My question involves criminal law for the state of: California
My girlfriend and I were caught shoplifting at an electronics store. We were charged by the police with 484 pc - Petty Theft as a misdemeanor. Booking is required and it's not a correctable violation. We're both 20 years old and this is our first offense. She had to sign a promissory note saying that she will pay back the stolen items. We do however have some of the items and are returning them to the store tomorrow morning. We're going to try to work out a deal to pay off the debt, though we are both college students that are un/self employed.
We weren't sure what to do or say (though they had us in separate rooms) because this is our first offense. We definitely learned our lesson and will never be stealing again.
We were wondering if we should get a public defender and how. Will we be able to lessen the charges, whatever they may be? Will there be a lot of fines and extra payments that we have to make? I read in some of the other posts about civil demands and i'm not sure if we got one or not.
We're really panicking here.
Please help.
Thanks!

