petit larceny Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft

karen_mcgibbon · May 6, 2002

I am writing this for an 82 year old friend who has received a card from a municipal court stating that he failed to respond to an issued complaint by failing to appear in court or pay a fine for a charge of petit larceny. The alleged offense purportedly occured while he was visiting outside of the state in which he resides.
My friend states he has no recollection of being given any type of summons while in this othr city. I spoke with a clerk who worked at the city hall/municipal court and she stated he should submit a letter for the judge entering a plea to resolve this matter. He does have problems at times with his memory but as a retired police officer, he feels he would remember being given a summons. should he submit a plea or ask for more information re: this matter to be sent to him first? Also, what other options does he have in this instance?

Michael Wechsler · May 7, 2002

To begin, your friend would probably have received the notice to appear before the court at his address. If he doesn't remember and is subject to the court's jurisdiction (it appears he may, but you may want to go over this with an attorney), the clerk probably knows how to deal with the issue in the clerk's own court!

Nobody can tell you what options your friend may have without knowing the actual court, seeing the the paperwork, and hearing all of the facts in the case. There may be various defenses that can be interposed and your friend may want to discuss the matter with an attorney. Does your friend remember committing the larceny? Note, there may also be defenses to this crime if there are issues with age (but that is not always the case and many at that age are fully in control of their mental faculties and capable of making bad the same bad decision as they would have 30 years prior).

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petit larceny Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft

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