Other Criminal Charges & Offenses Shoplifting first time

M

Mua06

New Member
Jurisdiction
Ohio
Im 18 yrs old and got charged with petty theft and child endangerment. But i dont understand why i got charged with child endangerment if i didn't cause any harm to the kids?

What will happen in court when i go will i have to go to jail even tho its a misdemeanor? My court order is Tuesday please help!!!!
 
You can ask your lawyer.

You were there.

Strangers on this board weren't.

No way for us dummies to know what you don't know.

You'll probably plead NOT guilty, then ask the court if you qualify for a public defender.
 
Mua06 said:
. But i dont understand why i got charged with child endangerment if i didn't cause any harm to the kids?
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With all due respect,Sir/Mam,the police,didn't just pull that charge out of a hat without their being some factual basic to it,even though they may be mistaken.Sometimes,an individual officer,will mistake something that doesn't fit the elements of a particular offense,as their not required to know the finer points of all the laws,that's why,a Prosecutor during the screening process,will not proceed to "formally charge" an individual with an offense they were initially arrested for,but my point is,there's a little more to the story than what you shared,so we have no way of knowing what the additional facts are that led to "Child Endangerment,"unless you share them.
 
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I am a Retail Theft consultant and answer questions like yours daily. You got the additional charge (not uncommon) because the child was present during the alleged crime and/or you use child or his/her stroller or like in crime. Expect visit from social services as well as dealing with charges. You should talk to a lawyer and NOT answer ANY questions without one present.
 
I am a Retail Theft consultant and answer questions like yours daily. You go to court plead not guilty and hire a Lawyer or request Public defender
 
shrinkmaster said:
You got the additional charge (not uncommon) because the child was present during the alleged crime and/or you use child or his/her stroller or like in crime.
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I am suspecting the same thing.Ohio's,child endangerment statute,may or may not include this particular conduct.For the specifics of the law in the op's state,they need to consult with a criminal defense attorney.
 
As a Loss Prevention Professional I have seen this many time. When someone commits a crime and a minor is with this person its not uncommon for them to get a charge like one described.
 
The presence of the child does not make it endangerment. Even if the child was engaged somehow in the theft it does not make it endangerment (although it could be something else).
Unless you have left out very significant details you can expect that offense to be dropped.
You won't see jail time for this unless you are a repeat offender or on probation/parole.
Your court appearance Tuesday is for an arraignment (most likely) where you are formally notified of the charges against you.
Do not plead guilty.
Plead not guilty and ask the court to appoint legal counsel if you can not afford an attorney yourself.
For a petty theft offense you might not qualify for free legal counsel, but if they haven't already dropped the endangerment charge you will likely get it.
In the end you should expect to pay fines, serve a bit of community service time, and have a brief stint on probation, after which the whole matter might be wiped clean if you stay out of trouble.
 
shrinkmaster said:
As a Loss Prevention Professional I have seen this many time. When someone commits a crime and a minor is with this person its not uncommon for them to get a charge like one described.
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It is not at all uncommon for police to inappropriately include something like this. Very often the offenses the officer writes up in an initial report are reduced or otherwise modified by prosecutors who are the ones actually responsible for ensuring there is evidence to support the charges. I would be amazed if any state had a child endangerment law that included a scenario such as this (assuming we as not missing important details).
If the child was actually involved somehow then contributing to the delinquency of a minor would be a more realistic offense. Mere presence won't amount to anything at all.
This is the sort of thing that annoys police and social services who have to respond to investigate bogus reports.
 
shrinkmaster said:
You got the additional charge (not uncommon) because the child was present during the alleged crime and/or you use child or his/her stroller or like in crime.
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No, these examples are not child endangerment anywhere in this country. This is a mistake made by law enforcement.

If it had been a robbery that involved some use of force or weapons or other circumstances that brought legitimate concern to the health and safety of a dependent child then an endangerment charge might come into play, depending on exactly how things played out.

In this case we don't even know the age of the child involved, though I suspect it is a teenager (or two) by the headline of the other deleted thread.

I bet this officer intended to submit a delinquency offense and mistakenly called it endangerment, which is very different.
 
Mua06 said:
But i dont understand why i got charged with child endangerment if i didn't cause any harm to the kids?
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Despite your use of a question mark, this sentence is not a question. If you intended a question, I cannot discern what you intended to ask, but I hope it's obvious that no one here knows why you were charged with this particular crime.

Mua06 said:
What will happen in court when i go will i have to go to jail even tho its a misdemeanor? My court order is Tuesday please help!
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Know one here can do anything other than guess about what will happen at your court appearance on Tuesday. However, you're not going to go to jail until and unless you are convicted of a crime and are sentenced to imprisonment. Incarceration is beyond unlikely for shoplifting, but child endangerment might could result in incarceration depending on the relevant facts.

I suggest you confer with a local criminal defense attorney.
 

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