1st offense petty theft

[frannybell]

My 18 yr old son was caught last week shoplifting in J C Penney's with two of his friends. He stole $15 in socks, (The idiot!) They aggregated all three of their stolen items which totaled $98. All three boys charged with a misdemeanor $50-$500. Can I talk to the District Attorney and maybe get it dropped to a ticket? He has never been in trouble before. My son is 18 years old and a junior in high school, he makes good grades and we are hoping for a football scholarship. Is there anything I can do? I thought of calling J C Penney and asking them why they aggregated it like that, but not sure if I should. My son said, they told him they were going to give him a ticket but later did the above mentioned. I am a single parent and currently in college, in other words I am financially challenged, Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated.

Franny

 

[mightymoose]

They are already doing you a favor by only charging the misdemeanor. They likely could also have been charged with conspiracy, which I believe in most jurisdictions is a felony. That said, if it is a first offense he might be able to get it reduced, but he is not a juvenile anymore either and isn't as likely to get a slap on the hand. At his age I would expect him to pay a nice fine and do a good bit of community service with at least 6 months probation.
You will just have to work with the attorney to see if there is a solution to keep his record clean. Just don't expect an 18 y/o to be getting the breaks that a 12 y/o would.
As for the ticket... it is not uncommon to write a ticket for a misdemeanor, Just because they used the term "ticket" doesn't mean that it was a lower level offense.

Probably a best case scenario is that the attorney will look at the value of the item your son took, $15, and prosecute it as an infraction. If there is sufficient evidence that he and his friends went into the store with intent to steal and were working together then don't expect too much cooperation from the DA. As I said, they may already be doing a favor by not prosecuting conspiracy.

 

[jacksgal]

The best advice anyone here can give you is to seek consultations with some Attorneys. Ask these Attorneys if there are diversion programs available in his case.