HIGHEST RATING IN LEGAL ABILITY AND ETHICAL STANDARDS

  • Top Lawyers - San Diego Magazine
  • Former Deputy San Diego City Attorney
  • Former USMC Captain
  • Located Directly Across From Vista Courthouse
  • Over 150 Five Star Reviews on Google and Yelp

Attorneys William R. Christoph & Nicholas W. Christoph

What happens with a petty theft?

On Behalf of | Apr 23, 2015

A petty theft is any theft of $950 or less, it is often a shoplifting where merchandise of $950 or lesss is taken from a retail outlet.  Once you are cited by the officer for the misdemeanor California Penal Code (PC) 484, you are given an arraignment date.  The police reports and security reports, usually including video if avaialble, is forwarded to the District Attorney’s (DA) Office for review and actual filing of the criminal complaint.  The purpose of this first date is to inform you formally what your actual charges are.  Many times they are the same charge or charges you were cited with on scene, but the DA could add, change or reject the charges depending on the evidence.  Charges are ususally filed by the Court date but must be filed within 1 year on a misdemeanor.

If you have an attorney, your attorney can go to Court and make all appearances without you on a petty theft case.  The attorney will enter a “not guilty” plea regardless whether you are actually guilty in order to get all of the reports and review all the evidence with you to see if there are any defenses or mitigating factors that can help negotiate a dismissal, lesser charges or lesser penalties.  Each individual case varies from the facts, to the persons background, to the motivation, and to other relevant considerations that can assist in the negotiations or plea bargaining.  The case is continued several weeks for a plea bargaining date and that date may be continued again as the attorney tries to resolve the case on the best possible terms,

Ultimately, if it cannot be resolved, you have a right to a jury trial and have 12 people from the community to hear the evidence and decide unanimouly whether you are guilty or not.  Very few cases actually go to trial because if you have a defense or other mitigating factors, the case can be resolved much better without the risks of greater penalties.  Contact Christoph Law Offices for a free consultation at 760-670-3885, we can give you a realistic apparaisal of you case based on over 30 years of experience across from Vista Courts doing exclusively criminal defense.

Categories

Archives

""
Google 5 Star Reviews

Over 150 Five Star Google and Yelp Reviews

5 stars
Yelp 5 Stars Logo

HIGHLY RECOMMEND

I highly recommend Christoph Law Offices to everyone. Nick is a true professional who will go above and beyond for his clients. Thank you!
– Mahir B.

AMAZING ATTORNEYS!

Amazing attorneys! Bill Christoph was very helpful during my case. He was always quick to get back to me about my questions.
– Collin W.

EXPERT IN HIS FIELD

Great experience overall having William Christoph as my attorney. He understands his client, very insightful and is an expert in his field.
– Soheila N.

Defending Against DUI and Criminal Charges Throughout San Diego County

TOP RATED In The Legal Community
Top_Lawyers_2023_badge
Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rating, Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence
AVVO Rating 10 Superb Top Criminal Defense