I am 19 years old and so is my friend. We both went to JcPenny and stole clothes worth less than $50. One of the workers caught us so we were both honest about us stealing the items. We were then later taken to the police station and taken to jail. I was kept there for two days then was taken to court. I now have to go back in two weeks for court again along with an attorney. The problem is that I have no money what so ever to afford one. What will the consequenses be for stealing worth less than $50? Will I still go to jail? Is there anything I can do such as community service? How much will they charge me? I have no clue on what will happen and what i should do for this is my first time of ever going to court and jail. Your help will be much appreciated
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Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft I am 19 years old and this is my first offense of stealing at JcPenny
- Thread Starter LMontero
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army judge
Super Moderator
Ask the court to appoint an attorney to represent you.
Until that time, stay out of trouble, and don't speak of this, unless it is with a lawyer.
You are innocent until proven guilty.
Do not miss any court hearings, and do not be late.
When you go into court, dress as if you were attending a funeral, or church.
Always be polite, and eventually this will be wiped away.
It doesn't matter how, just follow the instructions, and stay out of trouble, or the good things will soon disappear.
shrinkmaster
Well-Known Member
Something isnt right here. Shoplifting is a small crime and normally is "cite and release" not a two day jail hold. I suspect there may be more to this than your saying. I would also suggest you remove store name from post. As Army Judge instructed plead not guilty and ask for public defender.
mightymoose
Moderator
The cite and release is at the discretion of the local jurisdiction. He was likely given a low bail amount at the jail that he still could not afford.
shrinkmaster
Well-Known Member
I understand but I stand by my earlier post. Why would law Enforcement go to time and trouyble to transport, book and jail someone over such a minor offense if there were not other details not posted here. Out of the countless shoplifting stops i have made I never seen a suspect jailed other there were other issues out side of simple petty theft. I agree its possible just seems very unlikely
mightymoose
Moderator
I have seen it, and have done it myself. It depends a lot on a suspect's attitude, but available time and how busy my day are frequently factor in. I prefer to take someone in to the jail for photos and fingerprints and let them be released from there. They can either be released on a citation or required to post bail. A cite and release assumes the name and information given on scene is correct, and I have a stack of bench warrants for people who fail to appear over petty matters like this and can't be found. If the OP could not provide any valid ID that would have been a very good reason for things to play out as they did. Even if he did give ID, it is still discretionary.
CdwJava
Moderator
I suspect you were charged with PC 488/490.5 ... though this could ultimately be charged as an infraction if the value was below $50. If charged as a misdemeanor or, on the off chance it is filed as felony burglary, the court will appoint you legal counsel if you are unable to afford your own.
Yes, community service may be an option. But, fines with fees and assessments could be in the hundreds of dollars, perhaps over a thousand. How much of that can be compensated through community service, I cannot say. And, you will also likely receive a civil demand from the store for up to $500 (usually about $300) on top of that.
This is a very expensive lesson. You should have considered the potential consequences before you committed the crime.
CdwJava
Moderator
I have to agree with MM. There are a number of reasons that might justify a custodial arrest for petty theft - most common among those reasons is a lack of ID, OR a prior record for theft. Some agencies will phone into their Records' unit to find out the past criminal history ... until last year this had a practical reason as we could also file for petty theft with a prior which was a felony (PC 666), but since that is now a harder offense to make, we might check to see if the person had done this before and maybe it is time to ratchet up the lesson.
Agency policy can play a part, the lack of community attachment on the part of the suspect can play a part, and a number of other possibilities that do not immediately come to mind.
Oh, and attitude can be a factor as well.
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