Petit Theft from a Merchant in Florida

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Florida

Recently I was caught at a local Wal-Mart attempting to take an item that was worth around $35. I was released on the scene and as far as I was able to hear from the loss prevention team and the police themselves, I am not going to be trespassed and I am unsure of what that means. I have never been charged with something like this before, or of anything at all in fact. I am 19 years old with an otherwise clean record, with nothing even minor such as a speeding ticket. I am still waiting on my court date to come in the mail and I have several questions I would like to ask.

1) The big one, should I plead guilty or not guilty? I do not particularly care about this being on my record. i have low aspirations for myself career wise and I truly just need to avoid jail time because my family would disown me if it came to that. Needless to say I can't have them finding out about this either despite the fact that I am financially a dependent of theirs.

2) With this being my first offense of any kind whatsoever, do I have a high chance of facing jail time? And will the chances be high if I plead guilty or if I do that will I just be losing out on my ability to possibly go through a pretrial diversion class?

3) If I am pleading not guilty, will a public defender cost me anything on the day of assignment or will it be added to court costs? And speaking of court costs and possible fines thereof, will I be expected to pay them on the day of receiving them or do I have a prearranged amount of time to pay them? I also would like to ask the same question over the possible civil demands that the store may make.

4) I suffer from severe depression/bipolar type 22 disorder and I recently started new medication that can make me leave me in a foggy state mentally in addition to the fact that the illness itself makes me have regular lapses in judgement and out of character moments that I lack any and all control over. Would this have any bearing on the verdict/should I bring it up at all in court or should I not?

As my first and hopefully only run in with the law over any matter I'm sure you can understand that I am honestly quite terrified and any information you can give me to help quell my fears even in the slightest will be of great value to me. Thank you in advance!

You want a lawyer or Public Defender. You want to plead Not Guilty and get a plea deal to a lesser charge or a First Time Offenders/Diversion Program (that's not free. The PD is not free). Or else you are going to be 100% reliant on living with your parents for years to come, and will be lucky to get a job at McD's. Pleading guilty will surely mean that a McJob is all you will get for many years.

You likely won't do jail time. But if you get a Diversion/First Time Offenders Program, you can count on Community Service.

Do not use the depression/bipolar/new med.

While you have low career aspirations for yourself....dude, you were smart enough to type intelligently. There is a lot of promise out there for you if you work hard enough for it. Take a McJob, work your way to management.....

And you do need a job now. That looks good to the judge, and you are going also have court costs, fines, Civil Demand from the store to pay for, along with Diversion Program (hopefully) and fee for the Public Defender. And...you may need your parents help to pay for your court costs, etc., while you look for a job.

You have a great chance to turn your life around...get a job, work hard....you can do it.

"Tresspassed" means being told not to return to the premises (possibly of other stores in the chain as well). The fact that you have a "court date" means you have a very serious criminal matter to come up. Pandora knows about the implications of this. While she was caught in a different state, much of her experience applies to you.


Never plead guilty unless you have legal advice as to the implications of doing otherwise.

First offense jail is unlikely but possible.

In Florida, you apply for the PDP (diversion) in advance of actually going to trial. You waive your right to a speedy trial as they reserve the right to try you if you screw up the diversion. Save your pennies. The diversion costs money and there are no hardship waivers on the fee.

Public defenders are for the indigent who can not afford counsel, rather than for those just unwilling to pay for one. To get a PD, take $50 to the PD office in your county and apply. Alternatively you can wait to your court date (you still need the $50) but it probably is in your interest to start early.

The civil demand is independent of your criminal charges. You can guarantee that you will get a letter from Walmart's "lawyers" demanding the fee. They may be willing to take installments.

Your alleged mental condition is largely immaterial. For it to be an issue, you have to be so disabled as to not be able to understand your actions at any given time. Heed carefully getting such diagnosis. It becomes documented proof you can't be trusted with all kinds of things from jobs to even driving.

What I meant by a court date is that I was told that I would be receiving a notice to appear in the mail at some point in the bear future. Is there a difference between these things?

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Also any help from my family is currently out of the question as they are bankrupt.

No. A notice to appear is the same thing. You're getting criminally charged.

I suggest you start finding out what fast food/retailers are hiring in your area and start applying. I know you can go to Publix and apply at the employment kiosk and then ask for a manager immediately afterward, they are supposed to be nice to work for, too.

Fast food is always hiring and if you work hard, you can work your way into management.

You will need to pay those court costs, fines, civil demand, public defender, diversion program, so you are looking at a good $1500+.

And trust me....you want that diversion program! I had a damned difficult time finding employment for 5+ years, and in reality, it cost me $100,000 of income.