I got caught stealing yesterday and I am 18. I stole 270 worth of clothing from Von Maur and they told me they would not put me in jail. They gave me a misdeamenor and this is my first offense. I am very scared about the consequences of the outcome of the court and need some advice on how to present myself and what the consequences may be. The officer told me I was able to get on diversion and it will be taken off my record. Is that true? And What other consequences will I risk getting and what are my chances of getting the best possible outcome? PLEASE HELP

First of course sadly police offices at least in the US can lie to you to get you to confess.

With that said, it is possible on a first misdemeanor you can get a diversion program but that is totally up to the judge. You can get probation, it is very unlikely you will get any jail time ( unless the judge puts you in for 1 to 3 days as part of the diversion to show you what it is like.

Best outcome, hire an attorney, dress in suit and be polite to the judge

Best outcome? Get the best lawyer you can afford. Do not go to court without representation.

Will this get taken off my record and how much will this cost me? Do I have to hire an attorney?

Hey,

Let me tell you one thing, being in the security and defence sector, I have learnt that big organisations such as the Mafia all started stealing little thing such as sweets or even small amounts of money.

Think every time you are about to steal, ask yourself why you need this or why you need the money. Think of the consequences of someone catching you when you were staling. It would be embarrassing right? Think about how whatever you're stealing is going to benefit you? Technically, its not. No one is every going to trust you with anything no matter how hard you try to regain your trust. If they catch you and I'm speaking from first hand experience, you're going to have to lie your way out of trouble which is another wrong this to do.

Lying is natural. Humans lie to protect themselves or others. But lying for fun isn't a good idea because it will get you into all sorts of loop holes and you will regret it at the end.

I was your age at one point of my life, believe it or not and so were you're parents/brothers/sisters, whoever. They probably attempted thhe same 'crimes' as you did when they were you're age so they will know their way round stolen stuff and lies.

So if they already know all your tricks and techniques, why bother to steal in the first place? And if you do get caught, just tell them the truth. Tell them why you felt like you should do this and what it is that you deserve that you're not getting from them. When you lie and try to cover up something you've already done, matters tend to get worse. Lies lead to more lies and those lies will mae way for even more so in the end you will fall in your own trap and no one will ever trust you. They won't know what to believe.

Even if you just say, 'Oh yeah, I took the money for buying a pen or pencil? Whatever. Even if it was the truth, they will NOT trust you. That is just how the human brain works. Once an assumption, always an assumption. So try not to steal. I'm pretty sure you're not being starved or not being give a home to live in. They are different reasons.

I stole at one point because I wanted to pay for my train ticket to get to school. Train fares were getting so damn expensive that I felt so sorry for my parents when they have to buy me a ticket. We weren't exactly thhe richest people in the world and we had taken a lot of loans. Then there were bills, rent, loans, everything was piling on. I was confused, I didn't know how I could help.

Unfortunately, stealing seemed like the only thing to do at that time. I stole to pay for my train ticket at the very least. I stopped eating lunch so my mum didn't have to pay for that. Instead, I stole food, stealing again, from the school canteen. One day I was pretty sure I was going to be fonud out and I did. I was stealing money from the changing rooms where people had left all their bags when two people I knew very well walked in. Obviously, I had to keep my head on. I was extremely embarrassed and they knew I was stealing. So in my head I made up a huge lie. I told them I was searching for contraceptive pills for a friend. I told them she was raped. And because there were so many sluts in my school, I thought someone might have any. So I was just looking through some random person's bags to see if they have any. And they actually believed me, I think. I'm not sure but from the looks of it, they did. It became a lot more complicated after that. I was worried all the time that this is going to go around the school and my reputation will go downhill.

I couldn't risk it any more. I got a job and I started earning money LEGALLY.

Earning money legally will give you a sense of pride. It will give you a feeling that you've earned it through hard work and not benefited from someone else's. Once you start earning, you relise that money has a lot more meaning than just sweets or litter entertainers. People often become a lot more 'cunning' after they start earning. They realise that earning isn't easy and stop spending money on useless objects. It is in fact just a matter of time and patience. You've got to search for a job for yourself. Search for a job and earn money through hard work and then enjoy it. You may have stolen someone else's money which they earned from hard work and were probably going to enjoy with but unfortunately it DISAPPEARED!I wonder why...

Be sure to trust yourself though even if others don't trust you. Keep you heart and spirits up and smile kiddo:) Don't lose heart. We all make mistakes but we must learn from them. Don't keep repeating them or one day fate will put you on the same path as disaster. Until you both meet and you life falls apart. Before that happen, you have athe option to control it and protect you virtue. No one is perfect and they never will be but aim for perfection so you will have the will to live in this world.

It is worthwhile to remember that supernatural beliefs will not help you enforce a crime you will commit. You will only be able to believe in yourself once you feel that you are a good person inside and feel that you're satisfied with you're life. You are in charge here. You are in control. You hold the puppet strings, not me or some one else. Only you can help yourself. I can only guide you and show you the path. There aren't any shortcuts in life. You have to walk the full distance. You can't skip a step or rush through another. It all needs to come one after the other like body parts. You can't have eyes on you legs and you hair on your stomach. There is ann order for everything. The more you try to skip or move faster, the slower you get. Let everything fall into place rather than you trying to force it into place. You do in fact have a long way to go and a promising future ahead. Stealing will hinder your progress. Don't let that happen. Life is indeed a gift so use it, don't abuse it or will end up suffering the consequences.

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Originally Posted by ashsmiley

Hey,

Let me tell you one thing, ...

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Executive summary, please?

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Originally Posted by ashamed

Will this get taken off my record and how much will this cost me? Do I have to hire an attorney?

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This happened to me. Except I went to jail for 30 minutes. I hired an attorney 500$ for two appearances. My first appearance the judge said to get a stop shop lifting course. Second appearance my lawyer showed the completion of the course. The judge decided to have the arrest record cleared within 6 months. First offense does not show criminal record, in my case. So I was good with applying jobs.