Crime & Law Enforcement Issues & Death Penalty/Drug Overdose

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Expert: - 12/2/2006


Question
Will you please answer the following question.

We know someone that overdosed on heroin.  It was not his
house.  However, there were a couple people there.  When the kid died, someone had moved his car to the side of the garage and the police found his body three days later.  I heard that they are charging the one kid with abandoment.  I would like to know what kind of felony that is and if they are not charging him with that what else they can charge him with.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Kathy

Answer
Kathy,

   First of all you need to relize that there are fifty states and every state has its own set of laws.  Thus the crime of "abandonement" would be crime that is unique to your state since my state does not have such a crime.  I would imagine that it is some kind of crime that covers leaving a helpless person in some kind of place and failing to get help.  If you can provide me with the wording of the statute then I could better anwser the question.

  You also asked what else "they" can charge him with.  That again would depend on the laws in your state, the wishes of the police and prosecutors office, and what the grand jury returns when they consider the case.

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Jack Toomey

Expertise

Please do NOT ask questions about potential jail sentences that you or your friends may receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer or a parole officer so questions about those subjects will be rejected. I am a police officer with 26 years experience. Can answer questions about crime, police procedure, investigations, criminal law, search and seizure, traffic offenses. Prefer not to answer questions on the death penalty. Please do not ask homework questions. Remember this. The law in every state is different so questions about laws that are specific to your state could be difficult to answer. I also cannot give you legal advice on what to do or not to do in court. I have worked with authors in the past and will be happy to review scenarios or plots with authors to check for believability or accuracy.

Experience

Police officer with 26 years experience. Ten years in patrol and sixteen years in the detective bureau investigating every type of crime including murder, rape, robbery, theft, fraud, missing persons, etc, etc. Also taught at the police academy in areas such as constitutional law, search and seizure, and lineups.

Education/Credentials
B.S. in Criminology from the University of Maryland.

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