My neighbour's son is 16, and has been charged with Assault and Robbery. The charges really sound bad, but they do amount to he and a friend assaulting a classmate and stealing a pack of cigarettes.

This child has been caught shoplifting twice before, but charges were never laid, although the police has a record.

What can be expected when he goes to court next week? Probation, jail, house arrest?

Any ideas for me to pass along to his mom?

Make sure this kid has an attorney. Tell mom to get him one or he should ask for one at his arraignment if mom can't afford one for him. It will all be up to the judge and prosecutor what kind of sentence he will get.

Most important factor , is he being tried in adult court or Juv court.
Most likely probation, depending on if the person hurt was hurt bad or not.
And in Juv court, they can look at all of the prior trouble even if not convicted and I can see boot camp in his future in Juv court

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Originally Posted by Hypnos

My neighbour's son is 16, and has been charged with Assault and Robbery. The charges really sound bad, but they do amount to he and a friend assaulting a classmate and stealing a pack of cigarettes.

This child has been caught shoplifting twice before, but charges were never laid, although the police has a record.

What can be expected when he goes to court next week? Probation, jail, house arrest?

Any ideas for me to pass along to his mom?

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How badly injured was the person who was assaulted? I know this doesn't sound "really bad" to you but assaulting someone over a pack of cigarettes does not have a good ring to it and the Court may see it just that way.

Ok, we have a kid who has been caught shoplifting before. Now his stealing has escalated to violence. It doesn't matter at this point whether he beat up a kid for a pack of cigarettes or beat a store owner for the contents of the cash register. In the eyes of the law, these crimes would be considered roughly equal. By the way, your minimizing the crime doesn't help matters.

He might get probation, but I would be more inclined to think he will get some time in a juvenile facility.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

Ok, we have a kid who has been caught shoplifting before. Now his stealing has escalated to violence. It doesn't matter at this point whether he beat up a kid for a pack of cigarettes or beat a store owner for the contents of the cash register. In the eyes of the law, these crimes would be considered roughly equal. By the way, your minimizing the crime doesn't help matters.

He might get probation, but I would be more inclined to think he will get some time in a juvenile facility.

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Good catch on your part - I totally missed the shoplifting escalating to assault.