Heck, beats me, but from what I understand, a criminal charge is a whole lot tougher to make stick than a civil charge would be. "Shadow of a doubt", and all that stuff....... :shrug01:
As far as him operating with a license, does that mean that someone who does any sort of auto mechanic work on another's vehicle MUST be licensed by the state in order to do so? Since he is operating out of a former car dealership building and premises that he leases from the owner, I'm curious about what sort of arrangement he actually has with the owner. Especially since there are a LOT of the owner's vehicles stored there. I don't think this will be as black and white as some people apparently hope it will be....
You're right Rich.
Criminal charges are much more difficult in some cases simply due to the rules that apply in court.
In civil court, the rules of evidence are much more relaxed. This makes it easier to introduce such things as hearsay, and character evidence.
In criminal court, the rules are much tighter. "Reasonable doubt" is the rule when determinig guilt or innocense. If the defense can leave the judge or jury with enough doubt that
all of the prosecutorial requirements have been met, then per jury instructions, the defenant should (must) be found not guilty. Same applies to the judges ruling if non-jury.
But again, generally speaking such matters as this are held before a judge or magistrate, and are really pretty black and white.
The things that may matter most in his defense are contracts or the lack thereof in determining what should or was supposed to have been done or not, and money changing hands.
I'm not all that familiar with the laws regarding auto shop licensing, and don't have the time at present to look it up; however, I do know if you run a business you have to meet certain requirements such as:
-ficticious name registration
-Taxing requirements (DOR)
-local licensing requirements
For auto shops, I believe there are other requirements set by the state regarding the way a job is handled (authorizations, etc), state licensing for the business itself, and EPA guidelines.
The fraud/theft charges implied here would stem from people stating they contracted to recieve certain work/parts, paid money for that work or those parts, and not having recieved the work, part or benefit thereof.
As well, if any part paid for has been "converted" to his personal use or sold to another for profit, without authoriation or compensation of the true owner, that's theft...period. Grand/petit is determined by the item and/or cost (ie: a firearm woth $50.00 is GRAND THEFT regardless, simpley because it's a FIREARM.)
These cases are really not that difficult to make
Sort of makes me wonder why it's taking the STATE so long to do it and why they're allowing him to remain in business if they "know" he's operating illegally????
A month PLUS to make this case? Come on! It sounds like poor work on behalf of the state:thumbsdown:
