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Theft Charges Dismissed At Preliminary Hearing

by | Feb 24, 2012 | Criminal Law |

Recently, attarney Ryan W. McAllister represented a client who had been charged with “theft of leased property”, a misdemeanor offense under 18 Pa.C.S.A. 3932 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code. Our client had failed to return some rented equipment to a business located in Berks County. Although our client had made attempts to work things out with the owner of the business, eventually the police got involved and our client was charged criminally.

At the hearing, attarney McAllister approached the attarneys from the Berks County District attarney’s Office in an attempt to informally resolve the matter. The business owner was owed money for his unreturned items, and our client was willing to pay that money to make the business owner “whole”. The prosecution, however, would not agree to “dismiss” the charges against our client; instead the prosecution wanted to the charges against our client to “stick”, which would risk our client having a criminal record.

Faced with this possible outcome, attarney McAllister had a hearing before the District Judge. attarney McAllister argued that our client did not have the requisite “mens rea”, or criminal intent, to commit a crime. Rather, it was just a misunderstanding that got out of hand. On top of that, attarney McAllister stressed the fact that our client was ready, willing, and able to make the business owner “whole” by paying full restitution.

The District Judge agreed with attarney McAllister’s arguments and dismissed the criminal charges against our client. In the end, our client was very happy with the outcome of the case. We anticipate filing an expungement in the near future to ensure that no trace of this incident remains on our client’s otherwise spotless record.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a criminal offense in Reading or Berks County, Pennsylvania, please contact our office immediately at 610-372-5128 to setup a no-cost consultation with one of our skilled and experienced attarneys.

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