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Long story short,

My ex stopped answering my calls and seemed to have blocked me. I had to move out two weeks ago but hadn't retrieved all of my belongings. When we lived together, I had some of my things packed away in a Tahoe in the parking lot. So two nights ago, I went to go get some of my stuff from the Tahoe and found most of my things and more stuff I had stored in the house.

When she found out that I took my stuff the next day, she called the police.

I feel like I'm about to be charged with grand theft, although it was my stuff and she was ignoring me to give it back.

What legal defense do I have? Would it be just breaking and entering because it was all my things or grand theft because I took back more than $1000 of my things from her truck without her permission?'

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    Lot of relevant details are missing that matter to an answer. Whose Tahoe? Was it locked? If so, how did you gain access to the stuff within it? Was access to the parking lot physically limited? Was there a "no trespassing sign"? Were you on the lease? Where (i.e. in what state or country) did it happen? Were you married or arguably common law married? Was there are restraining order in place? Did you notify her, before or after this happened, that it was you that was taking/did take the stuff? Was anything you took hers? Did the police contact you? If not, how do you know she called them?
    – ohwilleke
    Mar 7, 2020 at 2:35
  • And if the police did contact you, what did you say and what did they say?
    – Paul Johnson
    Mar 9, 2020 at 15:00

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Your best bet in these kind of situations is to call the local law enforcement jurisdiction and ask their advice. Most have a non-emergency number you can call to schedule a time, with escort, to retrieve your personal belongings.

Now that is not to say that your ex may claim that the items are theirs, and they may obviously may not be. How that is handled is highly dependent upon the officer doing the supervision.

In the end you may have to seek relief from the courts on this. Depending upon the value of the items, you may want to go to small claims court or speak to a lawyer.

One smart first step is to make an inventory of items you hope to recover.

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    I think the OP would be better off talking to a lawyer first, before possibly calling the police and confessing to a crime.
    – Paul Johnson
    Mar 9, 2020 at 14:59

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