Posted on 10/06/2011 10:16:19 PM PDT by Borough Park
Two teenagers broke into a California home in order to steal a few valuables, including a stack of blank CDs. When they returned home with their loot they discovered that the CDs weren’t actually blank, they contained Kraig Stockard’s child pornography collection. The two robbers decided to turn themselves in to police in order to turn over the collection.
The Huffington Post reports that the Merced County Sheriff’s Department decided not to arrest the two burglars. They did, however, decide to raid Stockard’s home.
The police seized several computers, laptops and other hardware, but they did not say if they found any more contraband. Regardless, the police still had plenty of evidence on the stolen disks to arrest Stockard. According to a statement from police, 30 of the 50 stolen disks contained child pornography. The Sheriff’s Department said that thousands of photos and videos were found on the disks.
Stockard was booked on possession of child pornography, but Fox 40 reports that he has already posted his $25000 bail.
My Fox 40 reports that although the police did not press charges against the two thieves, the two teenagers aren’t completely off the hook. Their case has been turned over to the Merced County District Attorney’s Office for review.
Deputy Tom McKenzie said:
“We did not actually go out and arrest the suspects for the burglary. They were obviously the lesser of two evils.”
Should the two robbers, a minor and a 19-year-old, be punished for stealing? Or should their misdeeds be over looked because they uncovered a greater evil?
(Excerpt) Read more at inquisitr.com ...
The Lord works in mysterious ways.
[so...can we hang him, now?]
A good defense attorney will have a field day with this one. Easy money.
ping.
Placemark for tomorrow pingout!
It takes a lot of guts to turn yourself in for a crime,kudos to these punks for doing the right thing after doing a wrong.
How do they know that the CDs were actually owned by the guy? Couldn’t anyone say, hey, I was robbing my neighbor’s and look what I found.
Not really. The burglars are not state actors. The porn guy is toast.
One day, what we all do in secret will be revealed to all. This guy, just a little sooner, he he.
The guy will probably be charged for what was found pursuant to the warrant, rather than what the burglars brought in.
Does seem like a matter of “illegal search and seizure.” Gonna be interesting to see how this plays out. My guess...he pleads guilty in exchange for a sentence of “counseling.”
Yep. He is toast. They were not acting as government agents so any evidence they turned over that led to the search warrant on the computers in his possession is admissible.
Even criminals have their own morality and ethics.
How so? Would an attorney be able to challenge the evidence on a "chain of custody" basis?
Although I think this POS, should be prosecuted, any good defense attorney could punch many holes in this one.
They raided this home on the results of a home burglary? And dropped the charges on the buglers.
How do they know that the files collected came from the defendant? They could have been part of the burgers home stash, etc, etc.
And even if a conviction is obtained consistent with the above, an appeals court would toss it if it were shown that the "burglars" were put up to it by the police. Which would be a good thing, since we don't want the police motivated to pursue this sort of fishing expedition!
Oh, and their names, please?
I am beginning to notice in the past few arrests of this type that perverts collecting child pornography have THOUSANDS of photos videos etc. 30 CDs full of child porn. Normal humans would be revolted by a single photo of a sexually abused child but these pervs build massive collections to the point I can only conclude that behind their vacuous eyes, they are dead inside and are mere walking encyclopedias of kiddie porn and evil. Talk about soul rot.
Warrants are sworn out on reliable information. Someone turning themselves in for one crime in order to report a more serious one is pretty reliable, especially when they bring tangible evidence of the greater crime.
This is NOT evidence which the State has seized illegally. It has been dropped into their laps by private individuals.
The only way this guy gets off is if there is nothing incriminating in the materials seized at his home pursuant to the warrant. If the only evidence is what the two burglars brought in, he does have a case that no one can establish these materials were in his possession.
Poisoned tree.
Yep, I can tell you’re a college “perfesser” alright, by the punctuation and questionable ethics! I say the young perps should be commended for doing the right thing, even though it exposes their own crimes. They can negotiate a plea deal and become model citizens for the future.
JC
Escalation.
Much of the thrill is that the activity is forbidden fruit. The very fact that it is illicit is part of the thrill. As that thrill wanes, it needs more extreme or more frequent stimulation. Like any other addict.
Soul rot. Yes. An apt description.
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