Crimes

Have you or someone you know been charged with Access Device Fraud in Pennsylvania? The charge of Access Device Fraud in Pennsylvania can have very serious consequences that can include up to seven years in prison and thousands in fines. At the minimum, you face up to two years in jail.

In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to use an access device to obtain, or try to obtain, another person’s money, property or services without their permission. Access devices include: Credit cards; Debit cards; any card with an account number printed on it. Then attempting or using the access device if it is issued to another person, counterfeit, canceled, revoked, altered, or incomplete.

Access Device Fraud includes publishing, making, selling, giving, or advertising an access device while knowing it is counterfeit, altered, issued to someone else, or otherwise not authorized for the user you are presenting it to.

The amount of money/value of the items purchases determines the severity of the offense. From a misdemeanor of the second degree all the way up to a felony of the third degree.

If the item is less than $50.00 the theft is a misdemeanor of the second degree. If the item is more than $50.00 but no more than $500.00 it is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the item is worth more than $500.00 it is a felony of the third degree

If you are charged with Access Device Fraud in Pennsylvania, do not talk to the police or prosecutors without an attorney. What you say will be taken out of context and used against you. If the police try to question you, exercise your sixth Amendment and tell them you want a lawyer. Do not consent to any searches of your house, computer, or phones without a proper warrant.

Once you have retained a competent Criminal Defense Attorney they will review all of the allegations being made by the police and prosecutors, including any evidence that they claim to have. Your attorney should gather the evidence or witnesses to show if you are innocent and/or just made an honest mistake, such as just using the wrong card or purchases the wrong item.

It is extremely important to contact an experienced law firm right away if you or someone you know is facing criminal charges in Pennsylvania. If you, your son, daughter, or loved one in Pennsylvania has been arrested for a crime in state or federal court in Pennsylvania you need legal representation. Here at Manchester and Associates, we represent people across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For a free consultation, we can be contacted at 1-800-243-4878.

Have you or someone you know been arrested for Aggravated Assault in Pennsylvania also known as Felony Assault? It is important that you contact an Attorney right away as you are at risk of going to prison for years, with thousands in fines, and other life changing complications that could follow you for the rest of your life. This charge is a Felony and is considered a violent crime that usually involves serious bodily injury, there are different levels of Felony, but all of them include the possibility of going to state prison. District Attorneys and the police aggressively pursue these charges because they are at the felony level, thus it is important that you hire an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.

Aggravated assault is:

1. An attempt to cause serious bodily injury to another, or causes such injury intentionally, knowingly or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life;
2. Or attempt to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes serious bodily injury to any of the officers, agents, employees or other persons enumerated in subsection (c) or to an employee of an agency, company or other entity engaged in public transportation, while in the performance of duty;
3. Or attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes serious bodily injury to a child less than 13 years of age, by a person 18 years of age or older.

These are the three most serious possible charges of Aggravated Assault in Pennsylvania as they are all graded as Felonies of the First Degree, which means that they are punishable up to 20 years in prison and with fines up to $25,000.

The next set of circumstances that can cause a charge of Aggravated Assault in Pennsylvania are:

1. Attempts to cause or intentionally or knowingly causes bodily injury to any of the officers, agents, employees or other persons enumerated in subsection (c), in the performance of duty (there is a very long list for this);
2. Or attempts to cause or intentionally or knowingly causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon; or attempts to cause or intentionally or knowingly causes bodily injury to a teaching staff member, school board member or other employee, including a student employee, of any elementary or secondary publicly-funded educational institution, any elementary or secondary private school licensed by the Department of Education or any elementary or secondary parochial school while acting in the scope of his or her employment or because of his or her employment relationship to the school;
3. Or attempts by physical menace to put any of the officers, agents, employees or other persons enumerated in subsection (c), while in the performance of duty, in fear of imminent serious bodily injury;
4. Or uses tear or noxious gas as defined in section 2708(b) (relating to use of tear or noxious gas in labor disputes) or uses an electric or electronic incapacitation device against any officer, employee or other person enumerated in subsection (c) while acting in the scope of his employment;
5. Or attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to a child less than six years of age, by a person 18 years of age or older.

These circumstances would result is a grading of a Felony of the second degree in Pennsylvania which means that you would be facing the possibility of going to jail for up to 10 years and face a fine of up to $25,000.

As you can see who you are alleged to have harmed, and how they claim you harmed them, makes a very serious difference in the possible charges. No matter at what level you are charged at you are facing very serious charges that will have a life changing impact on you and your family if you are convicted. I cannot stress enough how important it is to contact an experienced firm right away to help you with these types of charges. You might think you are trying to help by talking to the police but end up accidentally incriminate yourself. Even if you think you are doing the right thing by talking to the police or helping them you could be hurting your ability win these charges and thus be facing the possibility of going to state prison for many years.

It is extremely important to contact an experienced law firm right away if you or someone you know is charged with Aggravated Assault in Pennsylvania. If you, your son, daughter, or loved one in Pennsylvania has been arrested for a crime in state or federal court in Pennsylvania you need legal representation. Here at Manchester and Associates, we represent people across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For a free consultation we can be contacted at 1-800-243-4878.

Have you or someone you know been charged with Arson in Pennsylvania? The charge of Arson in Pennsylvania can have very serious consequences that can include up to five years in prison and thousands in fines.

There are varying degrees of Arson in Pennsylvania; including Felonies that can result in the death penalty, life in prison, a maximum of 40 years in prison, Felony charges, Misdemeanor charges, and even a summary offense. The multiple different subsections for the charge of Arson in Pennsylvania they are as follows;

(a) Arson Endangering Persons.

(1) A person commits a felony of the first degree if you start a fire or causes an explosion, that recklessly places another person in danger of death or bodily injury, or purposefully destroy; or damage an inhabited building or occupied structure of another.

(2) A person commits murder of the second degree if the fire or explosion causes the death of any person, or is guilty of murder of the first degree if the fire was set with the purpose of causing the death of another person and another person dies.

(a.1) Aggravated Arson.

(1) A person commits a felony of the first degree if he intentionally starts a fire that causes bodily injury to another person, or a felony when a person is present inside the property at the time of the offense.

(2) A person who commits aggravated arson is guilty of murder of the second degree if the fire or explosion causes the death of any person.

(a.2) Arson Of Historic Resource. – A person commits a felony of the second degree if the person, with the intent of destroying or damaging a historic resource of another, intentionally starts a fire or causes an explosion, whether on the person’s own property or that of another or aids another.

(c) Arson Endangering Property. – A person commits a felony of the second degree if he intentionally starts a fire with intent of destroying or damaging a building or unoccupied structure of another; or recklessly places an inhabited building or occupied structure in danger of damage or destruction; or commits the act with intent of destroying or damaging any property, to collect insurance for such loss.

(d) Reckless Burning Or Exploding. – A person commits a felony of the third degree if he intentionally starts a fire, and recklessly places an uninhabited building or unoccupied structure of another in danger of damage or destruction; or places any personal property of another having a value that exceeds $5,000 or if the property is an automobile, airplane, motorcycle, motorboat or other motor-propelled vehicle in danger of damage or destruction.

(d.1) Dangerous Burning. – A person commits a summary offense if he intentionally or recklessly starts a fire to endanger any person or property of another whether or not any damage to person or property actually occurs.

(e) Failure To Control Or Report Dangerous Fires. – A person who knows that a fire is endangering the life or property of another and fails to take reasonable measures to put out or control the fire, when he can do so without substantial risk to himself, or to give a prompt fire alarm, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if he knows that he is under an official, contractual or other legal duty to control or combat the fire; or the fire was started, albeit lawfully, by him or with his assent, or on property in his custody or control.

(f) Possession Of Explosive Or Incendiary Materials Or Devices. – A person commits a felony of the third degree if he possesses, manufactures or transports any incendiary or explosive device or material with the intent to use or to provide such device or material to commit any offense described in this chapter.

(b) Sentence.

(1) A person convicted of violating the provisions of subsection (a)(2), murder of the first degree, shall be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without right to parole; a person convicted of murder of the second degree, pursuant to subsection (a)(2), shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without right to parole. Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary, no language herein shall infringe upon the inherent powers of the Governor to commute said sentence.

(2) A person convicted under subsection (a.1) may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment which shall be fixed by the court at not more than 40 years if bodily injury results to a firefighter, police officer or other person actively engaged in fighting the fire; or serious bodily injury results to a civilian.

As you can see from this very lengthy statue to which I have trimmed down, being charges with Arson in Pennsylvania is a very serious offense. The results of a conviction are all over the board from a summary violation that would result in a fine, to possible murder charges that can result in the death penalty or life in prison, to everything else in between. If the police arrest you for Arson it is very important to be polite but remain silent and request to speak with your lawyer right away. Anything you say can and will be used against you. With so much at risk it is important that you exercise your constitutional rights from the very beginning.

It is extremely important to contact an experienced law firm right away in you or someone you know is charged with Arson in Pennsylvania. If you, your son, daughter, or loved one in Pennsylvania has been arrested for a crime in state or federal court in Pennsylvania you need legal representation. Here at Manchester and Associates, we represent people across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For a strategy session, we can be contacted at 1-800-243-4878.

Have you or someone you know been arrested for domestic violence in Pennsylvania? When the charge of Domestic Violence is involved you are dealing with family or significate others where emotions will be running high. You must protect yourself by talking to an experienced law firm because the impact of a charge like this can affect you for the rest of your life. These charges come out of anger, jealousy, or spite during breakup or arguments, sometime as a desire for revenge, whether they are truthful or not. Just being charged with Domestic Violence in Pennsylvania can have drastic consequences for you in the short term and the long term.

Domestic Violence is charged when you are being accused of attacking a spouse or person who have been a spouse, or a person living as a spouse or who lived as a spouse, parent and children, other persons related by consanguinity or affinity, current or former sexual or intimate partners or persons who share biological parenthood.

Basically anyone with whom you are in a relationship with or living together with; spouses, former spouses, children, parents and significant others. The possible offense that Domestic Violence is attached to can be harassment, simple assault, aggravated assault, stalking, false imprisonment, sexual assault, or rape to name a few. Once these charges are levied against you the District Attorney’s office will usually go through with the charges regardless if the “victim” tells the Prosecutors that they want the charges dismissed.

When charged with Domestic Violence in Pennsylvania the first thing that will happen is your bail will be set and it will usually include a no contact provision with the “victim”. This more often than not will result in you being kicked out of your house, because you are not allowed to have contact with the victim who is living there. Meaning you will not be able to get the items you need, you will not be able to see your kids, and will have to live in a hotel or out of your car until the bail condition is changed or until the case is resolved in a manner that will allow you to return home.

If you are found guilty of domestic violence in Pennsylvania you can face a possible jail sentence with a lengthy probation sentence to follow, in addition you will lose your right to purchase or own a firearm. You may have to take anger management classes where you will receive counseling, and have to perform community service. These consequences will follow you for the rest of your life.

It is extremely important to contact an experienced law firm right away if you or someone you know is charged with a Crime in Pennsylvania where the police are claiming domestic violence. If you, your son, daughter, or loved one in Pennsylvania has been arrested for a crime in state or federal court in Pennsylvania you need legal representation. Here at Manchester and Associates, we represent people across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For a free consultation we can be contacted at 1-800-243-4878.

What Is Recklessly Endangering Another Person?

Have you or someone you know been arrested for Reckless Endangering Another Person in Pennsylvania? This is a Misdemeanor of the 2^nd degree which can carry a jail sentence of up to 2 years and a fine up to $5000. This charge is also commonly referred to as REAP.

A person commits this offense when:

1. They engage in reckless conduct that places or may place another person in danger of death or serious bodily injury.
2. Conduct is deemed reckless when the person consciously ignores a great and unjustifiable risk that what he or she is doing will cause another person to be seriously injured.
3. Under this statute, serious bodily injury includes an injury that causes or could cause a long-term loss in the function of a body part, or that which could cause serious permanent disfigurement.

This type of charge is usually connected with other charges in Pennsylvania such as DUI with an accident, Homicide by Vehicle, Homicide by Vehicle DUI, Simple Assault, Aggravated Assault, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Child abuse, and other violent scenarios. REAP can even be charged based upon unintentional acts that hurt or endanger others in Pennsylvania. The District Attorney does not have to prove actual harm only that there was the situation in which placed a person in danger of death or serious bodily injury through your reckless actions.

The key to understanding this charge is centered on whether or not what you did was actually reckless. The police may have charged you because they believed your action was reckless, but in reality what you did may have simply been negligence. Many factors may influence the police in their decision that you were recklessly endangering another person. For example, if the police smell alcohol or find illegal drugs in your car after an accident this may affect whether they consider that your actions were reckless.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to contact an experienced firm right away to help you with these types of charges as you might be trying to “help” the police and accidentally incriminate yourself. Even if you think you are doing the right thing by talking to the police or helping them in some other manner you could be hurting your ability win against these charges and thus be facing the possibility of going to jail.

It is extremely important to contact an experienced law firm right away if you or someone you know is charged with Reckless Endangering Another Person in Pennsylvania. If you, your son, daughter, or loved one in Pennsylvania has been arrested for a crime in state or federal court in Pennsylvania you need legal representation. Here at Manchester and Associates, we represent people across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For a free consultation we can be contacted at 1-800-243-4878.