Asked 6/17/2016 – The Woodlands, TX

Hello I’m a 17 year old and I was caught shoplifting items from Walmart and the manager called the police on me, I stole $97 worth of items and they charged me with petty theft as a minor (I was 16 at the time) ,I’m going to be dead honest I want a good job and life and this is putting much unwanted stress on me lately is there any way I can get it dismissed or someway where it won’t appear on my record? Please help and thank you

Answer

A conviction for a theft case can haunt you for the rest of your life (theft is a crime of moral turpitude). If the offense occurred this year, this is a class c misdemeanor and will probably be filed in the local municipal court (if this is the case, you should have received a citation that informed you where and when to appear). Talk with a local attorney to see what programs are available in that particular court to keep this matter from becoming a conviction.