Juvenile’s Felony Theft Charge Dismissed

A young man found himself facing a level six felony charge for receiving stolen automobile parts after being found sitting in a stolen car. The implications of a conviction for such an offense are harsh, so his family retained the help of Indianapolis juvenile defense attorneys at Hessler Law.

Hessler found the evidence against his client to be weak. While there was another juvenile (who happened to be the neighbor of the car owner) with the client in the car, the state couldn’t prove if the two committed the offense together, or if the client got involved after the theft of the vehicle. The prosecutor wanted someone to be held responsible for the offense, however, so they tried the juveniles separately, hoping to get statements from one child about the other that would help prove their case.

After the other kid involved with the case was found not responsible for the automobile offense and the client provided a statement saying he simply hopped in the car for a ride after his friend showed up, attorney Hessler spoke with the prosecutor. He knew that since the prosecution couldn’t prove the case of the other juvenile, they would not be able to prove his client’s case, either. The prosecutor agreed, and dismissed the case against the client.

The outcome of an individual case depends on a variety of factors unique to that case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any similar or future case.