How do I Press Theft Charges?

Question

Last night while my mom was at work at the community center someone got into her car and stole all of the money and belongings out of her purse and rummaged through the rest of the car.

When she was leaving she found it and had the center security rewind the tapes to find out who had committed the crime.

She was also going to file a police report last night, but they said they couldn't do anything until today and for her to just wait until morning.

So, what can she do now? Will she get her money back? It was around 150 dollars. And what other charges can she press for someone entering her vehicle and stealing from her? How long does he have to pay her back?

Answer 1

Just go ahead and give her back the money you stole.  However if this is a random crime, all she can do is tell the police what happened and they decide which charges to file against the perpetrator, which could include burglary of a vehicle, criminal mischief, and theft.  If found guilty, they will have to pay restitution in the amount stolen before they are off of probation if lucky enough to get such.