My question involves criminal law for the state of: California
I didn't know where else to put this, so I figured this might be the best place.
A few years ago on the 4th of July around 2008 I believe, I was hanging out with some friends at someone's house and we were lighting fireworks. They had illegal fireworks at the time, and I made the mistake of deciding to light one of the fireworks (small bottle rocket) to see what it was like. At that very moment, local Police department (This is in Southern California btw) cruiser drives by and stops us after seeing myself and a few others. Everyone in the group stood back as the officers asked for IDs. Everyone stood back and left me hanging, and I was obliged to give mine up. So I got slapped with the ticket for what turned out to be a misdemeanor (as written on the ticket).
A few months later, I showed up in the city superior court on the written court date to find out what was going on. It turned out that the DA did not have my case on file, and the secretary informed me that once the case was processed, I would receive a letter. I didn't know if I should be worried or relieved at the time.
Is it possible that the police officers just wanted to give me a scare, and not actually turn in the ticket? Would the case still be "pending", in which case, it would affect my job seeking? Or could the charges just have been dropped?

