You were hanging out with a friend when you asked if you could borrow their phone for a few hours. It was one of the newest models, and you wanted to try out the camera.
You thought they’d said yes, so you pocketed it and headed home. You intended to return it later that day and to show them the photographs you took. You didn’t mean any harm.
That’s why you were shocked to find the police at your door asking if you had the phone. You immediately admitted that you did, but you said you had permission to take it. You ended up arrested anyway because the phone was worth over a thousand dollars.
You can’t understand how you could be accused of theft when you returned the property so easily. It’s important to note that returning property isn’t a good defense. It can help your case, though, since it shows that you were willing to admit that you had an item and to give it back willingly. You could also use this to build on your defense that you were borrowing the item to begin with.
Misunderstandings do happen. Your attorney may be able to help you negotiate with your friend to have the charges against you dropped. You did, after all, return their phone in good condition without harming it. You were taking photos with it, and you honestly thought that they’d said you could borrow it. It was reasonable to think that they wouldn’t mind but now that you know they did, you returned it right away. Your attorney will help you fight the accusations so you can minimize the damage to your reputation.
