Got a call from police!!

[david martin]

:confused: Ok, Here is the situation.
A freind of mine left his boat at my house for 4 months, I called him and told him that the boat has to be gone from my house due too the civic club coming down on me!(private comunity) He told me to get rid of the boat myself.
I took the boat to the local boat ramp and painted FREE on the side of it.
(This boat was complete, trailer and all.) Motor was cracked(block).
I got a call from the police wanting to know how the boat end up being abanned on the side of the road?? Boat was completly stripped!!
I have not seen the boat yet.(Come back from Texas to deel with this matter)
What am I in for? Can I get into trouble for leaving the boat at the ramp with a free sign on it?(Public ramp) Its not in my name but I did not want to get the previous owner in trouble so I told the cop , I left it at the ramp for free.
David

The cop investigating this matter seen the boat at the ramp with the parts on it and seen it again dumped on the side of the road stripped a few days later.

[Little Jon]

I don't think you will be in any trouble at all. You dumped it off. Someone else came along, grabbed it.

[Jon.Bucy]

Just curious, what kind of boat/motor?

[MercNuts]

As an older member who has falled down many times in life and then gotten back up and learned not to trip in a similar pothole again I sometimes offer unsolicited advice to younger people who it seems bring challenges upone themselves by using poor judgement. I think there have been a couple of those that have been made public now in your case so the advice is think things through better before you act. Me thinks I remember a case of a boat mess when you had issues with the registration numbers and there was nearly an arrest or impoundment or something. I could be wrong and confusing it with someone else but if that was the case it could have easily been avoided by using a little conservative judgement.

It is clear that in this case better judgement and forethought would have avoided this mess. You left yourself open to several options which were all bad for you. If someone had taken that boat and had an accident resulting from you leaving it there they could claim you lent it to them and you would be liable. If the owner did not like you giving his boat away you could theoretically be charged with theft or he could sue you for the value. The SMART thing to have done would have been to call local law enforcement and tell them this boat was abandonded on your property and have them tow it to the local pound which in many areas it would be done for free. If you had not wanted to do that you should have served the owner with a notice via registered mail return receipt requested that if the boat was not removed you would dispose of it in any way possible within a given amount of time and then do it. To basically drop it off when you did not have legal title creates the potential for so many problems it is ridiculous to even think about. No title or ownership and possibility for personal liability if the wrong person gets it and lies about its origin and public dumping.

Unless my memory is wrong this is at least the second time that out of state trips have been required to clean up a mess that was completely unnecessary to make if just a little bit of thought had preceeded the poor decision making.

Life is much easier if you look before you leap. [think before you act]

[2 De River]

There are charitys that take boats then re sell them for money then give you a tax receipt to file on your tax return. That way you might have seen a little something for your inconvenience of having to move it.

[Sheer Insanity]

Your so called friend should take the heat for this. :thumbsup:

[Tom D.]

How did they trace the boat back to you?

[Da Bull]

How did they trace the boat back to you?



Thats what i was wondering.

DB

[ThrashN]

I was wondering the same thing.
I know this is an after thought, I would have listed it on Carigslist for free. I'm sure someone would have picked it up within a day.
Good luck getting this mess sorted out.

[david martin]

I was just checking up on the post that I have posted and realized that you guys have responded. Yes I have had previous issues with a boat and I won that case and donated the boat to cherity. I am learning the hard way or should I say I have learded the hard way? Anyway, I am being charged with littering and dumping over 500 pounds on a public ramp.(5 years or $30,000.00 fine) I was out of town when the boat was dumped. The police officer who found the boat is backing me up on this situation.(my witness) I can show my where abouts at the time of this boat was dumped.(1557 miles away) I legally can not sell nor donate a boat in the state of Maryland if the title is not in my name. I have tryed to help people and get screwed in the end. O well, it is what it is and I will let you guys know how it ends in court. Court is june 29,2009
David
Original owner told the cop he left the boat at my house.

[RNM018]

5 Years or $30,000.oo !!! Wow , Don't ya'll have county dumps up there ?


Rich Martin 018:eek:

[85allison]

The illeagl dumping is a charge that they would stick to a case such as this. They consider public ramps as county property and a park here in FL. Dumping or abandoning trash, vehicles, or other goods turns into a felony if it is over 300lbs. I am sure you will get a lesser charge as long as you cooperate with the judge and whomever else is involved. Good luck.

[flabum1017]

Personally, I would have told the owner to come get it and dispose of it himself. What you did was in fact dumping a boat....leaving it somwhere that is not your property with the intention of never going back for it is "dumping".

How it got to the side of the road stripped is another story, regardless you are still responsible unless the person who stripped it and re-dumped it comes forward.

[baja200merk]

The illeagl dumping is a charge that they would stick to a case such as this. They consider public ramps as county property and a park here in FL. Dumping or abandoning trash, vehicles, or other goods turns into a felony if it is over 300lbs. I am sure you will get a lesser charge as long as you cooperate with the judge and whomever else is involved. Good luck.

apparently you have never been to gerritsen beach brooklyn:thumbsup:

[bigbore]

Kicked a queer out the side a the car sat. night,u can have that sh$$:cool:

[BUSHWACKER]

I remember the motor number deal, out west if I'm correct....but J C this is like Alice's Restaurant Massacree II :eek:
Best of luck to ya :cheers:

[Sheer Insanity]

How can you be charged for dumping a boat that isnt yours? 5 years or 30K is more than most crimes?? I'm glad I moved from Md. Where is your so called friend to back you up on this??

[delawarerick]

:iagree:how did they get your name and is dnr or troopers bringing charges? Cant you just take the boat to disposal yard? I wish you luck on this one. After your other mishap I went mad trying to find numbers on a motor I bought from Shorts Marine and they told me not to worry about it that the powerhead was a replacement. The plug had v200 for a number and told me thats how they came when replaced under warranty. Rick

[Jason Johnson]

Been in this situation before myself. I will actually go bring it back to the owner my damm self and the file charges for the money owed. Happen twice in 17yrs. For the record, I always have wanted to go drop it off when that happens.

[david martin]

They got my name from the owner and now the State of Maryland is charging me. My lawyer says it was not a crime becouse someone took the boat from where I parked it and not the State of Maryland. I hope he is right. I have several pictures of boats sitting in the same place with for sale signs on them.(2 of them look worse than the one I put there)
David

[delawarerick]

This guy looks like a scumbag. .02 Rick
good luck

[RNM018]

You mean to tell me ,after your freind dumped the boat on you . He rolled on you for getting rid of it for him . Man , I can't tell you how to handle your buisness , but that's just wrong in so many ways !

Rich Martin 018:mad: