[jans1968]

My friend was recently arrested for simple assault in Iowa. He is a good kid and has no prior criminal record.
The story:
We were pulling a practical joke at a McDonalds. He was in a costume. He ran by the window and took the food from the drive through woman. He was with us and we knew he was taking our food. The woman claimed he assaulted her by running by. He ran by swiftly and made an "all bag" grab. She claimed he grabbed her hand and jerked her causing her to bruise her thigh. The charge is 708.1 and 708.2 assualt and assault causing bodily harm. The woman's story is significantly different from the truth. She claims he took the food from a car that didn't know it was happening. The police report says she said she was not hurt. THen, she called them a few days later and said she had been hurt. I don't know what to do to help my friend. He has a lawyer who can hopefully help him. Do you know what he can expect? He had no intention of assault or no motivation to hurt the woman.

I know this story is somewhat ridiculous, but he is pretty scared.

[Mr. Knowitall]

It's a good idea for him to continue to work with his lawyer, to see if they can get a resolution which reflects that this was an ill-executed joke as opposed to something that should result in a criminal record.

[jans1968]

What do you think the worst case scenario would be here?

[Mr. Knowitall]

The worst case would mean he gets the maximum sentence for the offense charged. That rarely happens.