RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – The attorney for the lawyer accused of stealing cash from a wallet at the Wake County Courthouse says the incident caught on camera is “the smallest part of the story.” Bill Young is representing Steven Patrick MacGilvray after he was charged with felony larceny.
Someone dropped the wallet near the security checkpoint at the courthouse, authorities said. According to an arrest warrant, it contained $1,600 in cash. But officials say that when MacGilvray, who was caught on video picking up the wallet, turned it in, it contained no cash.
The sheriff has identified the man who picked up the wallet as 29-year old Raleigh attorney Steven MacGilvray. On Wednesday, MacGilvray sent his attorney to court without him. But that attorney told reporters afterward that there's a lot that the public doesn't know about his client, including that he's a good guy.
If the money is in a wallet, you should check for ID. If the wallet contains no ID but does have credit cards, you can call the customer service number on a credit card and the card company can contact the owner.
I hired Steve to represent me when I was charged with several firearms offenses. He was very knowledgeable about my rights under the law, and did not mind giving me an in depth explanation of the nuances of the specific weapons laws I was charged with violating.
If the money is in a wallet, you should check for ID. If the wallet contains no ID but does have credit cards, you can call the customer service number on a credit card and the card company can contact the owner. You also should look inside a container of cash for any information it might contain about the owner.
Many communities have local laws or ordinances governing what a person must do if he finds cash and does not know who it belongs to. These laws usually require that a person who finds money, especially larger amounts (for example $100 or more), turn it over to the local police. If no one claims it after a certain period of time, the police can then give it to the finder to keep. Some communities may have different laws and some have none. In the US, traditional ethical guidelines about finding money are quite similar—you should try to find the owner and only keep the money if you made a reasonable effort and couldn't locate the owner.
Whether we can keep cash we have found and what we can do with it are ethical as well as legal questions. Even though cash is not marked with the owner's identity—like a check or savings bond—it is a piece of property that originally belonged to someone other than the finder. So technically, cash you find is not automatically yours.
There are two situations where you can be charged for keeping someone else’s property. For one, if you purchased or received stolen property that you knew belonged to someone else, then you can be charged with California Penal Code 496. This can include property you purchased from a friend, family member, second-hand dealer, or even at a swap meet, so long as you actually knew it was stolen from someone else.
Instead, if you took the laptop and put it in your own bag, then you could be charged with theft. However, if there was no reasonable way for you to return the property, then you cannot be charged with theft for keeping it.
Rules for Returning Lost Property. To be charged with keeping lost property, the prosecution would have to prove that: You found lost property that you knew did not belong to you; You had the opportunity or ability to return it to the owner; and . You made no effort to return it to the owner. Charges in these cases are based on the concept ...
To get started on your case, schedule a free consultation by calling our office at (714) 530-9690 or toll-free at (888) 478-8999. Posted in: Theft Crimes. Whether you're facing a felony or a misdemeanor, don't risk a conviction.
Under California Penal Code 485, if you find property that was lost by the original owner, you are legally obligated to return it to the owner, if possible. If you make no effort to return the property and keep it for yourself, then you could face either misdemeanor or felony theft charges. The key difference between your charges will be ...
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Misdemeanor grand theft can lengthen a petty theft sentence to up to one year in jail, while felony grand theft results in: Up 16 months, two, or three years in a state prison.
Behind him, a man investigators have identified as Steven Patrick MacGilvray clears security and appears to see the wallet lying on the floor. He even appears to glance over his shoulder at it as he gathers his belongings.
Another security camera shows him walking into the elevator lobby. Steven Patrick MacGilvray. Investigators said he is looking inside the wallet, which they say had $1,600 in cash in it.