pwhitaker

Sometimes, getting a great deal is too hard to resist. However, sometimes a cheap price may be too good to be true.

If you have encountered someone selling a product for a price that seems like a steal, chances are it might be.

If you are caught purchasing stolen goods in Tulsa, the consequences may be more than you bargained for.

You could end up in jail under law forbidding the possession of stolen property in Oklahoma.

Defining Possession of Stolen Property in Oklahoma

Before you purchase that dirt cheap iPad (or other valuable good), you better think twice.

Oklahoma law requires that you make a “reasonable inquiry” before purchasing goods that could have been stolen.

You are required to attempt to determine whether the goods may be lawfully sold or if they were acquired lawfully.

If someone is charged with this crime, the prosecutor will be required to prove that a defendant did not make a reasonable inquiry, which may be a very difficult task.

Receipt of Stolen Goods

Without proof that they made a reasonable inquiry, anyone who purchases stolen goods will be presumed to have known that the goods were stolen.

Those who have reason to know that they have purchased stolen goods can face a $500 fine or up to five years in the state penitentiary.

Initial Consultation: Tulsa Criminal Defense Lawyer

A charge of possession of stolen property in Oklahoma can result in personal inconveniences; financial setbacks and can even impact your work.

If you or someone you know is faced with this charge, please contact a Tulsa criminal defense attorney to discuss your available legal options.

Consult with an experienced attorney at The Wirth Law Office – Tulsa, call 918-913-0725 or toll-free at 1-888-447-7262 (Wirth Law).

If you prefer, you can use the box in the upper right-hand corner of this page to send a question or brief message.

A charge of burglary in Tulsa OK can have serious consequences.

If you’ve been charged with this crime, contact an experienced Tulsa criminal defense attorney to examine your available legal options.

First-Degree Burglary

Anyone caught breaking into another person’s home with the intent to commit a crime by doing any of the following will be charged with first-degree burglary:

1. By forcibly bursting or breaking the wall, or an outer door, window, or shutter of a window of such house or the lock or bolts of such door, or the fastening of such window or shutter; or
2. By breaking in any other manner, being armed with a dangerous weapon or being assisted or aided by one or more confederates then actually present; or
3. By unlocking an outer door by means of false keys or by picking the lock thereof, or by lifting a latch or opening a window, is guilty of burglary in the first degree.

Anyone convicted of first-degree burglary will face between 7 and 20 years in prison.

Second-Degree Burglary

Anyone who breaks and enters any place in which any property is kept will be charged with second-degree burglary.

Alternately, anyone who breaks into or forcibly opens any coin operated or vending machine with the intent to steal any property therein or to commit any felony, is guilty of burglary in the second degree.

A conviction of second-degree burglary will lead to between two and seven years in state prison.

Defending a Charge of Burglary in Tulsa OK

In order to obtain a conviction, a prosecutor must prove that the defendant’s acts met the exact definition of the crime. Your attorney may therefore argue that the act did not meet each of the crime’s definitions.

For example, “breaking” means any act of physical force, however slight, by which obstructions to entering are removed.

Therefore, if someone merely walked into a home with an open door, a strong argument can be made that doing so did not meet the definition of the crime.

Similarly “dwelling” means every house, building, or enclosed structure, any part of which has usually been occupied by any person(s) lodging therein; or any enclosed structure joined to and immediately connected with a house.

Therefore, if someone breaks into a building where people do not live, an attorney may argue that this also was not a burglary.

Finally, a prosecutor must prove that a defendant intended to steal or commit some other crime once inside the home.

If a defendant was inside to do something that was not a crime, he may not be charged with burglary under these circumstances either. OUJI-CR 5-18

Initial Consultation: Tulsa Felony Defense Lawyer

A conviction of a charge of burglary in Tulsa OK can lead to years in jail and severely alter one’s life. However, a guilty conviction is not always easy for a prosecutor to obtain.

If you or someone you know is faced with this charge, consult with an experienced attorney at the Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm today at 918-256-3400, or toll free at 1-888-447-7262 (Wirth Law).

If you prefer, you can use the box in the upper right-hand corner of this page to send a question or brief message.

Relationships may get strenuous at times, but always try to keep your temper in check.

Not only do you put your relationship at risk, but you could land in serious legal trouble for violating Tulsa, Oklahoma domestic assault and battery laws.

If a warrant has been issued for either your arrest or your appearance before a judge, you must comply with the order right away in order to ensure a bad situation does not become worse.

Defining Assault and Battery

Tulsa city and Oklahoma state law define assault as any willful and unlawful attempt or offer with force or violence to do corporal hurt to another.

A defendant need not actually harm or even come into physical contact with the victim to be charged with assault. The attempt is enough. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 641

Battery, on the other hand, means any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 642

A charge of battery requires that the defendant actually come into physical contact with the victim.

Oklahoma Domestic Assault and Battery Law

A defendant who violates Oklahoma domestic assault and battery laws faces up to one year in county jail and a fine of $5,000.

If a defendant is convicted of this crime more than once, he can face a felony conviction and up to four years in the state Department of Corrections and a $5,000 fine.

If the defendant uses a sharp object or other dangerous weapon during the domestic assault and battery, they will be charged with a felony and face imprisonment of up to 10 years.

Shooting the victim or using a deadly weapon in the commission of a domestic assault can result in life in prison. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 644

Defining a Domestic Relationship in Oklahoma

To be charged with domestic assault and battery, the defendant must have been in a “domestic relationship” with the victim.

Oklahoma law defines this broadly; it is not limited to people who are in a romantic relationship with one another.

A defendant who has a present or past spousal relationship with the victim will satisfy the definition of a “domestic relationship.” This can be a current or former spouse. This can even be an ex-spouse’s new spouse, or present spouse’s ex-spouse.

The victim may also have a parental or blood relationship with the defendant to qualify as a “domestic relationship.” This includes parents, foster parents, children, or any person related by blood or marriage.

The defendant may also have a non-blood relationship with the victim. This may be a person with whom the defendant is or was in a dating relationship, an individual with whom the defendant has had a child, a person who formerly lived in the same household as the defendant, or a person living in the same household as the defendant.

Initial Consultation: Tulsa Criminal Defense Attorney

When you are facing charges of any kind, it is always better to do it with the help of an experienced criminal defense attorney. Options are available to you. Call for a low-cost initial strategy session with an experienced Tulsa assault and battery attorney to discuss your available legal options.

Contact the Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm by calling 918-756-9600 or toll free at 1-888-447-7262.

If you prefer, you can use the box in the upper right-hand corner of this page to send a question or brief message.