I got caught shoplifting w/ my sister & a mutual friend. My sister & I had never done it before, not sure about our friend. It was Christmas Eve &we hadn't finished xmas shopping, & we were short some money so we decided to take a couple shirts as xmas presents..big mistake, I know.
Before I start, I will give you our ages - Im 18, they are 20 and 22 yrs
Anyways we live in MASS & the LPO stopped us before we even walked out the door. We were however past any cashiers so they knew what our intent was.. was he allowed to stop us before we left the store?
we were asked 2 go into the back room & we followed w. no prob. we cooperated completely & we were very calm & did nothing that the LPO did not like. We sat there & did not speak until spoken to & gave back the merchandise immediately.
The police were called & our information was recorded. There was no fingerprinting, or photos taken. We were also not arrested.
The store is charging each of us $250 in fines so a total of $750. The stolen merchandise came to a total of $67.99 .
After the police officer writing down that all of us committed the act, she explained that my my "friend" & I could possibly receive youthful diversion or something although my sister could not, because she was 22. She said that it will go on all of our records, but my record and the friends record have the possibility of being cleaned after a certain amount of time, or it may not make it on, I am not sure exactly. But she was clear that my sister being 22 would have it on her record forever. Because of this & the officer telling us that if one of us took the blame or all three of us took the blame we would still get in just as much trouble, I decided to take the blame because in reality, although my sister knew what was going on she took nothing. I was kind of persuaded into it unwillingly but then later accepted. The "Friend" told her parents that I took it all and she didnt even know & hired a lawyer. Because she is lying, it brings problems. The good thing is, since I took the blame, I am the only one going to court, so her speaking with a lawyer will not go before a judge. Also, even though the friend and I both carried the bag with things around the store, I was the one who ended up walking out with it, therefore I do not think that I can plead not guilty as they have my on camera.
The things I am trying to figure out are;
If this is my first offense do u think that in MA I will get let off? If so what will the punishment be? I know there will be fines, but it is better than jail time, which is what I am trying to find out if I will receive. Also what can I do or say to aid to the decision of letting me off easier? I know what I did was wrong, but I obviously don't want to be in jail. I have no problem doing comm service or what not I would just like to know what to expect.
What is "no content" I read that if I show up to court & have an arraignment i should please not guilty so that my court date gets rescheduled & then once it does I should plead no content. would this work in my case?
I have not hired a lawyer do u think I will need one or should I use one that they provide? do i need to ask for one or will one be present for me? or should i represent myself?
will the LPO, the police officer&store witness need to be present at the court date or will it not effect the result? if they do need to be there and doNTt show up will it go in my favor? if I plead not guilty & it gets rescheduled i feel they may not show up that could work in my favor, no?
just a little bit of background info on me that may aid to my case;
Im supposed to be a senior in high school but I took high school classes during the day & college classes at night throughout my junior year in high school and throughout the summer so i was able to skip my entire senior year & graduate high school a year early &end up 15 classes ahead of what I normally would be. I am halfway there to my double major bachelors & am a teacher & nanny. I also volunteered helping w/ special needs children...With that schooling & working two jobs & the fact that I havnt been in trouble before will it help me at all to mention it, or should I not even bring it up?
Should I pay the store's fees for "damaged items" even though the items were returned to them immediately, and unharmed? the store says if I do not pay it within 20 days of the letter, they may hire local counsel to take all necessary legal steps to receive the money.. i ask this because i read somewhere that i should not pay anything unless the court tells me to.

