Second Offense of Petit Larceny but with a Felony Tool Charge
My question involves criminal law for the state of: Virginia
He has a past criminal record of driving w/o license habitual offender, assault of family member and possession with intent. But, he has had five years of good behavior and obtained a plumbing license and was working. Then the economy got bad lost his job, now he has been reduced to stealing for food and rent.
This is his second petit larsony case and they added a second and third charge of using a tool. it sounds like the (tool)is something he regularly carries bec. he is a plumber and works on cars. What do I need to hold the Public Defender to the fire for to make sure he doesn't get burned for being poor. He never would have stolen anything under any other circumstances. Some people steal, some people are thugs, drug dealers, this is'nt his mo. Thanks
Re: Second Offense of Petit Larceny but with a Felony Tool Charge
Pissing off the public defender is not a good idea. Accusing the public defender of having an issue with a poor person is also not a good idea.
Fact is: Being poor is not an excuse for shoplifting - there are other options like applying for Food Stamps; Food Pantries; Salvation Army; GoodWill.....to name a few.
Virginia is tough on shoplifting. He has a past criminal record.
Using a tool...that makes the charge worse. Even if the tool is used for work - well, what kind of work was he doing that he could not leave it in the vehicle; using it in commission of the crime makes it look like he planned to steal.
He can expect to go from Poor to Poor-er now, by a few thousand dollars. The store will be sending a Civil Demand Notice - this is separate from the Criminal Charge. There will be court costs/fees. There may be fees for probation, community service..... And that public defender is not free, either.....