I got caught stealing a $38 dollar jacket by the police HELP!!!!!!!!! Misdemeanor or felony??

CHRIS

you should volunteer at your county library or nursing home "read to old people". before court

relax don't talk too much you may make it worst

get a nice suit and talk to the state's attorney ask for a plea bargain. You will not know the fine til Court. they may not fine you..
How are you going to get a job?

the states attorney might drop charges

apologize in court when they ask you do you have anything to say for yourself.

*Dimples*

it wasn't a good choice to steal! I don't think i can really help you though. I think your letter sounds pretty good but i don't think you can fix this with just a letter. Well good luck.

jaws65

its a misdemeanor the fines will be determined by a judge and I hope you learned not to do stupid things like that again

Dear Store,
I am truly sorry for attempting to steal a sweat shirt from your store. It was wrong and I can only say, I was an idiot. I will of course pay for the shirt and any damages my actions have caused.
I have been losing sleep over my actions. I have never done anything like this before and I can assure you I never will again.
Signed

Johnny B

Everyone feels they should get away with what they do.
Because of your age no doubt you will but you don't deserve to. Hopefully they will give you some community work to do.
Its a good learning experience about whats right and wrong.

Chell

my daughter (26) got caugt stealing merchandise from JC Penney, but it was $83 worth. She had to do a program called Project Turnaround in our area. She has to write a letter to bot me & them in the form of an apology. Plus she also had to do 35 hours of community service. All was to be done by tomorrow which it is as of 45 mins ago. They did not charge her for a felony. It will be exspunged off her record when i go down & fill out some forms. She & you i hope have learned your lesson. STEALING IS A CRIME. Please use better judgement in the future. You are not a bad kid, everyone makes mistakes, thing is you have to learn from them in the long run. Good Luck

AmyStew

Because you are younger I don't think you will get any jail time. Maybe community service. Your letter is a good idea. Maybe say that the embarrassment that you feel has helped you learn from your mistake. Maybe send a gift as well...that all the employee could enjoy. Maybe some candy?

Alice K

Sorry, kid, but it was really stupid to admit you intended to steal the jacket when you went into the store. That elevated your crime to the level of a felony. And forget about writing a letter of apology to the store. If you're lucky enough to get probation, you'll be ordered to have NO contact with them, including letters. You'll have to pay for the jacket, plus fines. plus court costs, plus probably a maintenance fee IF you're lucky enough to get off on probation--in other words, one hell of a lot more than the jacket would have cost. How much you'll pay and whether you'll do any time in juvenile hall will depend on the laws in your state and the mood of the judge you draw.
Now, what have we LEARNED from this?

No joke. Your crime was a felony because you went to the store with the INTENT to steal the jack. If you had done it on the spur of the moment, it would have been a misdemeanor.
And an infraction is a violation of a rule or law. Look it up.

johnski415

You should be ashamed of yourself!

ddpaxon

FELONY - ESPECIALLY IF BELONGED TO THE COPS.

seriously - misdemeanor
iT HAD TO BE WORTH A WHOLE LOT MORE TO BE A FELONY.

rlc_60504

Can't help you with your technical questions on the charge.

Most stores are going to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law so that they let it be known that they will not tolerate theft. Theft rips money out of their profit. It's a huge issue. This is why they spend so much money in security systems and security guards in order to try to prevent theft.

I don't know what it might buy you legally, but I think that sending an apology letter is a good step. It shows remorse for the crime. I would make sure you make a copy of it and provide it to your attorney. It might not help your defense, but it might help the judge be a little more lenient on your sentence if he sees that you show remorse.

A couple of thoughts on topics you might want to touch on in your letter....Acknowlege that your crime has cost the store money and impacted their profit...extra time on the clock for the employees, time spent by employees on your situation instead of waiting on other customers or conducting inventory restocking, time and effort spent to prosecute you, damage to the clothes, attorney fees, etc...etc...Acknowledge that you understand that the court system will be handling your case, but if there is anything that you can do outside of that to make amends that you would like to offer.

You need to run all of this by your attorney though. He your attorney wants to fight he case then you don't say anything.

Good luck.

nicoleisnumber1

your screwed. dont even bother writing a letter

test pilot

Your letter sounds fine. You want it to seem sincere so don't try to fine tune it. Just your true feelings from the heart is the most important thing. As far as the fine or punishment you will get, that all depends on the judge and your past record. If you don't have a previous record and if the judge is in a good mood and you come across as truly remorseful you might just luck out and get some sort of light punishment such as community service or probation. I'm sure the judge will inquire about your grades and scholl work also. Heck who knows, if you come across as a good guy the judge might just sentence you to working around the store doing odd jobs such as window washing, sweeping, taking out the trash etc. No matter what happens it is not a felony so no worries there.

jilly53

You will be charged a misdemeanor since it is less than $100.00 However you still will have to go to family court and may have to do community service for however many hours the judge tells you to, you will have to repay any damages and in some cases you have to pay for the item even though you don't have possession of it and you Definitely need to write an apology letter to the store. Your letter is okay but they will want you to include what lesson you have learned as a result. Also in some states if you get one more charge you will not be able to get drivers license until you are 18 and it will stay on your record until you are 18. Every state is different but not that much so this is probably what will happen. I hope you did learn a lesson from this.What were you thinking? My daughter went through this and I couldn't understand why. She was so upset at herself that she made herself sick! I felt bad for her but I made her get a job and grounded her for 2months. I know she won't ever do that again but i still don't know why she did it in the first place she is a straight a student and on the honor roll I made her turn herself in and get out of honor roll cuz where is the honor in stealing? I hope you take this seriously because it is sad for your Mom,it probably tore her up inside cuz we think of our kids as a reflection of ourselves and she probably feels like its all her fault and now you will have to build trust back up with her. I hope you will think before you do something dumb like this again! I know you are a nice person because of your letter and thats the saddest part so be good from now on "NEVER LIE CHEAT OR STEAL, Always strike a fair deal
maybe that little saying will pop into your head when you are thinking of doing something wrong. We all have bad thoughts at times its just whether or not you act on them

FEISTY ASIAN GIRL

I WILL WISH YOU GOOD LUCK,AND JUST WRITE IN YOUR LATER YOU WILL CLEAN UP THE STORE FOR A WEEK

ayemates

listen here, juvenile delinquent. kids steal all of the time. don't be embarassed, learn from your stupid *** mistakes. don't write a letter either, thats just annoying.

It does not matter if you planned on stealing the jacket when you walked into the store or not you stole it be prepared to pay for what you did.

Maddie

We certainly all make mistakes, but the most important thing is that we learn from them and don't repeat them. You might have a bit more flexibility given your age and if this is your first "offense"...depends upon your state law, as most theft crimes are covered by state law. I imagine it would probably result in a minor fine and / or community service time. I doubt that a $38.00 sweatshirt / jacket would result in a felony charge or grand theft...generally the financial aspect tied to those charges are greater...sounds more like a petty theft action to me...which is a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine...sometimes jail time, but in your case, I am thinking community service time. I wouldn't write the letter until you have gone through the court system...writing the letter prior to any sentencing, will automatically admit your guilt...and regardless of anything...it is best to be silent until you enter the correct environment where you will be addressed by the proper authorities through the court system...if after you receive your sentencing...if you still choose to, then I would write the letter.
Also too, since you have been caught shoplifting by store authorities / police...likely your parents / guardians will be informed, given your age...so you are better in that department admitting to them what you have engaged in, and get ready for some repercussions with them, if they believe in following that route with you...tough love from parents, while you won't appreciate it now at your age, will be a benefit for you later on down the road in your life. And remember too, while this doesn't condone any negative behavior when it comes to breaking a law, misdemeanor or felony, your juvenile record will remain sealed once you become an adult...so this mistake of yours will not follow you legally, but it may influence the beginnings of what you choose to do after leaving high school, say if you ever pursued the military...or whatnot...but again, there might be more flexibility if you haven't engaged in anything of this nature before.

wvu_cheerleadermeg

You probably won't get in TOO much trouble because you are only 14. If I were you, I would tell them I really, really learned my lesson. Tell them you have never felt more embarrassed in your life and you have learned that stealing was a stupid idea and that you are never going to do it again.
Please make sure that your sentences are coherent and that the spelling is correct also. If I were you, I would have a parent or someone older read over it.

I hope you learned your lesson.

Sabastien G

Usually they give the death penalty. Since you're underage, they will only put you in jail for a minimum of 15 years.

private

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dat sounds good to me since youre willing to pay for it

Gavin S

(Advice)
First off. your a idiot

never steal!!! if they do charge you and the police recored you you are not allowed into most of America (if your Canadian)
your bound to get caught eventually
tell your parents immediately (trust me, they love it when you tell them)

(Help)

Did they write down your name and **** like that?
if your parents do not know DONT TELL THEM
just wave it off, i suggest a HAND given letter but dont say STEAL say take and dont offer to pay for teh sweater...(why did u steal it in the first place if you could buy it)

Kenny

sry.

LxUxKxE

nothings goin to happen just a suspension from the store

Redhead!

I have shoplifted before. Since its under 300 dollars it will be a misdemeanor. Try doing about 15 - 20 community service hours and write a letter to the store. Your parents can be fined 200 dollars or more. My mother was fined 200 dollars because she wasn't at my side to stop me. I doubt you will get charged with a felony. But you need to get a lawyer and maybe he can make a plea with the store to keep you out of court and just make you do more community service hours and maybe a retail theft packet like I had to. I just wish you luck, the jacket doesn't seem worth it now huh?

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