My question involves criminal law for the state of: Washington
I just found out that my elderly father has been charged with criminal misdemeanor on shoplifting charges and faces a court arraignment in a week. Please advise on my options. Here are the details -
My dad is 57 years old and of ill health. He has very minimal knowledge of speaking or understanding English. He has visited USA several times on visitors visa. Absolutely squeaky clean record all his life. We are not rich, but certainly doing quite ok for ourselves (family income>$250,000).
Last month, my dad went to the mall to purchase a few things from Macy's and Macy's Home Store. He picked a perfume bottle ($69) from Macy's and was headed to Macy's Home not realizing that he had to pay for the perfume first. In any case, Macy's apprehended him. Even though it must have been clear that he did not understand exactly what is going on, they got him to sign on a form stating the circumstances, got him to pay $269 (including $200 in fines), AND filed a police case. My dad was confused and scared - he didn't even realize that they have filed a police case. He felt so ashamed that he didn't insist on calling me or a lawyer. For the last 16-17 days, he didn't tell anyone in the family and his health has been deteriorating as a result. This last week, he got a summons from the court, and this is when he panicked and broke down.
Could someone please advise what my options are? My main concern is that I want this whole thing to go away as soon as possible so that my dad's health does not deteriorate any further.
Thanks!
P.S. I am pissed at Macy's for their handling of this situation. Do they not consider a person's situation and past history when filing such serious charges? In the last 10 years, we (including my dad) have purchased tens of thousands of dollars of stuff from Macy's. For $69, Macy's has lost a customer for a lifetime.

