Any lawyers? Need legal advice

[Vici]

So today an old roommate gave me some mail that was shipped to her address as opposed to mine. In it was a final notice letter mailed from the County DA's office check fraud division where they charged me with check theft.

The first problem is that I had 7 days to respond before they issued a warrant (2/1/2011) but I just received this letter and had no prior knowledge this was going on. I doubt they want to hear any excuses but I honestly had no idea.

The second problem is that there was no theft at all. The transaction was $53 at a speedy stop which was probably for gas. The problem is they must have waited weeks before they tried to charge the transaction because the day they charged, I was overseas. The bank knew this so they may have blocked it... however the bank has absolutely no record of the merchant or that amount trying to be charged by anyone.

So my question is where do I go from here? I checked http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/police/warrants/warrantsearch.cfm and couldn't find anything. Does that mean they haven't issued it yet? Or is it just not updated?

Can I or should I plead not guilty? As far as the bank and I are concerned they never attempted to make the charge.

It should be noted that I NEVER use checks to pay for gas and the check number they gave was like 1015 and all my checks were in the 200s for that month. The bank also has no electronic transfer number that corresponds to that number.

Thanks for all serious replies.

[Nbadan]

Take the letter to the check fraud division at the Police Dept. or county courthouse and have them provide you with a copy of the check that bounced.

[Vici]

Take the letter to the check fraud division at the Police Dept. or county courthouse and have them provide you with a copy of the check that bounced.


If there is a warrant couldn't they arrest me on the spot?

[PakiDan]

Take the letter to the check fraud division at the Police Dept. or county courthouse and have them provide you with a copy of the check that bounced.

They are going to require that you pay it. As long as you make a payment they will not arrest you. Once it is paid off, they will drop the charges and the warrant.

[tlongII]

If there's a warrant for your arrest they will arrest you. There's no way around that as far as I know. I think you should turn yourself in and then they will process you and let you out. Then you can figure out what to do.

[mouse]

San Antonio has a phone number you can call if you have warrants. They also have a pay out window if you go pay you don't get arrested i had to go to that window when I got 4 tickets after I borrowed a friends car and they had no insurance, expired tags etc...

They will arrest you if you owe back child support and you show up without a lawyer. Since your situation is well below 2,500.00 dollars they are not going to waste the 160.00 dollars a day giving you a bed at the Bexar county jail.
the letter you have should have a number you can call sometimes you can just mail in the payment.

that is what i experienced back in 2001

http://www.sanantonio.gov/court/warrantfaqs.asp?res=1280&ver=true

[TDMVPDPOY]

dont forget to bring in a tube of lube....it will ease ur pain

[Nbadan]

They are going to require that you pay it. As long as you make a payment they will not arrest you. Once it is paid off, they will drop the charges and the warrant.

this...

[mouse]

dont forget to bring in a tube of lube....it will ease ur pain

For the the QB or the receiver?

[Vici]

Thanks for the advice. How much might it cost? I think it's a class B misdemeanor since it's above $50.

[Mijo]

You can't get out of being arrested if you have a warrant. When you turn yourself in at the courthouse they'll finger print you and technically you are under arrest. You'll see a judge who will set a court date for you and then if you qualify, you'll receive a PR bond and be released. I would make restitution regardless and then hire a lawyer to go to court on your behalf and have the charge dropped and expunged from your record.

[Dr. Gonzo]

I'm a lawyer. PM me.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

You can't get out of being arrested if you have a warrant. When you turn yourself in at the courthouse they'll finger print you and technically you are under arrest. You'll see a judge who will set a court date for you and then if you qualify, you'll receive a PR bond and be released. I would make restitution regardless and then hire a lawyer to go to court on your behalf and have the charge dropped and expunged from your record.

Um yeah you can.

i was pulled over by Texas Marshalls for an outstanding warrant a few months ago. it wsa just traffic tickets so they put me in the back of their cruisers and told me if i could pay right then and there that they would just let me go.

I gave them my CC and they just went online and submitted the payment. it went through and they let me go.

i had some nug in my center console so i was pleased at the outcome all things considered.

i guarantee you they have a policy for this that is straight forward. call them and ask them.

[Oh, Gee!!]

pay the damn thing (plus the fees) and they'll drop charges I bet. sounds like a misdemeanor, tbh.

[Kori Ellis]

So today an old roommate gave me some mail that was shipped to her address as opposed to mine. In it was a final notice letter mailed from the County DA's office check fraud division where they charged me with check theft.


Check theft? Meaning you stole someone else's check and tried to pay with it? Or just meaning that you wrote a check of your own and just didn't have sufficient funds?


It should be noted that I NEVER use checks to pay for gas and the check number they gave was like 1015 and all my checks were in the 200s for that month. The bank also has no electronic transfer number that corresponds to that number.

Seems like you need to just call someone and figure out what they are charging you with. If you didn't pay for $53 worth of gas somehow, then just pay it.

[Vici]

I would and will pay the fine/gas bill, but remember I just found out about this yesterday and the city government has shut down for the weekend plus holiday. I'm planning on taking care of everything on Tuesday, I just want to know what I can do to protect myself from being arrested since I don't believe I did anything wrong.

[Vici]

Check theft? Meaning you stole someone else's check and tried to pay with it? Or just meaning that you wrote a check of your own and just didn't have sufficient funds?


I honestly don't know because there were more than enough funds and I sure as hell did not steal from anyone. My only guess is that it may have bounced since the bank knew I was out of the country when this happened and denied the transaction but they have no record of this happening.

[Dr. Gonzo]

I got a pm. lol

[mrsmaalox]

I got a pm. lol

Your reputation precedes you. ;)