i dont know why i did this yesterday, i was going to pick up my wife at the airport, but got into des moines one hour early, so went to best buy and looked for some cd's, then it happened, got caught! its stupidity in my part, never done it before, just spur of the moment kind of thing i guess...
so i got caught right, the manager called the cops, cop said im banned at the store, and also gave me a citation with a court date for next week friday, feb 8th...
here is what i found in the iowa code:
714.2 Degrees of theft.
5. The theft of property not exceeding two hundred dollars in value is theft in the fifth degree. Theft in the fifth degree is a simple misdemeanor.
the cd's i stole is worth 150.00...
my questions are:
what happens during court?
do i need a lawyer or just by myself?
shoplifting stays in my record?
i have no prior arrest record, this is my first time committing a crime, and sure will not do it again, learned my lesson (should not have done it the first place)...
any comments will be greatly appreciated...
thank you!

