my son was caught shoplifting over $50 worth of merch, his first offense. store's sending civil demand but we cant pay for it and cant afford a lawyer. store called police they wrote a citation. he gave false dob to appear as a minor. What will happen when he presents himself to juvenile court in Ca when he's really over 21? Will he need to bring an Id or something else to identify himself? Will the judge convict him of perjury in addition to petty theft? Could it count as two misdemeanors instead of one? Can he go to jail, get fingerprinted/mugshots? What are the possible convictions he will get? Or will the judge dismiss giving a false dob to police if he admits in court the mistake and pleads guilty for petty theft? What punishments are possible for his case?
Advice from several attorneys on will help me make the best choices.
You should retain a criminal attorney to plead out on the shoplifting offense rather than go to court.
The civil demand is easier. Ignore it and pay nothing. Thousands of these letters get sent out every month. The consensus on is to not respond and not pay. The cost of suing your son is greater than the amount they will collect. Therefore, they will move to someone else on their list. It does not impact the criminal case nor his credit.
The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. The response does not form an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to be anything other than the educated opinion of the author. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. The response given is based upon the limited facts provided by the person asking the question. To the extent additional or different facts exist, the response might possibly change. Attorney is licensed to practice law only in the State of California. Responses are based solely on California law unless stated otherwise.
Once the police / prosecutors figure out that your son is 21, they are going to direct him to appear in the adult court that has jurisdiction over the case. You should attempt to hire an attorney to straighten this mess out! The punishment depends on a number of factors...including but not limited to: His age, prior criminal record, the value of the items taken and whether any sophistication was used regarding the taking of the items.
Brian Russell MichaelsCriminal Defense AttorneyLos Angeles, CA ·
False information to a police officer amounts to a new criminal offense if caught. Very possibly a prosecutor could complicate this whole thing by amending to add new charges which takes this from a simple petty theft matter to a more serious offense. Agreed that you should find counsel to deal with the whole mess.
Brian Michaels
Just to clarify something -
You said your son gave a DOB to appear as though he was a minor, but then you asked about what would happen if they find out he's over 21.
Giving the false date of birth is potentially bad, but - a "minor" in California is under 18. If he gave a DOB that makes him under 18, then yes - it needs to be straightened out and your best advice is to consult with a criminal defense attorney ASAP. If he gave a DOB that put him under 21, but over 18, then he'll still be filed on in adult court. Less of a sticky situation, but still needs to be dealt with.
Either way, your son is facing criminal charges that can impact his ability to get work, pass background checks, etc. He needs a criminal defense attorney.
