My 13 year old son was charged with theft. My son went to the pool today with three friends when a kid they new showed up, this kid stole a phone at the pool and 85.00 out of someone's bag. My son was not with him at the time, but was hanging with the group of kids. He did have knowledge of this kid stealing the phone, not the money. My son decided to leave the pool with his three friends. The kid that stole the phone came after them. It was not until an hour and a half later the cops came and picked my son and his friends up at the park and brought them to the police station. We where called and came down to find out they where charging him with theft even though he had nothing on him and neither did his three friends. The child that did steal took of home long before the cops came to get my kid. The cops say they have witnesses and he is guilty by association. They don't want it to go to court, but he will never be aloud to go to the pool, skate park or any other park district property, he will go to a troubled youth program with the cost of 150.00, serve community service and be on probation. So my question is what are my options here? He had nothing on him and just because he was in a public pool with over 300 people there how can they charge him? Please help, should I spend money on attorney for this?

1. police lie to get you to confess.
2. of course they don't want to go to court, they want him to plead guilty.
3. police do not have the authority to make a deal, so unless you are talking to the district attorneys office ( or what they call it in your area) I would not trust them.

I would not make another statement and get an atttorney.
He would make a good witness against the other boy,

So yes go to court, or at least make them drop charges when they will not go to court.

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Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

1. police lie to get you to confess.
2. of course they don't want to go to court, they want him to plead guilty.
3. police do not have the authority to make a deal, so unless you are talking to the district attorneys office ( or what they call it in your area) I would not trust them.

I would not make another statement and get an atttorney.
He would make a good witness against the other boy,

So yes go to court, or at least make them drop charges when they will not go to court.

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Thank you. The police said that this is a program they run run through the police department for kids that get into trouble. My son is not considered guilty or innocent, he just has to serve this program. We where told as long as we don't make a big issue over this that it won't have to go to court, but at the same time we have no place to argue the case. We where also told that if we wanted to turn this into an issue that then the detective would have no choice but turn this over to the court system. So just sign the papers and that is that. This was all coming from the juvenile police detective. I am just wondering what they have on my kid, I don't think they really have a witness. I made trip to the pool after all this and spoke to the manager and some employees and they did not have a clue about any of this, There is such a time difference between when they say this happens and when they picked him up and the fact that my son was found with no stolen property and when he was picked up he wasn't even with the kid that did it. So do they really have something on my son? Can you be guilty by association ? Guilty because you heard that someone took something and you where in the area at the time? And if you can be charged with something Why was he charged with one count of theft?

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Originally Posted by mic148

I am just wondering what they have on my kid, I don't think they really have a witness. I made trip to the pool after all this and spoke to the manager and some employees and they did not have a clue about any of this, There is such a time difference between when they say this happens and when they picked him up and the fact that my son was found with no stolen property and when he was picked up he wasn't even with the kid that did it. So do they really have something on my son? Can you be guilty by association ? Guilty because you heard that someone took something and you where in the area at the time? And if you can be charged with something Why was he charged with one count of theft?

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The only way to know what they have on your "kid" is to ask - go to Court and ask.

He won't be the first to be charged when he did not have possession of the property and was no longer with the other person, accomplice or not.

Yes, people have been found guilty by association.

Yes, people have been found guilty by having knowledge and doing nothing.

Only the Police know why (so far) he is only charged with one count.

You need an Attorney.