I was caught for shoplifting, and this is a first offense. I have a court date/time, but I'll be travel oversea I don't know if this going to cause trouble when I'm stepping out of US. Alslo I wonder what will be happen to me??? I read some articles, some said I'll to jail, some said don't worry about it???? Can someone help me, I need the serious answer. And if I plead guilty what should I talk/said to the judge??? Thank you so much for your concern and time.
2007-02-27 18:20:30 · 7 answers · asked by Piggy 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
value of an item is 49.99
2007-02-27 18:46:03 · update #1
It's always something you could live without.
Try to settle with the store out of court...
2007-02-27 18:30:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you were released from jail on a bond you might not be able to leave the country. If you are just going to plead guilty maybe you can have the court move the date before you leave the country so everything is taken care of and you don't have to worry about being held at customs. But for any jail time or community service you need to find out your local laws to see if that's part of pleading guilty. You can try to get a lawyer and have them downgrade the charges to a less offense (you won't be able to do it on your own, prosecutors don't make deals with defendants). In my state a lawyer can downgrade it to a disorderly persons (DP) which basically means you created a public disturbance but you will have to pay the maximum fine for that penalty since it is a lesser charge, but no jail time comes with it.
If you plead guilty to the judge there really isn't much you can say. Most judges I know just want to hear if you are pleading guilty or not and not much else. You can apologize for your actions and promise never to enter that store again. They always hear the "I learned my lesson and I'll never do it again" speech all the time.
If you don't want a lawyer I would talk to the prosecutor and explain that you want to plead guilty to the charges in hopes that he will lower the fine amount or not require any jail time (unless your state has a mandatory jail time for the offense). Explain to him that you just want to get this over and by you pleading guilty you want to put the incident behind you and not take up any more of the courts time. This works with a majority of the prosecutors I know (that's a free inside tip for you).
Learn your lesson and don't do it again because next time you probably will be looking at jail if your caught. They won't work with you if you're caught again. One time might be a mistake, but not twice.
2007-03-02 00:05:59 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot of the answer will depend on where you are, how old you are, and what you took.
In Kansas, where I live, shoplifting falls under theft, and as long as the value of the items taken is less than $1,000 it is a misdemeanor the same severity (Class A, Non-person) as welfare fraud, telephone harassment, or illegally carrying a concealed weapon; unless you have a couple convictions already.
If you already have 2 convictions, or stole from three places in 3 days, or if the value of the stuff you took was up to $25,000, it's a felony, classified in the same group as breaking into a car, election tampering, or messing with odometers for profit. If it's up to $100,000; it's the same as torching a building that's not a dwelling or bribing an elected official. Anything more, and it's the same as breaking out of jail.
I'm not going to lie to you. As with any misdemeanor, there is the possibility of jail time, but probably not prison time. In my area, a typical sentence for a first offense might be 90 days in county jail, suspended to time served plus 6 months or a year of probation plus restitution (paying the merchant back for what you took). Suspended means that as long as you successfully complete the probation, you won't have to go to jail. This, of course, is gonna be different where you live. As for your overseas travel, a misdemeanor conviction probably won't get in the way, but the terms of your probation might. Many times, a person on probation cannot leave the state, much less the country.
If you plead guilty, most judges are apt to go lenient on people who are contrite - that is, they recognize what they did was wrong, why it was wrong, and are truly sorry they did it.
2007-02-28 02:58:24 · answer #3 · answered by hogan.enterprises 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It all depends on your local and state laws. It also depends on the value of what you took. If this is in fact your first offense I wouldn't get to worried about it. Maybe a fine, maybe some probation, it depends. But if you miss your court date by leaving the country or for any reason they will issue a bench warrant and then your troubles will be doubled. Call the court house and see if they will move the date to before you leave or after you come back. Chances are they won't but you can try. If they don't then you've got a choice to make.
2007-02-28 02:47:25 · answer #4 · answered by desperado4363 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go back to the store and negotiate a deal with the owner. Pay back the amount + a penalty if the store agrees to drop the charges.
2007-02-28 03:34:32 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends. What was the value of the thing you stole?
2007-02-28 02:24:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah. How big was the lift?
Get ready to be someone's girlfriend.
2007-02-28 02:29:07 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋