The court summons says type of case- police prosecution. What will they need to charge me? Will this appear on my record if found not guilty? This is a he said she said case. I have damage to my property as well but did not file a report with police.
What will they need to charge you? Um, they HAVE charged you! You've been summoned to court on criminal charges. Yes, it will appear on your record if you are found guilty. Sounds like you desperately need to retain an experienced criminal defense attorney. Do this sooner than later.
Criminal mischief is a low grade misdemeanor. You should hire a lawyer to work it out at the Magistrate's. The District Attorney's Office likes to work these types of charges out at this level given the other more serious crimes. If you were fingerprinted and if the charges are dismissed at the magistrate's office, it will require you to have this matter expunged from your record. Either way, you should hire a lawyer.
You need an attorney. An attorney can navigate the system to help you see if there is a way to walk away from this without a criminal record. No one on this site is going to be able to give you perfectly accurate information based on the small blurb you gave. You need to sit down with a criminal defense attorney.
The grading of the crime of criminal mischief in Pennsylvania is based upon the value of the property damaged. For instance, if the value of the property damaged is between $500-$100, it is a Misdemeanor of the 3rd degree and punishable by up to a year in prison. If it is a M3, a conviction would absolutely show up on your criminal record. If you are found not guilty, it would still show up on your record as "dismissed". If that's the case, you would be able to get the dismissal expunged. If the grading of the crime is a summary offense, it is technically considered a non-traffic citation. While convictions for non-traffic citations are able to be found, if you resolve the matter at the district judge level whether by plea or trial, they, generally speaking, do not show up on your criminal history.
It sounds as though you have already been charged, therefore, the question I think you meant to ask is "what do they need to convict?" Certainly, and most importantly, they would likely need the testimony of the person whose property was damaged to find you guilty.
You should immediately hire an attorney to handle this. You could possible file a cross-complaint against the other person, but that would be something to discuss with your attorney. Sometimes if two people file complaints against each other, the DA would rather just have both parties withdraw their complaints.
