Unique situation allows crappy cameras to make an arrest

wittaj

IPCT Contributor
Joined
Apr 28, 2019
Messages
24,436
Reaction score
47,560
Location
USA
So an NFL player with a $48M contract has cameras installed on his house.

Some kids were playing Nerf Wars around 8pm in the neighborhood and the NFL player and his sister and her boyfriend go out into the backyard with guns in hand thinking maybe they were under attack.

Even though they were not under attack and the kids were retreating, the sister's boyfriend unloads on the kids, hitting one in the foot. They all 3 then flee the property.

The cops came and confiscated the surveillance video. Pulled over the sister and her boyfriend that night with a car full of guns.

Boyfriend was arrested for the shooting, having a gun under disability, etc. and the sister was arrested as an accomplice and tampering with evidence for picking up the shells, among other charges.

The NFL player had a gun but did not fire and is not facing charges, though I am sure he will be sued.

Check out this quality and clearly domes LOL. Clearly this is not IDENTIFY or RECOGNIZE quality. Will be interesting to see how the defense attorneys argue this one:



1679013282479.png

1679013480110.png

 

wittaj

IPCT Contributor
Joined
Apr 28, 2019
Messages
24,436
Reaction score
47,560
Location
USA
Picking up shells is tampering with evidence?
She was trying to pick up the evidence that they were there and fired the gun.

I would assume in ideal conditions the police might be able to pull a print, but at the very least could match the caliber back to the gun they had.
 

ARAMP1

Pulling my weight
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Messages
242
Reaction score
171
Location
Memphis, TN
Not trying to defend what they did. Kids are lucky the idiot adults suck at aiming. However, it seems to be a stretchy that picking up your brass is tampering with evidence. It's almost like being charged with littering for leaving brass. What if they caught it as it ejected? What if they kicked it all into a pile? What if they reload? What if they used a revolver? Almost like "we found the murder weapon, a knife used in the stabbing, but since they cleaned the blood off the blade, we're going to charge them with tampering with evidence." Either way, if they were trying to cover it up, I would think the obstruction of justice charge would be all encompassing.
 

wittaj

IPCT Contributor
Joined
Apr 28, 2019
Messages
24,436
Reaction score
47,560
Location
USA
I think it is pretty common to throw out a lot of charges in the initial arrest warrant so as to cover their bases as more evidence is presented. By the time it gets to trial, several of them are dropped or combined into another charge.

If the shell casings were not important, then police would never mark and tag them as evidence. Almost every news clip I ever see of a shooting and they show footage, it shows police marking where the casings were found. In addition to painting a full picture of what went down like where was the shooter standing, they can be used sometimes to pull prints or match the gun.

A crime was committed and the shell casings are part of that crime scene.

1679153152424.png

Using your analysis, if a person ran their car into another car and took off but then fixed their car so it looked like it wasn't involved in a wreck, would that not be considered tampering with evidence?

Using your analysis, if the property owner erased the camera footage, would that not be considered tampering with evidence?

And I understand the point of your analogy of a knife being wiped of blood, but unless you are an attorney, how would you know if that isn't a charge in most murder cases, but the media simply doesn't report that charge or maybe it gets wrapped up into the all inclusive obstruction of justice charge later.
 

Ri22o

Known around here
Joined
Jul 30, 2020
Messages
1,376
Reaction score
2,736
Location
Indiana
Is he hip firing an AK?

Why are most football players just overpaid thugs?
 

cyberwolf_uk

Getting comfortable
Joined
Sep 27, 2014
Messages
606
Reaction score
705
I'm no lawyer, but if my lawyer couldn't get me off with those images, then I need a new lawyer :)
 
Top