HELP! Legal advice needed!

[Big Al]

There is an arrest warrant out for my daughter for a crime she didn't commit.

I'm in Texas, she's in Virginia. The crime is "destruction of personal property," but she's being accused of keying someone's car.

I'm in touch with a lawyer friend of mine locally who is trying to find someone in Virginia. In the meantime, I'm trying to do what I can on my end. So, I'm looking for advice on the following:

1) The best resource for reverse phone lookups

2) Any advice on Virginia law and civil litigation

3) How I can get information on this case despite the fact that I'm not a party to it

Please pray for my daughter. Needless to say, my daughter is scared to death.

Thanks in advance.

[Chuck Nessa]

Sorry you haven't had any responses Al.

Any Google search will find a number look up. Try all of them.

Hope this new post finds someone able to help.

[Free For All]

I wish I had some advice for you Al, but all I can offer is hope that this goes away without any more nastiness. Good luck!

[Peter Johnson]

Al, I might have some resources at the office that might be able to help. Check your pm's.

Cheers,

Peter

[Jim Alfredson]

Al,

Remind your daughter that she does not have to tell the police anything, especially if she doesn't currently have a lawyer with her. An arrest warrant doesn't mean she'll spend a night in jail. Tell her to stand strong and not to bow to coercion. She has rights.

[Michael Weiss]

http://www.whitepages.com/reverse-lookup

[catesta]

Al,

Remind your daughter that she does not have to tell the police anything, especially if she doesn't currently have a lawyer with her. An arrest warrant doesn't mean she'll spend a night in jail. Tell her to stand strong and not to bow to coercion. She has rights.

Yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about your daughter being locked up.

[AndrewHill]

Best of luck Big Al-I wish I could offer some advice, but I'm not a lawyer; however, if your daughter's innocent, then hopefully this dilemma will be rectified expeditiously.

HG

[robviti]

from what i gather, destruction of private property is a misdemeanor in virginia, so don't freak out. as others have pointed out, there's little chance of her being jailed, unless there are additional charges on the warrant. good luck.

[Soulstation1]

Hope everything works out

[rachel]

I'm so sorry to hear about this. Dealing with something like this with your child is always scary, especially when you are so far away. Great advice about her not talking excessively (or at all ) to the police. Hang in there.

[.:.impossible]

Where in VA? I may be able to refer very good legal defense.

[Big Al]

Where in VA? I may be able to refer very good legal defense.

Newport News.

And thanks to all of you. Your support means more to me than I'll ever be able to express.

We talked to the magistrate this evening, and she was no help. All she said was for my daughter to either turn herself in at the magistrate's office or at the police station. Her mother and I have prepared her, coached her (when to talk and when to "lawyer up"), prayed with her, and she's supposed to be going to the police station tonight.

Again, your continued support and prayers are very much appreciated.

[papsrus]

Terrible situation. Sounds like you're doing everything you can, obviously. Best of luck getting her through this.

[Hot Ptah]

My brother got into similar trouble unfairly in college. All I can say is, get the best criminal defense attorney in town. You'll have to pay a little, but the entire situation will change much for the better. When the Judge says, "oh hi Joe, I think I left my cap in your golf cart last Saturday, now what do you have here, can we dismiss it do you think?" your money will have been well worth it.

[Big Al]

Praise God and thank Him for saying YES to everyone's prayers for my daughter. She turned herself in and was released on her own recognizance. A court date has been set for April 29. At this moment, we're very thankful that no bail had to be paid, no bond had to be paid, nothing.

At some point, I'll fill y'all in on the gory details of what's going on. But for now, I just wanted to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. They mean more to us than y'all will ever know. I realize this isn't over yet, but I know that we couldn't have gotten through this night without your thoughts, prayers, support, and best wishes. Thank you, all of you.

[J.A.W.]

Hi Al,

Just saw this thread. You know I'm not religious and I don't pray, but I wish you and your daughter the best of luck.

[David Ayers]

Good luck, Al. Keep us posted.

[Niko]

Hi Al,

Just saw this thread. You know I'm not religious and I don't pray, but I wish you and your daughter the best of luck.

actually, i did pray, since i believe atheist prayers count twice... all the best to your daughter and you!

[mikeweil]

Al, just saw this - I sincerely hope that all will turn out well, and, please keep us updated. My thumbs are crossed.

[king ubu]

Hi Al,

Just saw this thread. You know I'm not religious and I don't pray, but I wish you and your daughter the best of luck.

actually, i did pray, since i believe atheist prayers count twice... all the best to your daughter and you!

Good one... I guess I should pray some then, too...

Hope this will all get straightened out without any harm getting done to your daughter, Al!

[Dan Gould]

I am sure its very hard to deal with such a situation - a child far from the nest, scared out of her mind over unfounded charges - but it seemed fairly obvious to me that she'd be ROR-d or at worst, post a very small bond/bail.

Now the question becomes how to refute the charges, and that comes from hiring a good attorney as HP has suggested. Is the victim the accuser/witness to the damage done to the car? Does the accuser have a relationship with your daughter that might make it seem that he/she would lie about it?

I'll keep my fingers crossed that the lawyer you hire will get the job done right.

[kh1958]

If you want to investigate the accuser, this is a database of criminal records, designed for use by attorneys and others. There is a small annual fee for usage.

http://www.publicdata.com/

[Van Basten II]

Just saw the original title, wished you good luck in the other thread, quite happy for you that the worse has been avoided. Let's hope that it keeps on going in that direction.

Take care.

[Big Al]

Hi Al,

Just saw this thread. You know I'm not religious and I don't pray, but I wish you and your daughter the best of luck.

actually, i did pray, since i believe atheist prayers count twice...

I like that!

I've been doing some research and have been contacted by various board members who are either attorneys themselves or have contacts in Virginia where this is happening. Like I said before, I cannot thank y'all enough for your prayers, support, and encouragement.

Edited April 14, 2009 by Big Al