Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft 18 Caught shoplifting in MD

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teeman2

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Hello All,

My 18 years old son got caught shoplifting in MD. He paid the 167 civil fine but has not got a letter from the court about a criminal trial. I checked online and there is a court date. Should we honor the date online even though we did not get the letter from the court? We have not contacted a lawyer because I feel he is guilt and should pay the prize. Is it normal to get a trial date even though we got a letter from Target that the fine was paid? Any help will be appreciated.
 
The store fine is called Civil Demand its a civil action and unrelated to any criminal case. I understand your wanting your child to learn from this but it doesnt need to ruin his life either. Seek out an Attorney and ask this Attorney about Diversion as option for him. He will still have fines, community service, probation and the like but once he completes program his case will likely be dismissed. This protects his record and will make jobs and College easier to get in to. I might also suggest (for educational purposes) he enroll in an Anti Shoplifting course.
 
Is he required to show up at the hearing even though he did not get a letter from the court? I only found out about the court date through the MD case search website. Trial date is 24 May 2010. Thanks.
 
The letter may yet come or it was sent and for whatever reason not seen by your son or hid by him. Regardless failure to appear will make matters worst and make plea bargain options less likely
 
He is not required to go to court until he is "served". Essentially you can go about this three ways.

#1 - Have your son go the comissioner at the county courthouse where he was charged. Tell them that he had been charged with theft under $1000. I am assuming since the fine was approximately $160 that the item(s) he took totalled around $80. The commissioner will then process him. This means that they will give him a copy of the charging documents and they will inform him of his rights to obtain counsel etc. Then they will set a new court date.

#2 - go to court and tell the states attorney on that court date and tell them that you have been charged with theft under $1000. They will then direct you to a commissioner where they will serve you with the papers. Then they will set a new court date.

#3 - do not go to court and the states attorney will tell the judge that they have not been able to serve your son and they will set a new court date and the process starts all over.

Since the court date is tomorrow, I would advise that you go to court and tell the states attorney that you have not been served. They will help you out. Then you can get a new court date and the chance to hire a lawyer or get the office of the public defender (OPD) to help you. Since the OPD is very busy, you must go TWO WEEKS prior to your trial date.

Here are some key points/questions:

What county is he charged in?

Do you have a copy of the Civil Demand Payment Receipt?

Has he been in trouble before?

He may qualify for the STET docket or a PBJ. Maryland is very lenient on first time theft offenders.
 
Thanks for the information.
What county is he charged in?
Prince George's
Do you have a copy of the Civil Demand Payment Receipt?
Yes, we do and plan on taking it with us to the court.
Has he been in trouble before?
NO, this is his first offense.
 
Sorry for the late response, but if you went to court, how did it go?

PG County has far worse things to worry about than theft. His first theft, first criminal offense and he will get a STET or pbj. The CD Receipt shows the judge he is sorry for what he did and made the retailer whole for his damages. This goes a long way vs saying "screw you Store".

Ill get on later and give a detailed way to go about getting the STET in PG
 
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