen even though you have no idea. 

Say you stop in at a yard sale and they have a ton of cool tools for really cheap. You have some cash to spend and see that there is a profit to be made, so you buy everything you can. You post these items for sale on the local classified site or take them to the pawn shop, and the next thing you know, the police show up. Even though you may not have known the property was stolen, you can still be charged with possession of stolen goods or receiving stolen property. 

For more information, reach out to a local criminal defense attorney.

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16 April 2019