Parent in need of advise-Petty theft charge

[bluerus]

Juvenile petty theft - parent in need of help

My usually level headed daughter did some dumb stuff, and we need help.
Her friend and her (both 15) decided to steal from a retail store.

1. They ea. take perfume (12.99) and shorts (12.00) and stockings (7.99), total value each under $50.00
2. I had driven to pick them up at mall and I'm waiting in the car for them to leave the mall.
3. LC person approaches them 3 stores down and tell the two girls to follow him back to the store with "his stuff".
4. They follow him and he and a female LC person put them into a room and start to "process them"
5. I get daughter on cell phone, and she says, "I'm in trouble"! I say, "where are you at"? She says, store name and "in the room here".
6. I run into store and ask to find a room where my minor child is with someone from their store and she is having some sort of trouble. I ask is she ill because I had just put her on hormone medicine 5 days prior and I thought she was having an adverse reaction (which I am still not positive her behavior wasn't affected by the medicine)?
7. Asst mgr says, "they won't let her out or you in". I reiterate, "she is a minor child, what is the problem"?
8. I wait 30 minutes outside of a locked door with my daughter and her friend in the room with these 2 LC folks.
9. According to the minors', The LC folks were calling their boss to see if it was true that they had to let me in, and even when their boss told them "Yes", they still refused me entry!
10. Female LC was singing, cursing, and took my daughter's phone away so she could not call me. She even cheered after police were called.....
11. I went to call the police and tell them that these folks were holding these minors and they said, "they just rec'd a call, and they were on their way now".
12. I was let into the room about 5 minutes before police showed up.
13. LC had asked them what they took, and the girls took it out of their bag and gave it back to them.

Police said since value was less than $50.00, a ticket would be issued and both were released to me.

Ticket says:

490.1 PC-Petty Theft First Offense
602 WIC-Minor commit crime

The officer did not circle Misdemeanor or Infraction.

Q1. What is the best route to handle this?
Q2. Is this a misdemeanor or an infraction?
Q3. Officer said, "community service might be an option", will that stay on her record until 18?
Q4. Can I get it thrown out because they would not let me in the room with them?
Q5. No contest still means guilty, so what is the point?
Q6. Store paperwork says their names will be submitted to Choice Point, a credit reporting agency for submission into a retail theft database, "Esteem". Can they add a minor's info into such a database?
Q7. Should I ask the judge if it can be logged as an infraction?

All advise is appreciated. I don't want my daughter's life ruined for $32.00. In addition, the medicine does have a date on it proving that it was received appprox. 2 weeks before this incident. And, package insert does say, "it can alter behavior, etc". I realize that is considered a poor excuse as most judges are not pharmacists and probably hard pressed to believe this could be a cause unless they had ever had a bad adverse reaction.

I have implemented a "no mall without parent" rule, and had her watch a "show on young girls in jail" in addition to obtaining an Explorer application to enroll in that program so that she can become familiar with the laws from the correct side of the law.

All pointers and advise is appreciated.

Thanks,
Parent of a child's with a bigerror

 

[CdwJava]

Ticket says:

490.1 PC-Petty Theft First Offense
602 WIC-Minor commit crime

The officer did not circle Misdemeanor or Infraction.

It is an infraction. However, the DA may up the offense when they receive the report. Doubtful, but possible.

PC 490.1 is punishable by a fine of not more than $250. However, the store can assess a civil penalty that is seperate from this fine and could well exceed it.

The W&I 602 is simply a section designating that the minor is accused of a criminal offense and non-punitive by itself.

Q1. What is the best route to handle this?

Consult an attorney.

Q2. Is this a misdemeanor or an infraction?

An infraction (see above).

Q3. Officer said, "community service might be an option", will that stay on her record until 18?

It depends on how it is set up.

Keep in mind that nothing automatically disappears unless she gets a deferred entry of judgement or some manner of diversion. Diversion or informal probation is very likely if she cooperates with her punishment, is otherwise a good kid and has no record. If she does have a "true finding" (the juvenile court equivalent of "guilty", she would have to apply for the record to be sealed or expunged after she reaches age 18.

Q4. Can I get it thrown out because they would not let me in the room with them?

Uh ... no.

Q5. No contest still means guilty, so what is the point?

Here is the definition from the California Courts:

nolo contendere: No contest; from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." A plea of nolo contendere has the same effect on a criminal sentence as a plea of guilty, but may not be taken as an admission of guilt for any other purpose. For example, a person might plead nolo contendere and pay a fine or serve jail time as if guilty, but if he or she were sued in a civil case afterward, the other side would still have to prove that the person was guilty.

Q6. Store paperwork says their names will be submitted to Choice Point, a credit reporting agency for submission into a retail theft database, "Esteem". Can they add a minor's info into such a database?

Why not? There is no magic rule that says because she is a minor they cannot record her name anywhere.

Q7. Should I ask the judge if it can be logged as an infraction?

See above.

All advise is appreciated. I don't want my daughter's life ruined for $32.00.

Well, SHE chose to take the actions she did. Hopefully she will learn from this and no go forth and do this again.

I presume she is being punished at home? Juvenile Probation and the courts will look at the consequences being applied at home as part of their overall evaluation. If she is being treated as a victim, this will not play well. If she has been grounded, punished, and sentenced to hard labor, it might play much better. (My own child would be out of circulation for a month and would be doing weekends at hard labor on local ranches to remind him not to do it again.)

In addition, the medicine does have a date on it proving that it was received appprox. 2 weeks before this incident.

This is not going to be relevant unless you want to pay many thousands of dollars to pay for attorneys and expert testimony to save her from a $250 fine and a similar civil assessment from the store.

I have implemented a "no mall without parent" rule, and had her watch a "show on young girls in jail" in addition to obtaining an Explorer application to enroll in that program so that she can become familiar with the laws from the correct side of the law.

Good first steps. Keep it up.

- Carl