My kid, who is 17YO was caught shoplifting at Bbuy. :cry: It was not his first time to shoplift, but was his 1st time to get caught. In IL, they can charge you as an adult when you are 17YO.
The LP at Bbuy caught him and they called the police. They arrested him and handcuffed him. He was brought to the station, was fingerprinted, mug shots taken and a bond was paid. My kid accepted guilt on all these.
As a parent, I was scared to death. This was a wake up call for me. I hired a lawyer to represent my kid for I have no idea how the law works. It was well worth the money. Just like the other posts here, shoplifting affects all races, all ages, all economic status, all religions.
At the courtroom, my kid did not have to do anything, apart from sign the papers the court gave him. The lawyer overturned the conviction. So this does not appear in my kid's record for as long as the 1 year supervision with the Social Services is done and no other incident happens. The lawyer also said that in any job application, that my kid can check NO on the box if asked whether my kid is ever convicted of a crime. Of course the court can always revoke the conditions of the supervision if my kid does something against the law again, apart from traffic violations.
TO PARENTS: Help your kids. Seek help. There are free services from the Human Services who can help. Explain to them that they can't ruin their lives for something like a DVD or a toy. It is not worth any of it. Keep them safe and involve them in something positive. Keep praying to the Lord so that things will be better and blessed.

