THEFT: Florida Cop’s Wife Allegedly Stole Neighbor’s Christmas Gifts

Late last week a Florida woman was caught on a surveillance camera stealing 2 boxes of Christmas presents from her neighbor’s porch. It just happened that she was the wife of a Florida policeman and the neighbors were also a police family.

The incident took place and was filmed last Friday but the arrest of Dana Hager did not take place until Monday when she was charged with burglary. Deputies from Polk County apprehended the 42-year-old after the victim had posted on her Facebook page the surveillance video showing the alleged crime.

Sheriff Grady was appalled by the action of a cop’s wife stealing from another cop and the fact that the whole incident was pasted on Facebook.

Hager, the wife of a Police sergeant from Haines City Police, allegedly stole the 2 UPS cartons about 10 p.m. while the 3 members of the family were in their home. The mother and daughter watched the surveillance video coming from the camera positioned by the front door where they saw Hager grab the boxes and throw them into the back of her car and drive off. The contents of the packages were Christmas presents for the daughter.

After the incident happened, the victim posted the footage on to Facebook where it was viewed by around 50,000 people.

Hager is not new to crime as she was apparently already on probation for a shoplifting incident in Kohl’s. She now faces charges in relation to petty theft, unarmed burglary, and violating a probation order.

She is certainly likely to get more than a telling off from the court when she eventually appears to face the charges. The state of Florida has tough penalties for burglary and theft, especially for repeat offenders. She will need an experienced Florida criminal defense lawyer to help in her defense against an unsympathetic prosecution. She has not only committed a crime but she has grabbed the attention of members of the public through social media giant Facebook partly because she was the wife of a police officer.

A Florida criminal defense attorney could assist Hager by arranging a plea bargain. This is an agreement organized between the defense and the prosecution where both parties give up something and get something in return. In the case of the prosecution it saves the time, expense and uncertainty of taking a defendant to trial to try to get the maximum penalty in exchange for a lesser charge or sentence and either rehabilitation, punishment or both. Sometimes a good plea bargain may result in dropped charges.

The defendant, however, may enter a guilty or no contest plea and is no longer likely to be tried by a jury but should get more favorable treatment from the prosecutor and judge. This could be pleading guilty to a less serious crime than was actually committed or some or all charges may be dropped completely. The prosecution could make a recommendation that the defendant gets a lighter punishment or sentence than if the defendant was tried in court by a judge and jury.

Not all plea bargains are good in every case. Many cases should be tried and won by a competent and aggressive criminal defense attorney. In fact, the more likely your attorney is known for going to trial frequently, the better the plea bargain your lawyer can obtain for you. So, when pre-qualifying your potential lawyer, make sure you find out whether the attorney is known for fighting and trying cases or if the attorney simply specializes in plea bargaining. This may mean a big difference in whether you will wind up with a criminal record or possibly get your case dismissed.

In this case Ms. Hager has an uphill battle, since her conduct was recorded by surveillance video and she has a prior theft event. Since she entered the cartilage of a home to commit a crime, she is facing felony burglary charges as well as the petty theft charge. Although there are possible ways of excluding certain evidence in court, her Florida criminal defense lawyer will have his or her hands full with this case.

Increase your knowledge! If you want to know more about how to resolve the problems you face when charged with a criminal offense in Florida, then you can follow Miami Criminal Attorney Albert M. Quirantes on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

If you have any questions about this or any other criminal accusation, call Miami Criminal Defense Lawyer Albert Quirantes at: 305-644-1800 or visit our homepage www.CriminalDefendant.com for a direct link to the office or a text message or a map and directions to our office.