Hi. I'm a 19-year-old college student in Michigan. About a couple weeks ago, a buddy of mine talked about taking stuff from Meijer because they supposedly don't catch many shoplifters.
Stupidly, I took that to mind- I'm usually a great person, never did something like this in my life, but I went to Meijer a week later, thinking about stealing some packs of cards. I even had them in my hand for awhile- I set them down somewhere else in the store and left, though, afraid of getting caught. This happened again yesterday.
Then, earlier today, I actually tried it. And guess what. I was caught committing retail fraud of the 3rd degree, attempting to steal $54 worth of cards, by a store detective who had is eye on me when I first picked up the cards. When I tried walking out, they stopped me, took me into a room, filled out paperwork and asked me questions. I was perfectly compliant, even shaking at times- I was that scared. They had a police officer come in and do some more paperwork, asked me questions, then set up a court date in late November.
I really need some help on this. I'm not a criminal- I've had a clean record prior to this. I'm in the Honors program at my college w/ a 3.62 GPA. I have a good job on campus. I immediately talked with my boss about this, and he said he's behind me 100% and knows I'm a good person.
The question is, What's the worst that's going to happen? I told my parents, and they're in full support of me and will be there with me on the court date to let the judge know that I'm not a bad person. I plan to get a lawyer for this as well.
I know what I did was stupid. And nobody's more ashamed of it than me. Can I get this case dropped from my criminal record, and what's the worst that could happen to me? I don't want to be in jail.
Please help.

