Yesterday I was with a friend and we got caught stealing from macys in Michigan, we have to pay a 200 fine to the store and the cops came, he said he will be issuing a warent then we have to go to the station etc. Then court date. I am 18 years old. What the hell is going to happen to me? I'm so scarred. I haven't told my parents and I don't plan on it and on top of all of this I leave for college August 31st. Please help!

Let me ask you a question Does your local paper have a police log? Cause if they do everyone in town is going to know about it. My advice tell your parents. Same thing happened to my cousin (Same store except in Philadelphia) I just happened to be reading the police log (hoping to see someone I knew) And there it was my cousin's name I called her and told her it is in the paper. Her dad saw it and flipped out because she tried to hide it from him. You are an adult now tell them what happened!!

First don't make a really second bigger mistake after a first one.

Your parents almost for sure will find out, esp if you live at home, there will be court documents mailed to the house, the store will most likely mail documents asking for civil penalties also.

Expect to have a court date ( you have to come back from college and go to it) expect to get probation, and expect to pay a fine ( my guess 300 to 500 dollars) in addition, expect the store to send you a civil penalty bill of about another 500 dollars to pay.

So expect to owe 500 to 1000 dollars and spend a day in court with a dozen letters coming to your home.

The civil fine with maceys is handled... I'm talking about what will happen when I go to court. I have to pay maceys a 200fine and they aren't sending anything to my house as long as I pay it off. But I need to know what to expect in court:( and telling my parents will get me beat and I won't be going to college. So that's a nonono

And what about this being on my record?

Why would telling your parents knock out college?

Why would your parents beat you up? That's abuse and is reportable in and of itself.

If they find out about this they will not pay for my education. I need to know what will happen in court?

If they find out about this they will not pay for my education. I need to know what will happen in court?
If you were my kid and came clean to me and showed me that I had raised a truthful child capable of remorse, I would pay for your education.

Of course if I find out about the theft when you're in college, say, in a year or so, I'd cut you off in disgust and let you pay your own way.

In court: You will have to pay the fine and court costs, possibly attend and successfully complete a correction counseling program related to your offense, be responsible for making full restitution to the victim, and possibly do community service for x number of hours.

This may be a stain on your record and may cost you further down the line, especially when trying to get a new job.

How much did you steal (dollar value)? Do you have a lawyer?

83$, and no I don't Have a lawyer, not yet at least. This is my first time ever getting in trouble with the law, and whenever court is I will have to come down from school.

I will have to come down from school.
And your parents won't wonder?

Spitvenom has very real advice, this is all logged for public record, and because you're a legal adult your name will definitely appear in the log.

Just be honest and tell them.

Now to put your mind at ease...

I'll assume this is a misdemeanor charge and this is your first offense... first of all, there is no document the court needs to give you other than a summons which you received from the police that bagged you. Secondly, a court will never send paperwork for a criminal case in the mail ever, for the obvious reasons that the address doesn't exist, the mail is lost, or the recipient claims it never arrived, and so on. The only documents you'll receive in the mail from a court is a summons for jury duty and any documents you request to be mailed to you, like when you opt to fight a speeding ticket, that's it. That's one of the purposes of the court system, so law officials can bare witness that you were present for all necessary discussions and received all necessary documentation and that you understood 100% of it.

Anyway, you'll get to court early and spend most of it sitting on a bench waiting for your name to be called, they call you up and ask whether your guilty—and you should admit guilt because it isn't worth hiring a defense lawyer for a misdemeanor. When you own up to it, the DA will recommend your punishment to the judge and if he isn't fresh out of law school with sometime to prove, you'll end up with community service that you can most assuredly serve at your school and be put on probation for six months. Also, court fees are cheap for misdemeanors, around $50.

At any rate, do not miss your court date and tell your parents.

They will not know when I come down, I can't sleep can't eat I'm just ao scarred and worried and MY PARENTS don't need this. They have bigger issues and I don't won't them to worry about this as well as them affording my college and stuff. It will break thee heart and I can't do that I just can't

May I ask if you are so worried about this, why did you do it? You knew stealing was against the law, you KNEW there was a chance you could get caught.

Sorry, hard to feel sorry for someone who steals and now wants to lie and not be a adult and stand up for what they did.

Next sorry but yes, for things like this, you can get all sort of court mail, summons, letter to go in for finger print if that is required ( as they do in Canada) Plus letters from the store, and if you don't pay, then they turn it to collectoins and the phone call starts.

I know what I did was wrong, stupid, nieve, and dumb. If that's all you want to tell me then I don't need your advice. I'm asking questions about help not to bash me on how dumb my choice was I get that and I know that. Again for the 3rd time MACEYS is handled they are paid and out of the way! It's over with them! I'm trying to figure out what to expect in court! ADVICE ONLY PLEASE!

And I made a stupid mistake, I'm am honor roll student who ducked up. And I don't plane on lying to my parents, I'm just not telling them. I don't feel like getting my *** beat thanks though. And I would like to go to college. Telling them will not help me overall because I'm 18 and have to go to court as an adult so I c no need in dragging them in this.

nieve ... ADVICE ONLY PLEASE!
No, you don't want advice; you want to know what will happen legally. We have told you.

The word is "naive," not "nieve."

And I made a stupid mistake, I'm am honor roll student who ducked up. And I don't plane on lying to my parents, I'm just not telling them.
And what do you plan to say to them when they find out? -- and they WILL find out. Why pile lie upon lie?

I'm 18 and have to go to court as an adult so I c no need in dragging them in this.
So therefore you do not need their financial support for college. You are an adult.

Wondergirl please stop commenting. Your help is no longer needed on this thread.

Wondergirl please stop commenting. Your help is no longer needed on this thread.

When you post on a public site such as this, you have no right to dictate who or who will not respond to your posts. WG has given wonderful advice, it's just the advice you don't want to hear. We are not here to sugar coat, but to give the best honest advice we can. If you don't like it, well, then I'm sorry.

Those are statements not even advice.I don't need people sitting here just talking bad about me. I GET what I did was awful and I will have to pay the consequences. I really thought this was a good site... I came here for advice and only a few people have provided me with it. So I thank those people who actually GAVE me advice, and didn't just put down a statement. And WG gave no advice, besides telling me how to spell, which is off topic... So I mean you it's a public thread if people want to waste their time just posting stuff that's irrelevant or not helful to me w.e. But please I'm asking for people to take this serious and give advice I don't care of it's good or bad I just need the advice

Those are statements not even advice.I don't need people sitting here just talking bad about me.
No one is talking bad about you.The advice from several of us is to be an adult and tell your parents, because they will eventually find out and be even angrier because you lied (yes, not telling is lying, lying by omission). I also advised you on how court might go. I've dealt with offenders and their POs and also supervised community service for over ten years.

The only reason you should tell your parents is just so you can eat and sleep again. Other than that it's your call. It's your right to remain silent, it's not lying in the eyes of the law. But realistically, if you still decide not to tell them, you need to prepare for when and if they find out.

I already told you what to expect in court, but I did forget to mention you should dress professional, be confident and offer concise answers. Don't apologize or volunteer an explanation because there's never a good reason to commit a crime, just answer his questions with brevity, which, most likely will only be "are you guilty? Yes? Okay, step aside. Next defendant please come forward". The whole ordeal, from the time you walk up to the table before the judge to the time you leave the courtroom, will be about 20 minutes, most of the time will be spent waiting.

Now on to my opinion: the fact you show remorse for your crime speaks for itself. Punk kids who get the book thrown at them are the ones that just don't care, clearly you're not one of these. There will be people who will try to convince you that this crime will follow you all your life as if you were a hardened criminal; it won't. And again, I repeat, the court will not send you anything in the mail, they will only hand you documents or speak to you in person, Macy's could send a letter, but that's it.

We all make mistakes and bad decisions, and if your parents were born with any shred of reason they'll understand that. And if they don't, well, it's time to move out and stay out.

I'm sorry to disillusion you slapshot but the Court DOES send paperwork to the home address given if the defendant does not have an attorney. How else would they be notified to come to court?

And you, OP are going to have to keep on edge until your folks get the notification in the mail to show up to court. Then the doodoo is going to hit the fan big time.

You obviously don't have much of a relationship with your folks if you are terrified of them cancelling out your college education. What makes you so special to think they would not hit the ceiling over this and "forgive" you for getting a criminal record? You now have a misdemeanor theft record that will come back to haunt you forever unless you have this expunged in about 10 years. No one wants to hire a known thief and you may just be completely barred from some jobs due to this. Some future to look forward to being young and dumb.

You did the crime, now man up and do the time or consequences.

We are all volunteers on his site and are free to answer ANY thread we wish with our advice or opinion.

Not to get us wrong, but we as a rule don't coddle criminals but give them a good dose of reality. I think we would have given you the same advice and moral lecture regardless if this was a shoplifting offense or a much more serious crime.

I'm sorry to disillusion you slapshot but the Court DOES send paperwork to the home address given if the defendant does not have an attorney. How else would they be notified to come to court?
Huh?

I already explained this, but I love reading my own posts, so I'll gladly oblige.

The summons for the preliminary hearing is provided to the suspect at the police station after the suspect has been booked (i.e. mugshot, fingerprints, police report written up, etc.). And then, at the preliminary hearing, if another court date is requested or needed, the suspect is handed another summons at the courthouse.

The OP isn't fighting a traffic violation where court is optional, she got arrested and is a criminal suspect, hence, court is mandatory. The court will make sure the suspect knows when to appear and gives the suspect enough time to make preparations for that appearance. There is no mail involved, ever.

I close my argument with a very simple question: what if the suspect doesn't have an address? Where would the courthouse send the summons to? Homeless people—who, most likely, can't afford an attorney so this fits in with your example—are also arrested and are afforded the same right to a fair and speedy trial because we live in a great nation.

I rest my case.

Slapshot Law 101.

The court will make sure the suspect knows when to appear
How will the court do that?

Not all courts hand out summons at hearings or the police department. In Ohio and Florida the summons are mailed. It's up to the defendant to ensure the court has the right address to send this to. The defendants's appearance may be postponed and they notify by mail of the new dates.

I wouldn't be wrong to say that most defendants DO give wrong addresses for whatever reason but their attorneys get the SAME notification and the attorney notifies the defendant via phone. If you have no attorney and fail to give correct address then you will have a warrant out for your arrest if you don't show up.

I don't want to ding you slapshot but could you please give us a source as to where you are gleaning this misinformation from?

Well, twinkie is right. I did research for Florida, Ohio and Massachusetts and a summons can be handed in person, dropped off or sent to last known address in lieu of an arrest, and I believe that is what happened to the OP. Clearly, this only happens with misdemeanors or traffic violations, all felonies you're getting cuffed for.

Thank you slapshot, macyes is handled, and my parents won't understand they will just Beat me. Me going to school 3hrs away is my moving out.

I appreciate all advice, this is eating away at me and it sucks:( I messed up... please continue with advice

I appreciate all advice, this is eating away at me and it sucks:( I messed up.....please continue with advice
What's eating away at you? You say you have all your ducks in a row. Advice for what?

Slapshot, it is common in many places for shop lifting, which is not considered a major crime. For them at the time of being stopped to receive anything, if they do it will be a ticket. Normally they are not given a date and time to appear at the police station for photo and prints ( if done) They will be mailed a notice to appear or the officer takes it to their home. If a court date is set at that point they will be notified, but it may not be set yet. And of course if there is a change in the court date, ( very possible) they will also be notified by mail.

Also normally there are dozens of attorneys who watch arrest or court records and will start sending letters to your home wanting to represent you. So after getting about 3 letters from lawyer offices the parents may have a few questions

The only real advice is that you stand up, be a grown up, stop acting like a 10 year old and tell them what happened.

Well, twinkie is right. I did research for Florida, Ohio and Massachusetts and a summons can be handed in person, dropped off or sent to last known address in lieu of an arrest, and I believe that is what happened to the OP. Clearly, this only happens with misdemeanors or traffic violations, all felonies you're getting cuffed for.

Slapshot I was a paralegal in South Florida and in Ohio so I think I'd know the drill. And Chuck is correct about the attorneys sending out letters prior to the hearing dates. They do this as their bread and butter.

My advice for OP - GROW UP, tell your folks and take your punishment. If they find out after you have left for college didn't it dawn on you they CAN cancel your college but they can't get a refund for whatever tuition that has been paid so far but they can refuse to pay for anything in the future.

You have to grow up sometime, why not NOW? And you need to start saving up for the possible expungement of your conviction. You need to stay arrest free for at least 10 years and then you can approach the court for the expungement which may take up to 9 months to go through. Judges are not in any huge hurry to grant expungements even if presented by an atttorney (which you will have to have). So start saving up while working any job you can get in the meantime.

I have had a job for a 2 years, and I save my money. So any fees wilm be on me. My parents reay don't need this, my dads going through radiation for his cancer. They need no more bills so I'm trying to handle this myself. I'm trying to be grown up about this. All fees I will handle. I was only asking what will happen when I walk in the court room:/.

Your parents don't have health insurance? I went through radiation for cancer about a year ago and could never have paid for it out of my own pocket.

I'm a mom with two kids. Even if I were at death's door, I'd want to know what either of them did wrong. That would break my heart, if they would think they couldn't tell me something like this. I'd feel like a failure of a parent.

Well my parents are a bit different. If I knew the wouldn't completely kill me maybe theirs a slight chnace I would tell them. Just an example of how my parents are( when my brother was 17 years old he accidentally said the word damn in front of my mom, she got out a belt... And I'm sure u know the rest) my parents are not the nicest people

The insurance covers radiation but not the medicine:/

The insurance covers radiation but not the medicine:/
Medicine for what? Cancer patients don't take meds during radiation. In fact, I never took any at all.