Don’t accept the police narrative
Recently, one of my clients was charged with assault with a deadly weapon in California. According to the police report, my client stabbed the alleged victim for without provocation and was the apparent aggressor in the case.
A few hours after the incident, the alleged victim was in the hospital treating a stab wound to the torso. Cleary, he could have played no role in the incident that landed him in the hospital. As far as the police were concerned, it was an open and shut case.
Except there was on problem: The story made absolutely no sense.
The first striking issue was the fact that my client weighed 120 pounds soaking wet. In contrast, the alleged victim weighed about 200 pounds.
My client stabbed a man that weighed more than 80 pounds than him for no reason?
After the police arrested my client, he came into our office and hired our Southern California criminal defense law firm. The prosecutor that handled the matter offered our client five years in state prison in exchange for a guilty plea. The offer was unacceptable and our firm got to work. We acted immediately and hired a private investigator to fill in the holes of the story. Suddenly, the absurd story that the victim described became much less believable.
We shed light on the case and the prosecutor could not ignore the issues that made the case problematic. After several discussions with the District Attorney’s office, the prosecutor decided not to pursue the matter and dismissed the case.
So what can we learn from this?
First, never go at it alone. A California violent crime defense lawyer is an extremely valuable resource that can highlight the issues that make many cases problematic and difficult to prosecute. When your freedom is on the line, you want good solid advice from an expert.
Second, there are always two sides to a story. Our investigation demonstrated that sometimes, police miss important details that can benefit the person accused of a crime.
Third, just because you’re accused of crime doesn’t mean you’re guilty. A felony defense attorney in California is the best person to look at your case and determine what the best course of action is for your unique case.
We at Wallin & Klarich have been defending clients accused of various crimes for over 30 years. Call us at 888-749-0034 and visit us at www.wklaw.com.
