Crime

“Suspended Sentence” in Criminal Cases – What Does It Mean?

“Suspended Sentence” in Criminal Cases – Do U.S.-based law offenders automatically go behind bars after the court issues their jail or prison sentence? Not necessarily.

In American criminal law, a judge can suspend or delay imposing a convicted criminal’s sentence as long as the offenders comply with specific court-ordered conditions.

The defendant or accused must fulfill these conditions during probation instead of spending time behind bars.

The judge can dismiss the offender’s case if the latter completes the probation without any violations. Still, the judge can impose the original sentence if the probationer breaks any terms.

A suspended sentence is one of the types of criminal sentences under the U.S. justice system. You can learn more about this topic by viewing this article.

What are the different types of suspended sentences in America, and when do U.S. courts grant them? Read on to discover how suspended sentencing works and what determines eligibility for this kind of sentencing.

Suspended Sentence in the U.S.: Definition and Types

Criminal convictions in the U.S. don’t always involve staying in a correctional facility.

American courts can order offenders with minor violations to pay fines and restitution or do community service work.

Judges in the U.S. could also suspend or delay a portion of a person’s entire jail or prison sentence, depending on the crime committed, the severity of the violation, and the laws that apply to the crime. This penalty is called a suspended sentence.

A suspended sentence is a split or partially suspended sentence if the court suspends several years of the prison sentence and orders the offender to undergo probation for the remaining part of the sentence.

Courts can indicate suspended sentences numerically, like 5-2-3.

In this case, the first number represents the entire sentence, and the second number stands for the years required to stay in jail or prison. The final number is the number of years under probation.

Offenders can leave their correctional institution once on probation status. But they must follow terms set by the court strictly.

Otherwise, a violation can lead to the revocation of probation, which means returning to jail or prison to serve the rest of one’s sentence.

After completing probation, the court considers the offender as having served the entire sentence.

Meanwhile, when a judge suspends all of a person’s prison or jail time, the offender won’t have to undergo an incarceration period.

Suspended vs. Deferred Sentences

Besides suspended sentencing, courts can issue deferred sentences, wherein judges delay entering a conviction against an offender.

Instead, these top members of the court order criminals to serve the terms of their probation.

Compared to a suspended sentence, a deferred sentence can prevent the retention of a criminal conviction on one’s record if the offender completes the probation without any violations.

When offenders fulfill their probation without incident reports, the judge can change the initial guilty plea to not guilty.

Suspended sentencing often results after a plea bargain agreement, wherein the defendant pleads guilty to a crime to negotiate a reduced sentence.

In a suspended sentence, the conviction stays on the person’s criminal record even after successfully avoiding probation violations.

Who Is Eligible for Suspended Sentencing?

States decide what violations are suspendable and the eligibility for suspended sentences.

Also, courts will decide to grant a suspended sentence depending on:

The defendant’s criminal history
Severity of charges
Whether the defendant poses a danger to the community

Courts typically consider issuing suspended sentences for first-time and minor or nonviolent offenses.

But when the state’s criminal laws require a mandatory minimum jail or prison term for a crime, the judge cannot suspend the sentence.

Defendants can consult defense lawyers when they receive a suspended sentence to ensure that they stay out of jail or prison and fulfill their probation.

Fulfilling Probation Requirements

When offenders serve probation under their suspended sentence, the court will expect them to abide by specific conditions.

The terms can include reporting to a probation officer if the judge puts the person under supervised probation.

Probation conditions include:

Following curfews
Finding and keeping a job
Staying in school
Avoiding drug and alcohol use and joining a rehabilitation program to treat these addictions
Attending other programs that the court requires, like counseling or parenting classes
Performing community service
Not committing a new offense

The probation officer writes regular reports about an offender’s progress for supervised probation. These reports go to the court for the judge to review.

When the officer reports a violation, the prosecutor files a motion to revoke the probation. The court then issues a notice for the offender to attend the revocation hearing before deciding on their fate.

The judge allows the resumption of one’s probation with additional conditions or extends the probation period. The court can order the person to return to jail or prison, depending on the severity of the violation.

References

1. Suspended sentence

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/suspended_sentence

2. What is a Suspended Sentence?

https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-procedure/suspended-sentences.html

3. Sentencing

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/sentencing

4. What Are Potential Non-Prison Sentences?

https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/criminal-defense/sentencing/what-are-potential-non-prison-sentences.html

5. Probation Violations

https://www.justia.com/criminal/parole-and-probation/probation-violations/

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Crime

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested for Running Scam Call Center

Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.

Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.

According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.

Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.

His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.

During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.

The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.

She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.

Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.

The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.

The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.

Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.

He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.

Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.

On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.

His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.

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Crime

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourists Over Home Invasions

Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.

Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.

He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.

Police called to home invasion

Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.

When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.

They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.

While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.

Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.

The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.

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Crime

Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network

The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.

Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.

Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.

Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.

According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.

Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.

Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.

According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.

According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.

Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.

But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.

The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.