Going to General Sessions Court was definitely a learning experience. Here’s what happened:
First thing I noticed when I entered the courtroom was that it was organized chaos. More Judge Judy than Law & Order, but still I didn’t know what to expect or what I needed to do. Eventually, someone called my name and told me what was to happen, and a handy little pamphlet of legal terms. Turns out, she’s a Coordinator with the Victim Witness Services, part of the District Attorney’s office.
They have information about going to court, which I wish I would have known about and read before going in. At least I wasn’t completely alone; my neighbor who had seen the break-in was also subpoenaed and in court Tuesday morning. We talked about things, got to know each other a bit better, and tried to figure things out together.
There were a lot of things going on with the judge, lawyers, defendants, probation officers, and other officials. They were trying to find the lawyer for the guy who was a co-defendant of the woman who has been charged in my break-in, so there was some delay. The guy hasn’t been charged with anything about my break-in, but the detective told me that he was the one who did it — they are waiting for the fingerprints that the crime unit took at my house to come back and give more evidence, since the guy isn’t talking.
Once the lawyer was found and everyone assembled, the preliminary hearing started. Everyone was sworn in, and then sent out of the courtroom. The judge started hearing testimony. The first person called was someone who apparently saw the defendants steal a car. He testified for about 15-20 minutes. Then the court called the guy who’s car had been stolen. He testified, with an interpreter, for about 10 minutes. The defendants were driving the stolen car when during my break-in (that’s based on what my neighbor saw).
I really didn’t know what was going on, but the detective and officers on the case were in the hallway with me and my neighbor, giving us running commentary on what they thought was going on. That was interesting. The detective was called next, and he testified for about 10 minutes. Then I was called up.
I went up to the witness box, sitting to the left of the judge — an older woman, who was very business-like but nice. The woman from the District Attorney’s office asked me to state my name for the record, and then asked me questions. This is what I remember:
DA lawyer: Did something occur at your place of residence occur on or about April 10, 2009?
Me: Yes, my house was broken into.
Is your home located in Davidson County?
Yes.
What happened?
I came home from work and found the back gate to the patio open, but the kitchen door was still locked. I noticed broken glass on the floor in the dining room and things messed up, a few things were out of place or broken. I thought my dog had gotten stressed during the storms earlier in the day, but then I saw my tv was gone and things moved around. I grabbed my dog and went to my neighbor’s house and called the police.
What was missing?
TV, DVD player, some DVDs, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, digital camera, a toolbox, a few little things, and plastic bins that had been in my hall closet. (The judge asked me to explain the plastic bins — I said they were the larger bins that you can store sweaters in, not the smaller ones.)
How much was the value of things missing?
About $5000, I guess.
Was anything damaged?
Yes, my kitchen door, door frame, and a couple of floor tiles were damaged. There was also the broken vase and a plant and plant stand that had been knocked over.
How much will it cost to repair the damage?
$400 or so.
Did you authorize anyone to enter my home on that day?
No.
Did you authorize [female defendant] or [male defendant] to enter my home on that day?
No.
Do you know [female defendant] or [male defendant]?
No.
The two defense lawyers didn’t have any questions for me. The judge then released me, and stated that the case would be bound over to the grand jury. My neighbor was not called to testify.
The Victim Witness Services Coordinator said it would probably be several months before anything happens. I may be called to testify in a trial, if it gets that far.
One last thing: While I was waiting in the hallway, an officer stopped by and asked the other officer and detective what was going on. After they told him what it was, he said, “oh, that’s why we haven’t gotten a lot of calls in that area in the last week — they’ve been in custody.” I thought that was interesting, and goes with what the detective told me before about these two being involved in other crimes in the area.
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