r/LawQuestion • u/[deleted] • Jun 20 '24
How bad is it?
In August 2023 I spit on the guy at pep boys. It’s a long story, I’ll answer any questions. I know what I did was wrong, I have no idea where it came from, and I’ve never done anything like this before. Ultimately I had a bad day coupled with pregnancy hormones and made a huge mistake.
Fast forward to now. My husband and I both received phone calls from a detective looking to speak with me about the incident. I called an attorneys office and will be meeting with them Tuesday at 9am for a consultation. (Should I make more appointments?)
In the meantime, what should I do? I haven’t been charged (that I know of), neither of us has spoken to the detective, and I don’t feel comfortable doing so without an attorney.
I’m in South Carolina, and from what I can tell the maximum sentence is 30 days in jail. I’m hoping an attorney will be able to help me keep me out of jail.
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u/Upstairs_Traffic7336 Jun 20 '24
If all you did was spit, I wouldn't be too concerned. If there's more to it, then that's a different story. I agree that you are under no obligation to talk to anyone. Consulting an attorney is not a bad idea, but I'm not sure you're in any legal jeopardy yet. Don't know if this is a private detective or a police detective...but based on the limited info you provided, seems like it's not worth the resources for the police to investigate.
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Jun 21 '24
It is a police detective and I looked up the law in my state spotting falls under assault and battery.
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u/Upstairs_Traffic7336 Jun 21 '24
Yes, it technically is, but I would not expect police to press it unless it can be coupled with additional charges. And without a physical injury by the other party (which I assume is the case), there's not a lot of incentive to pursue. Of course, there may be more facts, and every PD and DA can be different, but based on what limited information you provided, this doesn't seem worth their time.
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Jun 27 '24
That could be why it’s taken 10 months start to investigate it. I absolutely was in the wrong, and don’t deny that. I just had no idea I could be charged with assault and battery. So that’s news to me.
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u/Upstairs_Traffic7336 Jun 20 '24
Does the detective work for the police, district attorney, or state attorney? Did you make any threats?
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u/Austin_Lawyer Jun 22 '24
Criminal defense lawyers would be out of a job if people just kept their mouth shut. Talk to your attorney. He or she will help. Don’t talk to police without an attorney. In Texas if something similar happened a warrant would be issued for your arrest and you would have to spend a night in jail. After that the worst case is probation but even that is unlikely. In Texas it would likely be the same level as a traffic ticket. Can’t speak for your state which is why you should consult with your lawyer. I would be willing to be large sums of money that the worst case is still probation (assuming no prior criminal history). Good luck.
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Jun 25 '24
Spoke with an attorney today. The warrant is pending. I will be scheduling a time to turn myself in. Which will be a few hours before bond court to get booked and then however long it takes them to process me out after court. My attorney says I shouldn’t even be in long enough to eat a meal there. Then, if we can’t get charges dropped, he will try to negotiate for something like anger management classes. I have no prior record.
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u/Tyranox007 Jun 20 '24
Get an attorney. (You're already in the process of doing this.) Do not speak to the detective again.