At his court appearance the judge will formally inform him of the charge against him. The judge should inform him of his right to a lawyer, and appoint one if he can't afford one and wants one. He might be given an offer by the prosecutor to resolve the case at arraignment, although not all jurisdictions afford that option. He will also have the opportunity to enter a not guilty plea. If he does that he will be given another court date for a pre-trial conference where he may also enter a plea or perhaps, if the jurisdiction has one (and he has no other criminal history), enter a pre-trial diversion program.
He needs a lawyer. Theft is a crime of dishonesty that can have bad unexpected consequences for life. It sounds like he's trying to ruin his life by stealing.

