What's the Penalty for Stealing Money

[geekalot]

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: california
about a month ago i stole $1700 and a couple days ago turned myself in and had a promise to appear on april 16th
im dying to know what im going to be sentanced with.
i turned myself in
im leaving for the army july 30th
its my fist offence
and im a minor.
i have heard i could get from. the judge dismissing the case to 3 years in prison...
and i was wondering if i did just get fines and probation if i could substitute the probation with doing time.

thanks all

[flyingron]

Depends on how you stole it. What are you charged with?
You do understand that if you end up convicted, it may mean the end of your stint in the Army. In fact, the Army can't take those with pending charges or on restrictive sanctions (like probation) nor are they inclined to take felons.
I assume you are saying you are 17. The Army won't take you younger and at that age you're likely to be charged as an adult.
April 16 will NOT be your last day in court. It's most likely just the arraignment. You will most likely have several more appearances before sentencing.

You NEED a lawyer.

[geekalot]

broke into a classroom at my school. broke 2 small windows.

[cdwjava]

You are probably charged with burglary - a felony. You should be charged as a juvenile if you were under 18 at the time (in CA you cannot be charged as an adult for this offense). Jail/juvenile hall is possible, and deferring ALL of that time is not too likely, but possible.

You can almost certainly kiss that military career goodbye.

[geekalot]

and im already enlisted in the army so they have already done my background check on me so the only way i wont be able to go in is if my probation last past july 30th... im also willing to do time up until then to be able to take place of probation to speed up the process

[cdwjava]

and im already enlisted in the army so they have already done my background check on me so the only way i wont be able to go in is if my probation last past july 30th... im also willing to do time up until then to be able to take place of probation to speed up the process

Your probation will likely be a MINIMUM of two years.

And if convicted of a felony, prior background or not, you will be legally incapable of possessing a firearm ... a common thing to possess in the military.

You had better hire a real good attorney who might be able to plead it down to a misdemeanor, but you still have the problem if (a) a conviction for a crime of moral turpitude, and, (b) being on probation. Like I said, your military career pretty much just went down in flames due to your very poor decision making.

[geekalot]

see i have been getting very different views of what will happen to me.. some say the judge might dismiss it all together.

[cdwjava]

see i have been getting very different views of what will happen to me.. some say the judge might dismiss it all together.

Anything is POSSIBLE, but unless you get the DA to buy into that, it won't happen. And chances of the matter being entirely resolved in time for you to leave in July is slim. Most counties just do not work that fast. But, if you are in a smaller county where they have adequate juvenile court resources, maybe they can.

You BROKE IN to a room at your school and stole $1700 worth of stuff! That's NOT like stealing your sister's pencil! Quite frankly, I wouldn't trust you in the Army, and the allegation alone could be sufficient to flush that career away because you may not even be able to hold a Secret clearance as a result of it.

[geekalot]

i know i made a very bad choice and it will haunt me the rest of my life. but all i can do now is push forward., not do it again and try living the rest of my life making the right decisions.
thanks for your help

[PTPD22]

As a side note, even if you manage to conceal it from the Army until you show up at MEPS, if you raise your right hand and enlist without disclosing the conviction you could be in even more trouble. Even if it gets dismissed, the Army wants to know about arrests too. You would have to sign more paperwork on enlistment day. If you have concealed a conviction or arrest, and the Army finds out about it after you take that oath (and they would), you would find yourself with new charges for falsifying documents. It is conceivable that you could wind up in a military prison/stockade. It is more likely that they would simply throw you out with a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge...which will follow you around for the rest of your life just like a felony conviction.