Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft my smart but not so smart son

[sugar123]

my son was caught shoplifting in Indiana the friday before christmas. it was alittle over $50 worth of stuff. he was taken by the store into a room, the police were called and he was taken to jail. my son is 18 years old he was arrested at 4:30pm on friday afternoon. the arresting officer called me to tell me he had my son and that he was going to be in jail until monday morning when he saw a judge. my son was released ROR after seeing this judge. he was given a pretrail date and has gotten himself a public defender. like already stated he is 18 has never been in trouble, is a freshmen in college and is on the deans list. i dont want this to mess up his future but we can not afford a lawyer. i dont know what to do, i dont know if a guilty plea is the way to go or not. or what that would mean for FASA, or pell grant, student loans, or the schools tolerance level. he is suspose to go back to school on sunday but if he is gonna lose all the things because he was so stupid than what would be the point of going back. and all the legal issues, his school is 3 hours from where we live still in the same state though. he has been charged with a class d felony for shoplifting (conversion is what they called it). the stores lawyers called him last night and he paid them their civil fee already without talking to a lawyer (i did not know about this point until after he paid them). should he have spoken to the public defender first, should he have waitted to pre trail or will this make him look better in front of the judge. please help

 

[thelawjournal]

Paying the Civil Demand has nothing to do with his crimnal case and not paying can carry severe consequences. Because this is a felony charge Diversion may not be an option. However he should ask. Yes you are correct a theft (especially a felony) conviction will likely cause him harm at school and later with getting work. Even though he has a Public defender he might want to consult some criminal defense Attorneys many offer free consultations. He should get as many as possible and arm himself with knowledge. Then he can use this knowledge when talk to Public defender. He might find some community service work he can do and might consider enrolling in an Anti Shoplifting course. Judges like it when defendants show remorse and are taking corrective action. This "might" help in getting reduced sentence. I recommend the course offered by NASP.

 

[Guest]

In your state shoplifting is a class D felony! This may mean Diversion or the like will not be possible or at very least very difficult. He needs (your son) to be very proactive now before court! He can start community service now as well as enroll in a program like one offered by NASP. I understand you want this off his record so not to ruin his future. It might be too late for that. Public Defenders are very busy and do not always have the time or staff a private Attorney has. If you can afford it get him a private Attorney so all his options can be researched. At very least at least set up some consultations with other Attorneys so you and your son can at least have some knowledge of options. I am a Mom of a teen (several in fact) myself all are honor students. This doesnt make them perfect. Where I admit mine have not done this I dont think them perfect either. One bad choice can effect their lives very easily as you now know. I realize your child is not a bad person he just made a bad choice. It snow you rjob as his parent to help him as much as you can to reduce the damage his bad choice has caused