Longballs Dong…

April 14th, 2017 at 1:00 PM ^

I get your point. Today Haifa to be the 1 out of 10 that I'll read or post. Today is a holiday, but I wouldn't expect posters to change post behavior based on calendars. If my assumption that people post because they want to share info, and thus people to read that info, then provide some context.

people often link solely to a tweet. Why not just give the info or copy the tweet?

MgoHillbilly

April 14th, 2017 at 10:09 AM ^

Good to hear one of the suspects was willing to implicate himself by telling Law enforcement where the hard drives could be found. Whatever reasons the suspect had to commit the offense, that's a commendable thing to do when it goes against your self interest.

Everyone Murders

April 14th, 2017 at 10:36 AM ^

There's no evidence they had a clue as to what was in the safe or on the hard drives when they took them.  If guilty (likely - I mean they have the effing hard drives) they'll get the same sort of punishment any other burglar with a similar record would get.  I'm almost sure that won't include castration.  I'm positive it won't if the burglars are women.

Glad that the hard drive was recovered and hopefully they've now found the burglars.  A nice bit of Easter news for the Carrs.

Everyone Murders

April 14th, 2017 at 10:47 AM ^

This is lifted from some rando criminal defense lawyer's ad, but it seems accurate that the potential penalties are plenty steep.

Theft in Michigan is punishable by up to ten years in prison, or a fine of $15,000 or three times the value of the property stolen (whichever is more), or both. Felony joyriding is punishable by up to five years in prison. Misdemeanor joyriding is punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to $1,500. Unless the defendant had access to the victim’s vehicle because of his or her employment (such as a valet, a mechanic, or even an employee using a company car), a judge can reduce the penalty for a first conviction for misdemeanor joyriding to 90 days in jail or a fine of $500.

On top of that, most theft is of ... stuff.  That puts it way below a ton of other crimes in my book.  Rape, murder, child abuse, felonious assault, etc.  The only things that are different here are (i) the thiefs took treasured photos and (ii) the Carrs get a lot of publicity due to Lloyd's prominence in the community and UofM's related support.  If another family lost precious heirlooms, etc., I doubt they would get the non-stop investigation that the Carr family got, per the article.

Theft isn't good, but we should be past chopping of hands (or balls) for doing it.

xtramelanin

April 14th, 2017 at 10:58 AM ^

in michigan.  if those hard drives were in there, those guys are in for big trouble, though one would hope that by telling them where the drives could be found that a significant measure of compassion/common sense would flow back their way.  

xtramelanin

April 14th, 2017 at 11:27 AM ^

if the PA wants to hammer them.   the relevant part of mcl 750.531 provides as follows:

 or shall attempt to break, burn, blow up or otherwise injure or destroy any safe, vault or other depository of money, bonds or other valuables in any building or place, shall, whether he succeeds or fails in the perpetration of such larceny or felony, be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life or any term of years.

 

 

 

Bigku22

April 14th, 2017 at 12:58 PM ^

No judge in the country is going to give someone life in prison for a common burglary crime, The statue is left generic "any term of years" so it can be interpreted by the courts to give a punishment commensurate with the crime. Breaking into a home residence and stealing from a fire safe vault doesn't equal life in prison. 

Take your emotion out of it. The thieves didn't know who/what they were robbing, complied once caught, they deserve a standard punishment for first degree burglary. 

xtramelanin

April 14th, 2017 at 2:24 PM ^

scheme before you pop off like that.  also, there is no such crime as 'first degree burglary' in michigan, or 'res burg' as it is more commonly known.   

assuming even a small amount of priors for either of these two guys, they are looking at a realistic minimum of 270-400 months.  remember in michigan that is the minimum they would do, and the upper term would always be 'life' in michigan's indeterminate sentencing guidelines.

 

Bigku22

April 14th, 2017 at 3:00 PM ^

You might want to familiarize yourself with proper capitalization and spelling if you're going to pretend to be a lawyer. 

http://www.burglarylaws.com/michigan/

It was a non-violent burglary with no weapons involved. You're just assuming priors? A minimum of 22-33 years in jail? In Michigan sentencing guidelines are advisory, not mandatory. You should be a legal analyst for Fox News with this inflammatory rhetoric.

http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2015/07/michigan_supreme_co…

xtramelanin

April 14th, 2017 at 3:08 PM ^

felony.  have you?  i didn't think so.  how many decades have you practiced criminal law?  you undoubtedly know that while the guidelines may be advisory as per recent case law, the courts in most jurisdictions follow them.  and in fact, the further north you go in our state, generally speaking, the further above the guidelines a judge will sentence.   suggest you also look at the statutes as opposed to 'mlive' or random internet sites for your study time.  you will be better served. 

 

Bigku22

April 14th, 2017 at 4:48 PM ^

I'm not a lawyer, and we will see how it plays out, but I find it very hard to believe any judge would sentence these guys to 25-life unless they have a long history of crime or prior violent crimes. Even then it would be absurd. Also, how is the further north I go relevant? This is just outside of AA. You seem fixated on this safe cracking language but it doesn't speak to any minimum guideline, and did they even crack/break/burn it? Or was it open and they just stole from it? Seems like a stretch, and a risk for any PA to try and prosecute against. They likely plead guilty to a home invasion/burglary charge and get a plea deal. 

I would assume that statue for safe cracking exist to protect banks, classified government documents, etc.. not to protect belongings in a fire safe in someone's personal residence. Do you have any sourced case history where someone was prosecuted using that statue for a personal home fire safe?

xtramelanin

April 14th, 2017 at 9:59 PM ^

opened.  from the facts described, this wouldn't be a risk for the PA, just the opposite, a dunk shot if they want to take it.  and to answer your question, 'yes', i have case histories including cases i've handled.   i mention that statute because many aren't aware of it and it is the far more dangerous charge which these guys seem to be liable for.  to put that in perspective, they could get 'lucky' and only plead to a 15 yr felony.  and from my initial post i'm sure you picked up on the fact that i am not advocating for a 'life' sentence or anything close to the 270-400 month minimums they likely have. 

i mention more northern counties only to illustrate that judges can and will go above the guidelines.  there are a few southern counties that i am aware of that the judge(s) will hit you beyond the guidelines as well.  

Wendyk5

April 14th, 2017 at 10:59 AM ^

Not defending their crime at all but my guess is they didn't know what they were stealing, i.e the safe with the hard drives. Taking family photos of a child who passed away is infinitely (and I mean that literally) worse than stealing a safe with random stuff (possibly cash and jewelry) in it. I guess my point is these were probably your run-of-the-mill criminal scumbags as opposed to the type that would intentionally steal the photo history of Chad Carr. 

ScruffyTheJanitor

April 14th, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^

But this is more evidence that family memories need to be backed up. Every photo I take is backed up to ICloud + Amazon Prime Photos automatically and then copied to my PC and an external hard drive every few weeks or so. My computer is backed up once a month as well. 

StephenRKass

April 14th, 2017 at 12:19 PM ^

This is Good News on Good Friday. Thanks for sharing.

BTW . . . the link shows today's date, which made it likely it was not already posted. And if you wanted to be safe, you could do a search on "Carr" or "Stolen Hard Drive" or "Chad Carr." And page down to see all posts up in the last day.

EDIT:  I am definitely with the crowd who wants to see not vengeance, but punishment commensurate with the crime committed. In the article, it mentions that the alleged thieves saw the media coverage, and realized what they had done. They deserve at least a smidge of good will for not destroying the hard drive, knowing that it contained irreplacable pictures and memories of Chad.

MGoUberBlue

April 14th, 2017 at 11:00 AM ^

These two bozos also stole the Carrs' Lincoln.  When the authorities found the car it led directly to these two dopes.  How stupid can they be?

Hats off to the Good Guys for rapid and great detective work.