Recently a Shelby County man had his truck and thousands of dollars of lawn equipment stolen from his home. The homeowner woke up one morning last week to discover that his truck was missing, along with a trailer that contained over $13,000 of lawn equipment. Shortly thereafter he allegedly received two phone calls from a man and a woman demanding $300 to recover his property.
The man called the police and a Shelby County Sheriff deputy contacted the suspects and arranged to meet them, posing as the homeowner. The sheriff deputy met up with a man at a business, where the man revealed that the lawn equipment was located behind a home on Woodlawn Street. Sheriff deputies found the equipment and another suspect, who directed two pit bulls to attack the officers. The suspect at the Woodlawn house was charged with theft, evading arrest and aggravated assault, along with other charges. The victim’s truck is still missing.
Crimes such as robbery and burglary are common in Memphis, and they are also aggressively prosecuted. If a person has been accused of such a crime they may feel like the community is against them from the start because of biased media coverage. This is why a defendant needs to mount a strong defense.
The right approach will seek out forensic evidence, reconstruct a crime scene and possibly establish an alibi. With severe penalties in play, a defendant needs to do everything possible to make sure the defense strategy is sound. The case could go to trial, or there could be some negotiating with prosecutors outside of the courtroom.
Source: wmcactionnews5.com, “Truck, lawn equipment stolen; suspects demand money from victim,” Aug. 7, 2014
