If you believe you may be under investigation for a criminal offense in Virginia, the following is what you should know according to a Leesburg criminal defense attorney. For more information on your case and what you can do, call and schedule a consultation today.
The telltale signs that you are being investigated for a crime in Leesburg are that a Loudoun County Office’s Deputy or a Virginia State Police Trooper or the Town of Leesburg Police Department Officer will contact you to talk about the case or contact you and ask to chat. You may have not have had any prior contact with a law enforcement officer and you may not have had any reason to have contact with law enforcement officer. If law enforcement contacts you out of the blue and they want to chat, it is a telltale sign that you are being investigated for a crime -either as a person who has committed the crime or as potential witness to the crime.
Yes, during the course of an investigation it is common for law enforcement to reach out to anyone involved to try to gain more information about your background. This can include your employers, your family, friends or other people, team, accomplices or co-defenders.
Generally speaking, law enforcement must have a warrant in order to access your materials. This will include private emails or information taken from your phone or other data sources. However, there are certain exceptions to these search rules. These include when you put information on public forums such as Facebook or chat rooms, which are commonly used for investigating certain offenses
Furthermore, Virginia allows certain calls to be recorded. If one caller is in Virginia and one party has knowledge of the recording, your phone calls may be recorded without your consent.
Depending on the nature of the offense you may be subject to certain legal action prior to a charge being brought or during the course of an investigation after the charges are being brought. If you are charged with any financial crime or a white-collar crime, your accounts or assets may be frozen during the course of your investigation. If this occurs, contact an attorney right away.
The most common state and local agencies involved in investigating crimes in Leesburg include the Virginia State Police, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Town of Leesburg Police Department. It is common for all three of these agencies to investigate criminal activities in Leesburg.
There are several categories of crimes that tend to be investigated more often than others prior to an arrest. The most common categories that tend to be investigated before an arrest include financial offenses such as embezzlement, obtaining money on false pretenses, or fraud. Other categories of crimes include serious crimes of sexual nature such as:
In these matters, it is not uncommon for search warrants to be issued prior to arrest.
Additionally, crimes involving lengthy investigations, including drug distribution and drug manufacturing, also tend to be investigated before an arrest.
It is common for an investigation to continue after an arrest because the authorities want to develop a strong case. This means the authorities may attempt to speak with you about the facts and circumstances of your alleged conduct even after your arrest. This is where a lawyer can help. An experienced Leesburg criminal defense attorney can advise you of your rights, including your legal rights to refuse to speak to law enforcement about the case.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
