A federal jury has acquitted Bobby Nunez, who was charged with stealing government property by towing an immigration agent’s vehicle during the arrest of a TikTok influencer in downtown L.A.

A federal jury has acquitted Bobby Nunez, who was charged with stealing government property by towing an immigration agent’s vehicle during the arrest of a TikTok influencer in downtown L.A.

  • ✺roguetrick✺@lemmy.world
    381·
    2 days ago

    Of course they aquitted him. The prosecutor was an idiot for even trying to shoehorn a federal theft of government property onto him. It cannot be theft if you have no intent to permanently deprive. The statute:

    Whoever embezzles, steals, purloins, or knowingly converts to his use or the use of another, or without authority, sells, conveys or disposes of any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof, or any property made or being made under contract for the United States or any department or agency thereof; or

    Whoever receives, conceals, or retains the same with intent to convert it to his use or gain, knowing it to have been embezzled, stolen, purloined or converted—

    Shit is a total own goal. Dude moved it. Wasn’t conversion(which is what convey in the statute is referring to). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morissette_v._United_States on that exact statute for why this was always going to fail.