Retail Theft in Illinois

[{ZEUS}]

hey so as the title says me and a friend got caught for retail theft at meijers. it was all under $150, they said if it would be over $150 it would be a felony and would be defenite jail time. so the LP people, or in other words undercover people walking around and catching people stealing, took us in the office and did all the paper work, and then the cops came. my friend was suppossed to be put down as only an accomplise, hence that he had on his record already a charge for retail theft. so in the end we were arrested and whatnot and fingerprinted. i was kinda scared cause i didnt know what would happen so i kept asking one of the LP peolple a crap load of questions, and in the end he basically said that if my record was clean and this was my first offense that i nwould most likely get a year of probation. i didnt really know how to prep for this or anything since i havent been through this before and its not like any of the cops or the LP people helped event hough i asked both of them questions. i have court tommorow and so does my friend. but we were reading the papers yesterday and he got the exact same write up as i did, hence he was only suppossed to be put down as an accomplice. so he called the LP up from Meijers and he said that he couldnt call him because hes not suppossed to contact anyone from Meijers and ask or complain about what happened to him and he said that he didnt write up that complaint, but his signature is on the bottom of it. what will most likely happen to me? clean record just some speeding ticket almost a year ago. and what can my friend do about the write up? can he say that its not correct what it says on there? or can he do nothing? also what is most likely going to happen to him? since this will be his second offensse within like 10 months? thank you to anyone who takes their time to read this and answer back. also i would REALLY appreciate it if i could get an answer ASAP since i have the court tommorow. thanks again!

[{ZEUS}]

if anyone reads this and can answer some of my questions PLEASE post the answers up because i have court tommorow and want to know something to expect and whatnot. i also wanted to ask, do i need a lawyer or not? should i plead not guilty or guilty? i read some posts and they say to get a lawyer or to at least plead not guilty and get the public defender. idunno. does anyone have some answers PLEASE? i have court tommorow. THANKS!

[shingbei]

whatever you do, do not plead guilty at your arraignment, as that will negate all possible opportunities for your lawyer/public defender to bargain with the prosecutor.

[wisesg]

if anyone reads this and can answer some of my questions PLEASE post the answers up because i have court tommorow and want to know something to expect and whatnot. i also wanted to ask, do i need a lawyer or not? should i plead not guilty or guilty? i read some posts and they say to get a lawyer or to at least plead not guilty and get the public defender. idunno. does anyone have some answers PLEASE? i have court tommorow. THANKS!

Plead not guilty and ask for a public defender. If your record is clean, you will not go to jail - some fine, probation and record clean after probation is over. Your friend is in trouble - ask him to contact a criminal lawyer or public defender.

[{ZEUS}]

ok so im guessin im going to plead not guilty and see if i can get that public defender or maybe get some time to get a lawyer. ya i kinda figured my friend was in trouble, any possible consequences? anyoen with anymroe comments or answers post them up. thank you.

[shingbei]

just wait til your arraignment and see how things go from there. It's really not the end of the world so my best advice is for you not to worry that much.

[{ZEUS}]

ok so i ahd court today. i guess the outcome wasnt too bad, or was it? i felt like they were trying to tick me and bribing me, i was fukin pissed after but here it goes. i i went to court and first i ahd to sign in while already through the doors of the court and i told the lady i pled not guilty whe she asked. then i guy called me up later and started off by saying that he can get me 6 months court supervision and thats it if i pleaded guilty just like my buddy, my friend was with me since he ahd same court date. i asked is it going to be on my record he didnt really answer but im guessing during those six months it will be. and i asked if it would be on there after the supervision he said that it would be expungable, then is aid well then its still going to be on there. he then said that it can be expunged after the six months and i said but the does the six months even matter since it will still be on my record. then he started to ge kinda pissed or something and all of a sudden saiod fine you can plead not guilty and we can go through the whole trial and everything and this will never be able to get expunged. i got kinda scared since ive never been in this situation b4 and the 6 months didnt sound that bad, so i was like fine i plead guilty and i asked after the 6 months how does this get expunged, he said i can do it myself, that they have a packet i can fill out at the court circuit clerk office. so i went b4 the judge and he just said ok your pleading guilty and 6 months of court supervision and i said ya and i was done. but after u was thinking a little more straight and less scared of course and i felt like i got tricked. my friend said that he stuck with not guilty all the way and when he came b4 the judge the judge said well im not gonna give you a public defender since were not charging you with anything so im just gonna let you go, but i dont know if i believe his story since my friends known for lying and is a little slow and might of not realized that he was gettin the same shit as me. but in the end if he did get off the hook then that basterd at the court tricked me and fuked me over by pretty much saying that my friend did this and you should too and that i can get it off my record after 6 months, which i dont even know how long it will take to expunge it. what do you guys think? you think i got screwed or not? if so what can i do about it? how long does it take to expunge this off your record? thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this and answer some questions or leaves comments.