I Have Been Charged With Criminal Mischief, First offense. Punishments?

Question

Hello. I recently Spent the night At My mom's Best friends House, Who has a trouble-making son. There, I was dumb and I went Along with everything he wanted to do.. He decided he wanted to "egg" his neighbor's car with me.. Foolishly, I did. And like always, The law Found Out the truth.

I am A good kid, I get good grades, Have good friends, ETC.

I Have NEVER Been in trouble with the law in all of my life. BUT who I did it with is on probation

I AM 13.

So as of in 2 weeks I will have to go to court, being charged of Criminal Mischief.. I wrote A LONG statement, I apologized and everything.. What do you think could happen to me??

We did not throw the eggs for we feared it would damage the car, We cracked them on the side walk and put it on the car.

plus My dad checked out with the owners and the Car was not damaged at all.

Probation? Jail time? Community Service?

Please Answer! Remember, This is My first Offence.

Answer 1

Likely probation. Not a real long time, but your butt will belong to juvenile probation for a while, and when they say "frog," you'll jump, as in showing up for community service on weekends and spending afternoons sitting in their lobby, if they tell you that's where they want you, curfew, etc.  

Answer 2

Whatever the punishment, it will not be harsh enough.

Answer 3

All questions about possible criminal prosecutions should include the name of the jurisdiction that's charging you.  Since you didn't I can on;y speak for NYS, my egg-tossing ground.

If you're young, you might get what's called an ACD - stay out of trouble, abide by other specific conditions (pay restitution for damage to the car) maybe some community service and the case will probably dismissed in 6 months.  If you plead guilty to a violation (an offense not amounting to a crime), you can be sentenced to a CD - no jail time if you satisfy some conditions, just like those in an ACD, and the case is typically sealed in a year.  because of your age, you'd likely not be charged as an adult, and it's hard to say how visible this would be on your record.  In NYS, you've got a right to an ACD for a 1st offense (generally).  Luckily, the idiot on probation will probably get most of the attention.

If the car wasn't damaged, then it's not criminal mischief - damage is an element (a factual piece of the crime which must ahve been committed or the crime cannot be charged) of Crim Mis.  If the owner is willing to put in writing what he told your father, then you're probably in luck.  Check to see whether the owner has signed a "supporting deposition" to the contrary - that the car was damaged.  An SD is basically any form signed under penalty of perjury - it may have facts relating to the case on it or it may just refer to a criminal complaint ("I have read the facts in the complaint entitled 'People v. (your name) and the facts therein ascribed to me are true to my personal knowledge.").

I'm surprised you were charged with any crime - typically, when you're missing an element of a crime, you can be charged with some lesser-included offense, typically an "attempt" charge of the crime, but even attempt requires some showing of your intent to commit the completed crime.  They'd have to show that you put eggs on the car intending to damage it.

Answer 4

More than likely, with no prior record, you could get some community service or probation.  You may also qualify for a diversion program that would keep the conviction off your record.  Prior to going to court, you may want to call the prosecutors office and see if they will talk to you about working out some kind of plea agreement.