One morning, Andrew was walking his dog near his home when he noticed something shiny in the bushes. He picked up the object and discovered that it was what appeared to be a wrist watch covered with diamonds. He noticed an inscription on the back of the watch that said "SJB." Andrew picked up the watch and took it home. The next day he ran an ad in the local paper that said: "Found: Wristwatch with initials 'SJB' on back. If you lost such a watch and can identify it as yours, I will gladly return it. Contact Andrew at 555-1212." Curious as to whether the diamonds on the watch were real, Andrew took it to Bob's Jewelers to have it appraised. Andrew handed the watch to Bob, the proprietor, who promised to appraise it within a day or two. The next day, when Bob examined the watch, he realized that it was indeed covered with real diamonds and was worth in excess of $10,000. Bob decided to keep the watch and replace it by giving Andrew a less expensive facsimile that only a trained jeweler would realize was not the original. When Andrew returned for his appraisal, Bob told him the diamonds were fake and gave Andrew the facsimile. Bob placed the watch in his desk and left for the day, leaving his employee, Chris, to run the store until closing. Chris was planning to meet some friends, who he had not seen for some time, for dinner that evening. Chris thought it would impress his friends if he arrived wearing such an expensive watch, so he decided to "borrow" the watch and wear it that evening. Chris intended to arrive at the store the next morning before Bob and return the watch before Bob realized it was gone. Chris wore the watch to dinner that evening and received several compliments. As a result, Chris decided to keep the watch and tell Bob that it had been stolen. Andrew failed to notice that Bob had given him a facsimile. Although Andrew received a telephone call from someone claiming to be the owner of the lost watch he decided to keep it and made no further attempt to contact the rightful owner. Several weeks later, Chris, in need of money, offered to sell the watch to his friend, Donna. Donna had previously purchased property from Chris that she knew had been stolen. Chris told Donna that he would sell her the watch for $5,000, half of its full market value, because he found the watch "too hot" to handle.  

With what crimes, if any, could Andrew, Bob, Chris, and Donna be convicted? Discuss.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Andrew Andrew may not be charged with a crime initially since he found the watch and attempted to lo... View the full answer