First offense misdemeanor for petty larcen Oklahoma

[Airwaves]

Before I start, I would appreciate it if people would be informative of the matter and not be complete jerks about what I have to say in this. I will admit that the actions I made were childish, and that I have learned my lesson.

Last night, I went to a near by Wal Mart in Norman, Oklahoma and shoplifted. I walked out of the store with a back pack and your basic school supplies ( I know, it's stupid and I'll be the first to admit that ). I got to my van when suddenly, two security guards are standing right beside my van telling me to get out. I'm not the one that wants to make a situation any worse than it already is, so I did as they told me. I proceded into their security room where I sat there for nearly an hour. Nothing happens. They fill out a bunch of paper work and never informed me of what it was exactly they were doing. The only thing I was aware of was my signing of a piece of paper stating I would never go back to that Wal Mart again. A policeman comes, and I figured he was just filling out information. But soon, I was handcuffed, and sent to the local county jail. That whole time, I had no idea what was being processed and what was going to happen to me. A friend of mine was able to bail me out, and the next day I took care of this matter. Since I know I wouldn't have a chance in hell of winning this case, I asked if there was a way I could plead guilty and pay the fine instead of going through court and going through that business. The clerk lady said if I had the receit that my friend received upon bailing me, I could forfeit the bond and not have to pay anything else. So from what I am aware as far as what I have been told, I showed the receipt, they cancelled the court date, and that was that. No additional fines or anything.

I then asked about the misdemeanor on my record and how long it would stay, because I was told by the police officer that since it was my first offense, it would come off within a couple of months, stating it was just like a speeding ticket ( since it was basically a city charge ), but the clerk lady said it would be on there forever..

Now prior to this, I have a pretty clean record aside from a few speeding tickets ( nothing major ). I'm 21 years old. Is there anyway to seal this ( for employment purposes ), or am I just ****ed and there's nothing I can do?

[Stridor]

There is good news and bad news. The good news is some employers are only interested in felonies, so it's all they ask about and check for. In the way of misdemeanors, petty larceny is only superceded by assault as one of the worst you can get. The bad news is in most states petty larceny is punishable by more than one year in jail which means you can not own a firearm, or hold certain jobs. More good news, commonly misdemeanors, though charged etc. they are not neccessarily remanded to the record. Especially if they are not adjudicated through the court, like your's wasn't. If it was remanded to the record, it may only appear in that county's records and not be remanded to the state system. Worst case scenario it will be ramanded to the record and published to all systems. If this happens the laws for expungement vary from state to state, but in most all cases are easier for misdemeanors than felonies.