I am heartsick over being arrested for shoplifting yesterday. I foolishly
accepted a dare from a friend (it involved a bet) and got busted. I spent a
few hours in jail after spending some time at the store. I have to appear
in court in October and am completely clueless about everything. I'll look
into it later but for the time being I'm just overwhelmed. Get a grip,
buddy, it's only shoplifting, I try to tell myself, but I guess my
hypersensitivity to anything jolting has really kicked in tonight.

I was caught redhanded after leaving the store so I don't even see the point
of having a trial. If only I could pay a fine and put an end to this I
would feel relieved. I guess I'm afraid of having to do some jail time. I
realize it's probably unlikely but the possibility does exist. The total
value of the things that I attempted to steal was around $110. I am crying
inside. Only my friend knows what happened and I've sworn him to secrecy
about this whole thing, although I AM a little worried that he will spill
the beans eventually. I feel like I've seriously damaged my reputation as a
result of one foolish, reckless act. If my family found out about this I
would be deeply ashamed.

I'm going to bed now and can only pray I'll feel better tomorrow. I hope I
don't get any "serves you right" comments, though I can't blame anyone for
that attitude since what I did was clearly wrong. I've lived my life in
what I consider to be an ethical way and I now will have a permanent record.
I'm sorry to lay my heart bare here but I don't really have anyone else to
talk to about this for obvious reasons.

I'd appreciate any words of advice. Thank you.

Paul

If you can cough up enough $$$$$, maybe you can convince the store to drop
the charges. A few grand to the manager might work wonders.





"Paul" <argyle@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:4DG2b.13191$8i2.8759@newsread2.news.atl.earth link.net... I am heartsick over being arrested for shoplifting yesterday. I foolishly accepted a dare from a friend (it involved a bet) and got busted. I spent
a few hours in jail after spending some time at the store. I have to appear in court in October and am completely clueless about everything. I'll
look into it later but for the time being I'm just overwhelmed. Get a grip, buddy, it's only shoplifting, I try to tell myself, but I guess my hypersensitivity to anything jolting has really kicked in tonight. I was caught redhanded after leaving the store so I don't even see the
point of having a trial. If only I could pay a fine and put an end to this I would feel relieved. I guess I'm afraid of having to do some jail time.
I realize it's probably unlikely but the possibility does exist. The total value of the things that I attempted to steal was around $110. I am
crying inside. Only my friend knows what happened and I've sworn him to secrecy about this whole thing, although I AM a little worried that he will spill the beans eventually. I feel like I've seriously damaged my reputation as
a result of one foolish, reckless act. If my family found out about this I would be deeply ashamed. I'm going to bed now and can only pray I'll feel better tomorrow. I hope
I don't get any "serves you right" comments, though I can't blame anyone for that attitude since what I did was clearly wrong. I've lived my life in what I consider to be an ethical way and I now will have a permanent
record. I'm sorry to lay my heart bare here but I don't really have anyone else to talk to about this for obvious reasons. I'd appreciate any words of advice. Thank you. Paul

Paul,

I've read all of your posts and realize you're feeling REALLY bad and
worried right now, but just try to calm down and listen to the advice others
have offered. I do think the advice about getting a lawyer is good and you
should listen to it. You have far more to risk by going it alone than you
possibly could by hiring a lawyer and letting the chips fall where they may.
You can always tell the lawyer not to contact you by phone, or to only call
your cell phone or work number, or contact you by e-mail, etc., to maintain
your privacy.

The main reason I'm responding is because I can truly empathize with you.
When I was a teenager my friends and I did some things I'm TRULY ashamed of
now, including shoplifting, and I've felt terrible about it ever since. We
were caught once...and I was scared to death. The police were called to the
store (JCPenney) and we were thoroughly scared ****less while they chewed us
out and threatened to arrest us, call our parents, etc. In the end, after
taking us outside to the squad cars, they just let us go...but I never even
DREAMED about shoplifting again after that. I have to point out that my
friends and I were from wealthy families in one of the most expensive cities
in the country...we certainly didn't NEED to shoplift, we were just doing it
for fun, for the thrill of seeing if we could get away with it--kind of like
you doing it on a dare. The only saving grace for me is that I was
underage, so even if I had been charged the consequences wouldn't have been
as bad as what you're facing.

Please get a lawyer! And keep us posted on what happens.

"Paul" <jottings@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:C_A5b.28554$Om1.17294@newsread2.news.atl.eart hlink.net... Just found out that Class A is worse than Class B or Class C.
Consequently, I feel terrible right now. "Paul" <jottings@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:UGt5b.18809$EW1.6337@newsread1.news.atl.earth link.net... This is wild, wacky stuff. I can tell ya that I never thought I'd have
to stand trial for anything. I'd like to think that this whole experience will actually benefit me in the long run since it will give me more material
to write about. See, I'm a writer and I've had a bad case of writer's
block, as of late. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I know that's a cliche, but it seems to fit here. The more I find out about my options, the more confusing this whole thing gets. I've talked to several lawyers
over the phone who, of course, recommend hiring an attorney for my case.
I've talked to several others who said that I should go it alone since it's
my first offense AND it's the most minor charge one can receive (Class A Misdemeanor). We shall see. I do know that I've needlessly complicated my life, but I still hold out hope that this experience will actually
better my life in some way. Thank you. As you were.

At this point I no longer care. The justice system is a monolithic entity
that never for a minute cares about the person being accused of a crime.
The defense lawyers are looking for money and the prosecution is looking for
not appearing "soft on crime" no matter what the facts are in a case. I've
spoken to enough people on both sides now to know. I've always thought that
the legal system was a joke, with defense lawyers defending those whom they
knew were guilty and the prosection often prosecuting those whom they
thought were innocent, but it never hits home as much as it does when you
are involved. True, no matter what happens I will not have to serve a lot
of time, but I look at this whole experience as an illumination of the
justice system, in general.

At some point, when a person sees that there's not a lot of sense to
something, they just throw up their hands and let the chips fall where they
may. That's what I've decided on. If I am penalized by this attitude, so
be it.
"ILoveQAF" <NoSpamAccepted@sorry.fake.com> wrote in message
news:o_46b.361$Yt.176@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink .net... Paul, I've read all of your posts and realize you're feeling REALLY bad and worried right now, but just try to calm down and listen to the advice
others have offered. I do think the advice about getting a lawyer is good and
you should listen to it. You have far more to risk by going it alone than you possibly could by hiring a lawyer and letting the chips fall where they
may. You can always tell the lawyer not to contact you by phone, or to only
call your cell phone or work number, or contact you by e-mail, etc., to
maintain your privacy. The main reason I'm responding is because I can truly empathize with you. When I was a teenager my friends and I did some things I'm TRULY ashamed
of now, including shoplifting, and I've felt terrible about it ever since.
We were caught once...and I was scared to death. The police were called to
the store (JCPenney) and we were thoroughly scared ****less while they chewed
us out and threatened to arrest us, call our parents, etc. In the end, after taking us outside to the squad cars, they just let us go...but I never
even DREAMED about shoplifting again after that. I have to point out that my friends and I were from wealthy families in one of the most expensive
cities in the country...we certainly didn't NEED to shoplift, we were just doing
it for fun, for the thrill of seeing if we could get away with it--kind of
like you doing it on a dare. The only saving grace for me is that I was underage, so even if I had been charged the consequences wouldn't have
been as bad as what you're facing. Please get a lawyer! And keep us posted on what happens. "Paul" <jottings@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:C_A5b.28554$Om1.17294@newsread2.news.atl.eart hlink.net... Just found out that Class A is worse than Class B or Class C. Consequently, I feel terrible right now. "Paul" <jottings@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:UGt5b.18809$EW1.6337@newsread1.news.atl.earth link.net... This is wild, wacky stuff. I can tell ya that I never thought I'd
have to stand trial for anything. I'd like to think that this whole
experience will actually benefit me in the long run since it will give me more
material to write about. See, I'm a writer and I've had a bad case of writer's block, as of late. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I know that's a cliche, but it seems to fit here. The more I find out about my
options, the more confusing this whole thing gets. I've talked to several lawyers over the phone who, of course, recommend hiring an attorney for my case. I've talked to several others who said that I should go it alone since it's my first offense AND it's the most minor charge one can receive (Class A Misdemeanor). We shall see. I do know that I've needlessly
complicated my life, but I still hold out hope that this experience will actually better my life in some way. Thank you. As you were.

What hogwash! I sure can overreact. That's what always gets me into
trouble. There's some truth to what I wrote, but it misses the subtleties
of the system. I made those comments after talking to several lawyers,
which had disheartened me. The idea that a person who is guilty of
shoplifting and doesn't fight the charges must get a lawyer to defend him
seems ridiculous to me. The judge undoubtedly has seen cases of this kind
many times before and I would think that the judgment reached should be
fairly standard. On an unrelated note, I was sorry to hear about the death
of Warren Zevon. I'll use his life as a source of inspiration for the next
month or so. Death can provide comfort to the living since no matter how
bad things get in life peace awaits us at the end of the journey. That's
what I think, anyway. We return to the Divine Ground from whence we came,
where we become One with all other things. This mode of being is available
to us while alive, too, although the conditions one must meet in order to
reach this state are so demanding that few are fortunate enough to
experience it. When I said "unrelated note" I wasn't kidding, was I? *W*
"Paul" <jottings@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:t777b.10263$_26.7696@newsread2.news.atl.earth link.net... At this point I no longer care. The justice system is a monolithic entity that never for a minute cares about the person being accused of a crime. The defense lawyers are looking for money and the prosecution is looking
for not appearing "soft on crime" no matter what the facts are in a case.
I've spoken to enough people on both sides now to know. I've always thought
that the legal system was a joke, with defense lawyers defending those whom
they knew were guilty and the prosection often prosecuting those whom they thought were innocent, but it never hits home as much as it does when you are involved. True, no matter what happens I will not have to serve a lot of time, but I look at this whole experience as an illumination of the justice system, in general. At some point, when a person sees that there's not a lot of sense to something, they just throw up their hands and let the chips fall where
they may. That's what I've decided on. If I am penalized by this attitude, so be it. "ILoveQAF" <NoSpamAccepted@sorry.fake.com> wrote in message news:o_46b.361$Yt.176@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink .net... Paul, I've read all of your posts and realize you're feeling REALLY bad and worried right now, but just try to calm down and listen to the advice others have offered. I do think the advice about getting a lawyer is good and you should listen to it. You have far more to risk by going it alone than
you possibly could by hiring a lawyer and letting the chips fall where they may. You can always tell the lawyer not to contact you by phone, or to only call your cell phone or work number, or contact you by e-mail, etc., to maintain your privacy. The main reason I'm responding is because I can truly empathize with
you. When I was a teenager my friends and I did some things I'm TRULY ashamed of now, including shoplifting, and I've felt terrible about it ever since. We were caught once...and I was scared to death. The police were called to the store (JCPenney) and we were thoroughly scared ****less while they
chewed us out and threatened to arrest us, call our parents, etc. In the end,
after taking us outside to the squad cars, they just let us go...but I never even DREAMED about shoplifting again after that. I have to point out that my friends and I were from wealthy families in one of the most expensive cities in the country...we certainly didn't NEED to shoplift, we were just
doing it for fun, for the thrill of seeing if we could get away with it--kind of like you doing it on a dare. The only saving grace for me is that I was underage, so even if I had been charged the consequences wouldn't have been as bad as what you're facing. Please get a lawyer! And keep us posted on what happens. "Paul" <jottings@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:C_A5b.28554$Om1.17294@newsread2.news.atl.eart hlink.net... Just found out that Class A is worse than Class B or Class C. Consequently, I feel terrible right now. "Paul" <jottings@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:UGt5b.18809$EW1.6337@newsread1.news.atl.earth link.net... > This is wild, wacky stuff. I can tell ya that I never thought I'd have to > stand trial for anything. I'd like to think that this whole experience will > actually benefit me in the long run since it will give me more material to > write about. See, I'm a writer and I've had a bad case of writer's block, > as of late. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I know that's
a > cliche, but it seems to fit here. The more I find out about my options, the > more confusing this whole thing gets. I've talked to several
lawyers over > the phone who, of course, recommend hiring an attorney for my case. I've > talked to several others who said that I should go it alone since
it's my > first offense AND it's the most minor charge one can receive (Class
A > Misdemeanor). We shall see. I do know that I've needlessly complicated my > life, but I still hold out hope that this experience will actually better my > life in some way. Thank you. As you were.