Class B Misdemeanor Charge for Shoplifting

My friend and I went to a JCPenney in texas. She had convinced me to take two shirts, and came up to $30
She had taken two shirts, and two pieces of jewelry, and it came up to over $80. And because we were in the same dressing room, they put the items together.
We went to jail for it, and it was my first time shoplifting. I have to go to court, and I don't want to have this on my record, I have always been a good citizen. I am only 18 years old.


Do I have a chance of this getting expunged or sealed since it was my first offense, and mine was technically under $50? Or will I still be charged with Class B because my friend?

You need an attorney.

Technically you were involved in a left of more than $50, they don't apportion criminal activity across the criminals.
Your best bet would get it reduced to the class C charge and deferred. Eventually that will go away. Your chances of arguing "technicalities" by yourself are slim.

I actually just found out I may not be required to go to court.
What are they going to do if they don't have me go to court?

EVen if you're charged with a class C, you want to go to court.
Take whatever paperwork you get to an attorney.

I can't afford an attorney. I can't even tell my family about this.

This was not my idea, I was forced to shoplift. She had shoved the items in my bag.

My dear, you were not "forced" to commit a crime. You did not have a gun to your head - you simply gave in to peer-pressure. You are now 18 and legally an adult. Legally, you are now responsible for your own decisions and actions - you can no longer lean on mommy and daddy. So, there is no reason for you to be concerned with telling your family. Now, whether you are mentally and emotionally ready to be an adult is totally up to you.

As you have been told, you really need the assistance of an attorney to minimize the impact your criminal actions will have on your life. If you truly cannot afford an attorney, then schedule a court date, plead not guilty, and request a public defender. If you qualify, an attorney will be appointed by the court to represent you. You will have to do all of this on your own - mommy and daddy have nothing to do with it anymore and the court will likely not even allow them to speak.

I am not seeking your smart-ass remarks, I am seeking help to find out a way for this to not go on my record.

I know I was not actually "forced", but I feel like I was, like I had said, she put the items in my bag. I feel disgusted with myself.

I know all people make some mistakes in their lives, and pay for it. Yes they should be punished for their actions, I do believe that, but I don't believe it should go on their records if it is a first offense for something that is not a felony, because most of those people, are genuinely good people, and deserve good jobs.

And I am not just saying that because of myself - I knew a person who had done something similar, they had to sit in jail for a week. And they couldn't find an employer who wanted someone with a misdemeanor on their record for almost a year. I don't believe that is the right punishment. Maybe a couple of hours in jail, and pay a fine. And then after they pay the fine, have it expunged. Showing that they are willing to make up for their mistakes and hopefully never do it again. People deserve second chances. And if there is a way I can do that, then I would like to know what I need to do, to do so.

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Quoting lauren.coker

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I am not seeking your smart-ass remarks, I am seeking help to find out a way for this to not go on my record.

I know I was not actually "forced", but I feel like I was, like I had said, she put the items in my bag. I feel disgusted with myself.

I know all people make some mistakes in their lives, and pay for it. Yes they should be punished for their actions, I do believe that, but I don't believe it should go on their records if it is a first offense for something that is not a felony, because most of those people, are genuinely good people, and deserve good jobs.

And I am not just saying that because of myself - I knew a person who had done something similar, they had to sit in jail for a week. And they couldn't find an employer who wanted someone with a misdemeanor on their record for almost a year. I don't believe that is the right punishment. Maybe a couple of hours in jail, and pay a fine. And then after they pay the fine, have it expunged. Showing that they are willing to make up for their mistakes and hopefully never do it again. People deserve second chances. And if there is a way I can do that, then I would like to know what I need to do, to do so.

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LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT.

You commit a crime, come here asking for help and advice, and people who work in and around the criminal justice and law fields give you advice and you insult them?

YOU DON'T GET TO CHOOSE HOW WE RESPOND.

I've worked retail LP for 15 years. Cut the crap about how your friend was really the one in the wrong and you were just dragged along. You shoplifted. You are equally responsible. If I'm in a fitting room with someone and they start putting things in my bag, I'm ripping the stuff out of my bag, walking out, and finding a store employee to immediately report the theft occurring in the fitting room. Did you do that? No. I wouldn't even DREAM of going to court and telling a judge what you've told us. Around here, telling a judge something so dumb would get you a short jail stay instead of a fine and probation. So if you want 10 days in jail, give or take, go use the line about being "forced into it."

You did not make a mistake. A mistake is ordering a quarter pounder when you really meant to order a cheeseburger. This was no mistake. You intended to steal and that is exactly what you did. Sure, you screwed up royally, but it was no mistake.

It doesn't matter what YOU believe about whether things should go on your record or not. You are not the queen of the United States, therefore you don't unilaterally make our laws and policy. This WILL go on your record, regardless of how "genuinely good" you are or whether or not you have a "good job."

At the end of your last post, after you spent 3 paragraphs pontificating about how things "should be" and how "unfaaaaair" life is for you, you asked a question that has already been answered and which I will answer again: How can you get a second chance? GET A LAWYER. That is the only way that you will be able to negotiate a plea bargain that might keep you from getting a record and/or keep you out of jail.

If you can't afford an attorney, tell the court. If the court doesn't appoint you one because they don't find you to be indigent, then you are SOL and will have to deal with the consequences of the situation that YOU created and chose to put yourself in. You are no victim here.

One would think that having had a friend who was in the same situation would have taught you the consequences of breaking the law...

I am seeking help to find out a way for this to not go on my record.

The best way to avoid having a crime on your record is not to commit one.

I'm sorry, but this is MY post. And I did not ask for any of this. As I have been told ALREADY, to get an attorney, so he did NOT have to reply when I was already getting help from someone else who was actually being polite about it, he just felt like showing off his knowledge, and basically telling me that I am unfit to be an adult. And yes it was a mistake, it was not my choice to go and steal, that's not the kind of person I am, but I have trouble saying no, I have always had problems with that, people always tell me I need to not be nice and so "no", And I was saying no to her, but she still did it. I give in easily. But I will not anymore.
And I am now working on getting an attorney because I just found out that they charged me with even more items which neither me, or my friend took. In reality, I only should have been given a fine.

With your maturity level and attitude, you'll go far in life. I'm sure we'll be hearing about you again.

If you showed this type of attitude with store LP and/or the police, it doesn't surprise me that they are slamming you with anything and everything they can.

And no, it wasn't a mistake. You stole. You meant to steal. Apparently that IS the kind of person you are. OWN IT.

Oh, and nobody cares who started the thread. I can almost hear you say "MY post" in the tone my three year old uses. The other poster wasn't "showing off," he was telling you how it is, and you apparently don't like to hear it.

You've been told the truth by multiple people. Too bad that you don't like what you're hearing.

Unless someone was holding a gun to your head, yes, it was damn well was your choice. "I have problems saying no" is just another way of saying, "I chose to steal rather than stand up to my so-called friend".

It's not up to you what penalty you "should have" received.

In reality you should only have been given a fine?

Why?

You. Are. Responsible. For. Your. Actions. You made the choice to steal. The faster you understand that the better your life as an adult will be.

Plus, as others have mentioned, this is a public forum. You do not get to decide who replies or what they say.

I stole $22 worth of things, they said it was $35, I looked it up, and they said my friends was over $80, when it was actually a little over $50. They were lying to put us in jail. - They said we stole a DVD, JCPenney doesn't sell DVDs.

And who are you to call me a child? The fact that you're getting heated over this makes you the child. If the guy had something he wanted to say backs he could have done it himself, instead you're making this site another Facebook.

Who would want to face reality at a time like this? Of course I just want to find a way out of this because I have worked way to hard to let it all go to waste over something stupid that I have done, I do deserved to be punished for it, but they had lied about what all we stole to make the situation worse. I shouldn't have done that, I know. And I am an idiot for doing it. But I know the kind of person I really am, and that one thing does not define who I am. And if all of you are going to jump to conclusions and decide that I am some immature little girl who deserves to be put down by strangers over the Internet, fine. Have fun with that.

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I'm sorry, but this is MY post.

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Um, no, actually, once you post it here, it's mine and the admin's. You don't get to determine how people respond, and you don't get to determine whether it stays or goes. Hint: It stays.

You got the correct legal advice: Get an attorney. You say you have one now, and that's good. But don't expect that you're going to walk away scot free, even with the help of counsel. Hitch up your Big Girl Britches and do EXACTLY what he tells you to do, and you MIGHT get a favorable deal. Tell the court what you think you "should" get, you may find yourself getting quite embarrassed in open court. Speak when your attorney tells you to, elsewise, zip it.

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And who are you to call me a child?

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Adults, natch. Do try to keep up.

In TX the difference between a Class B and a Class C misdemenor appears to be the $50 mark. So even if they somehow racheted the amount up to $35 from $22 it woudln't legally make a difference. And making "over $50" into $80 also wouldn't legally make a difference, because over $50 but less than $500 is the same charge. And I'm sure you're wrong about them arbitrarily changing the amounts "to put you in jail." Seems that with the original amounts they had enough to put you in jail.

And if you worked "way to hard" [sic] to let it all go to waste, than you should have given your actions more consideration before you undertook them. This reminds me of all the 22 year old education majors I used to arrest for shoplifitng who said "No, you don't understand, I'm 2 months away from graduating and if I get this conviction I won't be able to be a teacher." Every one of them ended up having to find another line of work with which to use their education degree, because all were convicted of theft and became instantly inelligible to be licensed teachers.

Don't go to a casino and bet your house on one throw of the dice and then be upset when their house wins and you lose yours.