Big thanks to several forum members out there who helped me out through all this. You know who you are!
Anyways, being an avid reader of this during my pending case, I noticed there were a lot of "cries for help" threads but not many conclusive threads. People just seemed to simply accept their fate and dissappear off the face of the planet, which left me uneasy and worried inside. So I will write my story, from start to finish here, in hopes of helping others by offering a satisfactory ending.
Jan I'm caught walking out the door by an LP at Costco in California who brings me back to the office. I'm forced to admit that I stole an <$50 item and used a "tool" to get it out of its packaging. He tries to bully out other confessions, like saying its burglary, demanding to know who I was with, etc. My Costco membership is revoked for two years and the police is called. I'm lead out by an officer in handcuffs who then writes me a citation for Petty Theft 488, a misdemeanor charge. My arraignment is set for mid February.
For the next few weeks I do the usual panicking, as this is my first criminal charge ever. I call up attorneys with the free initial consultation, some of them who attempt to offer me their services (misdemanor charges are very expensive in California, many offered a "flat rate" fee of $1000-$5000!), but overall the honest ones just told me to go in there and ask for pretrial diversion, if it wasn't offered to me already. This doesn't keep me from losing sleep over it. For any first timers out there, it's hard but don't worry, it won't turn out too bad!
Early-Feb The day of my arraignment arrives. I dress business-casual: a dress shirt, belt, slacks, dress shoes, and a tie. In the courtroom, there are plenty of people dressed very casually to say the least, in street-clothing. I notice I'm the only one dressed appropriately for the situation. I arrive at 830 AM but my case doesn't get called until 1100 AM. Because of the low-dollar amount, I'm offered a plea bargain of Petty Theft Infraction 490.1, punishable by $50 fine. The judge then kindly lets the public defender on duty explain what this means, although I had already thoroughly researched this, and asked her the possibility of diversion since infractions couldn't be expunged. (Note, expungement requires probation, and infractions don't have probation since there's no jail time). However, I'm not sure of my options so I ask the judge to hold the offer, which he grants, and sets my pretrial conference in two weeks. (It's advisable to do your own research -- the public defenders are very busy with their own cases to do extensive research on yours! I had to remind my PD of pretrial diversion -- they were happy enough for me to get an infraction.)
In the meantime I call up some more attorneys who again try to get my business, but ultimately conclude that pretrial diversion is my best bet. I go to the public defender's office, and qualify for one (being a student with relatively low income). (It's also noteworthy to state that I attempted to get my case dismissed, but with my confession and the ``tool,'' I had a relatively low chance; plus, I didn't want this to go to trial).
Mid-Feb My PTC arrives and again it takes a few hours before my case is called. My PD gets me on diversion, which entails approximately $270 in fees ($200 to the court, $15 for community service sign up, $55 for theft awareness class) and the following: one theft awareness class, 20 hours of community service, and misc. fees. In a year (Feb-2007) if I have completed all these requirements for diversion, my case gets dismissed! No conviction!
As for the civil notice from Costco, I still haven't received one, if at all. Hopefully it never comes.
OK, that's the last time I ever step foot into the criminal division of a courthouse again! Good luck to everyone with their cases! (With prudence you'll never hear from me again.)
Over and out,
v99

