As a youthfull offender would i serve 6 months for stealing a bike?

Question

i stold a bike a few months back and i went to court and was charged with criminal mchief 5 and possession of stolen prop 6. The bicylce was a 200 dollar bike me and my co defendant were both told to pay a 100 dollars each restitution and i already have paid mine.I was also told to do 40 hours of community service and i have not done any what so ever. I live in a very small village and getting transportation to go places is hard for me to do. The judge is very reasonable and when i went to court the first time i was disrespectful and she had me sit in jail for a week. I have no criminal record although i had a vandalism fine a few years back. If i do not complete the community service i was told i could face the charges which i was told could be 6 months to a year for each misdemeanor. what are ther chances i will go to jail for this once i go back to court? I leanrt my lesson and will never steal again. Part of me feels that 6 months is unreasonable for stealing a bike.

Answer 1

You "stold" a bike did, you? I think you should spend at least 6 months in jail so you know exactly where you're headed if you continue down this road, particularly if you feel in any way that spending 6 months in jail is unreasonable. Part of you isn't all the remorseful then. If you are disrespecting the judge and you haven't done any community service whatsoever, then you really aren't as remorseful as you need to be to prevent this from happening again.

Perhaps you need to pay more attention in school and get your bikes by earning an education, getting a good job, and paying for them. "Stold" is not a word--you "stole." I don't care where you live, what race you are, what your family situation is...you CAN get a good education at the school you attend and you CAN succeed. All that is required is for you to WANT it and to WORK hard for it. Let this be what moves you in that direction.

Answer 2

If you already did something to disrespect the judge, the chances are better you may serve some time. Not completing the court ordered community service will certainly be seen as another sign of disrespect.

The fact you feel 6 months is unreasonable should not be brought up either, for the same reason. I'll bet the guy that lost the $200 bike doesn't think it is unreasonable.

Answer 3

Hard for you to get transportation - you really don;t want to try that on the judge because 1) that's the sort of problem you should ahve been aware of when you 1st took the deal and 2) because it's easier to impose a jail sentence than a conditional discharge - you're practically beggint to be resentenced.  I can't tell you how many times, being a NY area prosecutor, I've seen guys in drug programs or probation come into court delinquent in their responsibilities (going to school, staying employed, paying restitution, meeting with their probation officer) claiming that they live too far away, can;t get "car fare", can;t afford all to make restitution - and all the while wearing brand name, designer clothing, live within an hour's walk of where they have to be and are neither in school nor employed.

You can't have it both ways - either you've learned your lesson and took responsibility for your own actions or you can't take responsibility for your own actions because the consequences are unreasonable.  You knowingly and voluntarily accepted the responsibility for doing community service and pleading guiilty and in exchange for that, you were discharged the immediate duty to serve jail.  In NY, the sentence for the lowest grade of crim mischief and stolen prop is one year, with no guarantee that the sentences will run concurrently.  (I'm guessing that you're not in NY - the lowest grade of crim msichief, short of Attempted CM, Crim Misch. 4th).  Therefore 6 months is not an unreasonable possible sentence once you've blown a conditional discharge.  

Your record is relevant, but you've said nothing about the facts of the case - only that you were charged for something, you're not saying what you actually did.  Did you just steal it while he was away?  Did you steal it and then smash it?  Was this a bike that the owner really needed?  Did you and the other guy strongarm the owner off the bike?  Again, you're having it both ways - you're saying that the charges carry an unreasonable jail alternative, but you're not connecting your actions to those charges.  The prosecutor may have been able to bring heavier chazrges against you but decided giving you a break already based on your record.

The judge is being honest with you - you do face that amount of time if you don't fulfill the smaller responsibilities.