Theft Under 5000, first offender, 21 years old, Toronto, ON
Last week, I made a mistake to try and steal paint worth about $100 from home depot, I was caught and brought into the back. They called the cops, and they gave me a ticket and made me promise to visit the cop station on a date 4 weeks later for fingerprinting, and a court date 6 weeks later that was written on that ticket. This is my first offense, don't know what made me do it, it is still unclear in my mind. Im going into my third year at university in a bachelor of science program. Im afraid this totally screwed up my potential future opportunities. I have a few questions...
1) am I eligible for the diversion program and when do I apply for it?
2) Is a lawyer nessesary, or an attorney( I'm unclear the difference)?
3) If I complete the diversion program, is my record cleaned once finished or after a certain period?
4) how soon does this offense appear on your record?
Thank you