Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
I have been charged with petty theft pc 484 (a) in California for theft of gravel alongside of the roadway. For years I have been using my small tractor to move gravel that has been pushed to the side of the road from cars and trucks back into the roadway to fill the potholes created during winter conditions. The road I moved the gravel around on is a county maintaned road, but I also moved some of it onto a non-county maintaned road that is still a public road. A neibhor complained to the county that I was "stealing" gravel from the roadside. The sheriff come out and asked me if I had been "stealing the gravel". I told him I have not stolen anything, rather redistrubuted what they had already put out on the roadway. I did not move any of the gravel more than 50 yards. I never took any home and never put any on my private driveway, the sheriff attests to that. I do not feel that I have commited a theft. what do you think.....
2 Answers from Attorneys
If you're charged with a crime, I think you need to have an attorney. If you can't afford to hire your own lawyer, the judge will appoint one from the public defender's office when you go to court.
Taking public property from a public place to use on private property could be theft, even if the private property is open to public use. For instance, you couldn't take the benches from a public park and "redistribute" them at a private campground.
However, no lawyer can give you an informed opinion about the case without a complete review of the facts.
The gravel is not yours, and you did not have the right to move it someplace where you think it should have been used. What you did might indeed have been a crime. Unfortunately, your statements to the police are much more likely to hurt you than to help you. I recommend consulting with a criminal defense attorney right away.
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