Can the shoplifting charges be dropped or dismissed?

Depending on the amount allegedly stolen and the jurisdiction where the event occurred, shoplifting can be met with a mere citation (infraction), or charged as a misdemeanor or even a felony, with possible jail sentences of 6 months to 3 years. It will be up to the D.A. to determine how the crime will be charged. I suggest that you hire an experienced criminal defense attorney to represent you and get you the best deal possible.

Hire a lawyer. Plead NOT guilty. (This is because you lose ALL bargaining power if you plead guilty right away.) Maybe something can be worked out so that he ends up with no conviction for theft on his record. What employer wants to hire a thief?

Shoplifting items of a value of less than $950.00 is petty theft. The first three times a person is convicted of petty theft it is a misdemeanor. However, if the amount stolen is worth $50.00 or less it may be charged as an infraction. If you have three or more priors for petty theft, the next one can be a felony or a misdemeanor. Infractions are punished by a fine. Misdemeanors are punished by up to one year in the county jail and/or up to a $1,000.00 fine. Felonies are punished by sixteen months, two years, or three years in state prison. The normal punishment for first time petty theft is three years? summary probation, a fine, community service, theft classes, and restitution to the victim. Your son?s case should be charged as an infraction. He may even get it reduced to an infraction commercial trespass. The first court date will be his arraignment. He will hear the charges against him at that time. He will be asked if he wants to plead guilty or not guilty. Before he is asked to plea he should get an offer and know what the punishment will be if he pleads guilty. At his arraignment, he has a chance to talk with the Public Defender. If he feels he would like an attorney other than the Public Defender, he can set up the date for a pre-trial to give him time to hire one.

Petty theft is a crime of moral turpitude, and if convicted he can kiss his college/career aspirations goodbye. Hire a lawyer for him before he gets duped into a plea you both will regret for life.

It is possible. However to ensure the best probability of success, I would advise you to retain an attorney to assist you in negotiating a resolution.

In Washington, your son committed a gross misdemeanor (Theft 3rd) with a sentencing range of 364 days in jail and $5,000 fine. As a first offense, he will likely be sentence to attend a consumer awareness class, do community service, pay a fine, pay restitution, stay away from the store, have no further criminal violations for one year. He will have to pay a civil fine to the store. The Theft charge will show up on a background check and will impact his ability to get a job, an apartment, of loan. There are several ways to minimize the incident. If there is a divergent program, he should take it. Once, successfully completed he will have no criminal record. Another, approach is getting a Stipulated Order of Continuance (SOC). Here, he would get the same sentence, but once completed he will have no record. I recommend to my clients that they still expunge their record. Lastly, he can seek deferred sentencing. Here, he would have to plead guilty and he will likely get the same sentence. After he has completed his sentence, the guilty plea is removed and replaced with differed. He will have to expunge his record. For the arraignment, you do not need an attorney since the charge against him will be read into the record and a "not guilty" entered. The public defender is present to stand in as attorney of record. If there is a divergent program, no attorney is need. The other options may benefit by having legal representation. Cost likely will be $1,000 - $1,500.

He is an adult and needs to take responsibility for his actions, foolish or good. He needs an attorney now to attempt to minimize the damages caused by this error.

I always advise going to court with a lawyer as opposed to without one. Make sure he pleads not guilty at his first court appearance or else he loses his right to negotiate with the prosecutor. Most jurisdictions offer diversion programs for first time offenders which upon successful completion he would not have a public record of this offense. There may be other sentencing options available as well that would have the same result. Consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney in your area that handles retail fraud or shoplifting cases.

Hire a lawyer immediately. The attorney can probably get the shoplifting charge dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense, such as "Littering."

Depending on the county in which this case will be heard, the most likely outcome (if this is his first offense ever as an adult) will not be a permanent scar on his record. In many cases, we can secure a disposition that will allow your son to have this case eventually dismissed and expunged (erased) from his public record. And the cost will only be a fraction of his savings!