First Time Grand Larceny Felony

[noctis]

Age: 19
Crimes: Grand larceny; I stole under $200, but they made it collective with my two friends and it totaled over $200.
State: VA

The three of us stole from Macy's and they caught us. First time for all of us. We were arrested and brought to jail where we were handcuffed and printed, but released without bail. Our first hearing is on the 27th. We all got civil fines of $250 from macy's.

So what should I expect of the outcome? We will have to get a public defender, because we cannot afford a lawyer. We're all summer part timers, so it's a low income. I'm trying to keep it away from my parents as much as possible; I currently have a job and I will hopefully pay it off somehow... Will I be jailed? Will it be dropped to misdemeanor? I'm hoping it will and I'll just have to pay the fines and take the classes. I go to college currently, so jail time isn't in the cards.

Also, when I go for my first hearing, do I plead not guilty? It seems kinda redundant because I know I'm guilty...

[flyingron]

You need a lawyer. Jail time is a possibility, although unlikely unless you really cheese off the judge. Even so, a felony conviction will have serious, lifelong implications and in Virginia there's no expungement of convictions PERIOD.

[noctis]

Yeah, it was how we didn't get a bail amount; we were polite and compliant. The police officer was kind and he said he doubted that we'd get jail time since we had clean records and were in college.

[flyingron]

Never take legal advice from the cops.
Even if you don't get jail time, a felony conviction will be bad.

[noctis]

Would it be wise to tell my parents then? I am trying to avoid that... but I currently do not have the funds for a lawyer, that's why I was looking into getting a public defender. I have funds for any future fines, but that's it. So for my hearing, I plead not guilty and ask for a PD? I'm so scared and confused right now.

[tc498]

Its normal to plead guitly and then a plea is offered,I think you got a good chance on a reduction to a misdemeanor. The question is can a private lawyer get it reduced to something non theft related or some how dismissed which is very hard b.c it's a felony theft charge. While a misdemeanor is a lot better then a felony it's still bad to have a theft conviction. Even with a misdemeanor conviction probation might be part of the deal,your parents might find out some how. A public defend might be just as good as private lawyer. It's hard to tell them but it's best to just bite the bullet and expalin what happened.

[PandorasBox]

And you may want to do some job searches for what your college degree is for, and make sure those adds don't say "Must have clean criminal record".

[tc498]

I meant to say it's normal to plead not guilty and then some type of plea is offered.