PLEASE READ MY ENTIRE POST!!!
My question involves criminal law for the state of: Virginia
Ok well to start, im gonna state a few things about my life that will aid in answering my question, but not so much that i can be identified as these forums says not to.
Ive been on probation for 5 years. When i was 18 in 2 different cities i was charged with a few things for 2 instances.
First city i was charged with the following:
B&E
Destruction of Property
Possession of Burglarous Tools
Conspiracy
Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor x2
What really happened:
We'll to start me and my friends were talking, we were up to no good that night obviously, and we decided together, altho it wasn't my original idea i followed along, to break into someone's house.
We picked a house that had no cars in the driveway, we knocked on the door, it was 3am, to make sure no one was home, knocked for about 5 minutes straight, no answer. We went into the back yard and one of my idiot friends cut the phone line(idk why no one was home) maybe just incase? who knows... anyway, my friend had a screw driver in his hand and he poked a whole in the screen door, then proceeded to walk onto the porch while we watched and waited.
Then the back flood light turns on, scares the shit out of us and we run away, ditching my car and leaving it on the street parked a few houses down. The car was towed and the next day a cop was at my door. Anyway, we all admitted exactly what happened and got charged with all of that. 2 of us were over age, the other 2 under age. I am the only one still on probation, and got the longest time of everyone. 6 years in prison suspended and 5 years of probation.
The said that since the porch had a roof that was roofed with the rest of the house as 1 roof it was concidered part of her house, thus the B&E. And the screwdriver my friend had broke the screen door whole with was the tool charge. Conspiracy since there was 4 of us, 2 were underage.
Second city i was charged with the following:
Grand Larceny
B&E
Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor
What really happened:
My brother's friend(who was a girl), liked me alot, she invited me to a party. I had just met this guy 3 weeks earlier who i didn't know very well but seemed very cool, so i invited him as well, he was under age. We had a great time. The next day 60 dollars and her laptop came up missing. I know i didn't do it, but my friend did(the new one). I didn't want to snitch on him so i didn't. Anyway a police investigation came and the detective asked for my friends name and i guess somehow found out where he lived. And his mom noticed he had a new laptop so told them her son did it. And to avoid further trouble with his parents and mom since they promised him probation only if he admits it. He said that i made him do it, and it was my idea, and in fact i helped him do it. Which was a total lie obviously! I was found guilty and given 10 years in prison(i think) and 5 years probation to run concurrently to my current one.
In Conclusion:
Ive never gotten in trouble since then and I am doing very well on my probation. My probation officer said im up for early release this May, but even after that i cannot get it off my record until the full probation is over, which is in 2015! And then he said to get it off my record id have to wait another 5 years(some kind of cooldown period he said).
Legal:
I had a court appointed lawyer for both my cases, both told me to plead guilty for probation and no time. I was young and clearly didn't want to go to prison. The lady who turned on the flood light in the back was there and got on the stand saying how scared she was and how she has to get an alarm system now also. They made me pay 3k in fines throughout both the cities for everything which is fully paid off also.
My Dream:
To become a police officer and possibly a detective one day. Ironic i know but ive always wanted to be one.
My question:
Was i wrongfully charged? I mean... i talked to a few people who said i got screwed, if i would have had a real lawyer i wouldn't have gotten anything except maybe criminal trespass. They said i should get a lawyer to review the case and maybe get it looked at and taken down or what not. I need to figure out something to make my dream come true that doesn't involve me waiting until im 35 to do it... You know?
I really hope i didn't type too much and i hope you guys can help me somehow! I really would like to figure out something to get this behind me, or maybe some names of probono lawyers that deal in wrongful charges, or even cheap lawyers that could get this done!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME!!!

