Caught shoplifting at Walmart, Nevada

I am 18 this year, and this is my first offense. Two days ago, I was caught for shoplifting at Walmart just as I was walking out of the store. It was for about $56 worth of items, and they took down my particulars and everything. The Metro Police came and gave me a ticket..

I feel so terrible about it, and I can't stop thinking about what I should do.

I don't know anything, and I don't know the procedures at all. My parents are not in the country, and I can't tell anyone. Please help me with some questions.

Do I need a lawyer? How much do they typically cost? What should I do, what should I say? Am i supposed to call the Justice court for a date, or will they mail it to me? On my ticket, there is a date stated on when I am supposed to appear to answer the charge, so will I still be mailed? What are the average fines for shoplifting?

I am so nervous, and am all alone. I will never ever do anything like that again.. I feel so lost!

Hi there. The same thing happened to me on June 27th of this year. You're not alone. It happens all the time. Walmart has a department set up just for this exact thing called the Loss & Provention department. In a few weeks or maybe sooner you will receive a bill from that department. Walmart has the right to fine you anywhere from $50-500 dollars for your crime. My fine was $200. I called the number on the bill from walmart and made payment arrangements. Everyone was really nice and kept it professional even though it was deathly embarrassing. I also received a ticket from the police officer walmart had called and it had a court date on it. When I went to the court house I had to go to the crimal court check in line (not really sure exactly what it's called) but the clerk told me that I wasn't on the docket and I needed to call the district attorney's office. I took the number down and she made a note on my ticket that I had shown up for court, but that I wasn't on the docket. When I got home I called the DA's office and they said they were backed up and I would receive a court date from them when they were ready to prosecute. It's now been over 2 months and I still haven't heard from them. But I know they'll contact me when they're ready. When I do have to show up in court, I assume I'll have to pay another fine for the ticket I got from the police man. My cousin is a cop and he said the judges like to hear honesty. I'm going to tell him it was a really bad choice I had made, I would never do it again, and I had most definitely learned my lesson. I'm actually still trying to figure out what to say to the judge but I thought that sounded pretty good. They can give you a fine or community service. I figure it can't be that bad, I mean my sister in law got caught drunk driving, smashed into a poll, and luckily didn't kill anyone and all she got was a fine and some community service. At least we didn't kill anyone right? But believe me, I'm not making light of our situation, shoplifting is a really bad habit and I have done it alot before, especially at walmart but that was the first time I'd been caught. I have never done it since. I was totally scared straight. The most horrible thing about it was I had my two little boys with me and used their diaper bag to put my stolen things in. I stole about 35 dollars worth of stuff. I feel really disgusted with myself but believe me, after about 3 days you'll be able to sleep a little better. Your body just has to go through the initial shock of the humilation you suffered. After about 1 week I was able to stop thinking about it every hour. Now I've completely forgotten about it, but waiting on my court date pops in my head every once in a while. You'll be ok. Hire a lawyer if you want to, I'm not going to. I did the crime, I'm sorry for it and I'll tell the court that. I'm here if you want to talk. You can email me anytime. perrywinkle28@sbcglobal.net