Indianapolis Criminal Defense Law Blog

Those accused of rape are often subjected to humiliation and social castration. In fact, there are many people accused of rape who are actually innocent. However, the social stigma surrounding a sex crime can wreak havoc in their lives, despite their innocence. It is for this reason that those accused of a sex crime require strong advocacy to make sure that the ill-effects of sex crime accusation are kept under check. This holds especially true when charges and arrests happen long after the alleged crime is committed.

Recently, police in Evansville, Indiana, about three hours south-west of Indianapolis, arrested an Uber driver for allegedly raping a woman in December 2018. Although the incident occurred in December 2018 and the investigation was under way since then, the arrest has been made in July 2019, which is after a gap of about six months. The woman's friends who booked the cab for her said that they could not find her at home when they went there later. Allegedly, the woman was taken to another building and raped.

Incidents of domestic violence are a serious concern, both for the public and for authorities. While there are many organizations and programs that offer support to the victims of domestic violence, there are hardly any initiatives that reach out to those who have been accused of domestic violence. Sadly, domestic violence often stems from some serious personal issues, such as emotional/financial duress or alcohol/drug addiction, which make it all the more important to provide support to the accused.

A unique initiative in a city about 75 miles south of Indianapolis is worth mentioning here. The city of Bedford, Indiana is the only city in the state that has a problem-solving court for those who are accused of domestic violence. The so-called court was started several years ago by a judge and offers a program that helps participants not only to stay out of prison but also to identify the issues, such as emotional distress and drug or alcohol addictions, which eventually led them to commit domestic violence.

In Indiana, embezzlement is treated the same as theft and the laws governing embezzlement are the same as the laws that govern theft. As a result, embezzlement of $750 to $50,000 is considered a Level 6 felony, which can attract a prison sentence of six to 30 months and a fine of up to $10,000. If the amount embezzled is more than $50,000, it is considered a Level 5 felony that attracts 12-72 months in prison and fines of up to $10,000. A recent incident in the state will show why this discussion is relevant.

According to news reports, police have arrested a woman and her accomplice for embezzling over $1,600 at a departmental store. The incident happened at a TJ Maxx store in Bloomington, about an hour south-west of Indianapolis. Per news reports, the employee asked her accomplice to walk around the store and collect various items. The accomplice would then remove the price tags and head to customer service, claiming that those items were actually purchased earlier, and she now wanted to return those items.

Following your arrest, you may have endured some intense questioning by Indiana law enforcement. Detectives may have tried to convince you that you would benefit from confessing to the crime with which they had charged you. Perhaps they told you the physical evidence against you was overwhelming.

If you are facing charges of committing a violent crime, you know that the penalties for a conviction are severe. You may end up spending years in prison, so it is in your best interests to carefully scrutinize any evidence against you before agreeing to a deal. In some cases, that evidence may not be as reliable as you think. The chances are often high that physical evidence will become contaminated either at the crime scene, during collection, during analysis or anytime in between.