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IANAL, but a few things I would consider: 1. You have admitted you were present for the crime and that you yelled you had a deadly weapon. Even if you have den

IANAL, but a few things I would consider: 1. You have admitted you were present for the crime and that you yelled you had a deadly weapon. Even if you have denied making this statement up until this point, there is a good chance if this case goes to trial, the prosecutor will dig up the admission some way or some how, increasing your chances of conviction. 2. What do you gain by going to trial? You have admitted guilt so there is little chance the jury will say forget about it, let this guy go. Worse case they will sentence you to the fullest for the crime, but most likely you will get minimum based on the crime, which in your case sounds like a felony. 3. Personally I would take the plea deal. You are going from a felony to a misdemeanor. In many states it is a whole lot easier to expunge or seal a misdemeanor than a felony down the road. A misdemeanor also, in most cases, will allow you to keep all your rights. 4. If you can afford an attorney, hire an attorney. Most public defenders (PD) are overworked and underpaid, and unless your case has some reason to stand out the unfortunate fact is that it will be one in a pile on someone's desk. Not to underestimate a PD, but there may be other options that an attorney with more time to review the case could find. If you have no adult criminal record you may also be able to plead guilty but have adjudication withheld. Essentially this means you admit guilt, the judge will sentence you of the crime, but if you complete your sentence it will not be viewed as having a criminal conviction and you will not lose your rights. 5. If you are honestly concerned about your criminal record, do you know how to get a hold of the girl? You may try to work a deal where your charges are dropped, or reduced further, if you are able to get the girl to turn herself in or point the police to where she currently is. People may call you a rat or snitch, whatever. This isn't about what someone thinks of you. You are facing real penalties and the possibility of doing jail time. In the end it is your future and you have only yourself to look out for. Again, not a lawyer, but I have walked in your shoes to some extent.

anymys 11y ago
Thanks that was helpful, I don't have any Adult criminal convictions yet but I'm pending for a DUI case that I got a few months ago. But this felony case was back in march. so there both pending at the same time. plus if the girl turns herself in how would that help me? I'm being charged with assault not her.
- jeffmould 11y ago
  Again, IANAL, but this is especially a good instance where I would hire an attorney if you can afford to. You may be able to get the DUI and assault cases consolidated, even though they are separate incidents. You may be able to take a stiffer sentence on the DUI to avoid the penalty on the assault. Just as an example, I was able to get two completely unrelated charges almost a year apart consolidated. Took a stiffer sentence (longer, more prohibitive probation) to avoid certain jail time on the greater charge. My lawyer was able to get probation on the greater charge to run simultaneous with the other probation. So I served one year of hard probation (curfew, almost daily monitoring, and constant monitoring of my home and business), instead of two years in jail. As for the girl turning herself in, if she is the one that actually committed the theft she may be worth more to the prosecutors in terms of conviction than your assault charge. Just like a getaway driver turning in the bank robber. The bank robber is who they really want, and in most cases they will let the getaway driver off with a slap on the wrist if they help get the bank robber convicted. I can't reiterate enough though that I am not a lawyer, not familiar with your case, and this by no means legal advice by any stretch. The only honest, been there done that, advice I can give you at this point is that in situations like this you need to step back and assess the direction you are headed. If you are truly remorseful, this was a slip in judgment, and you are honestly wanting to get your life headed in the right direction, you need to remove yourself from your current circles. Snitches get stitches is all fine and great when all you aspire to is life on the streets or in jail, but if you want to change for the better you have to look out for yourself first. That means taking actions that can be difficult at times, like completely dropping the circle of people you hangout with (they aren't your friends if they are robbing stores when you are with them) or moving out of the area.

anymys 11y ago

Thanks that was helpful, I don't have any Adult criminal convictions yet but I'm pending for a DUI case that I got a few months ago. But this felony case was back in march. so there both pending at the same time. plus if the girl turns herself in how would that help me? I'm being charged with assault not her.

jeffmould 11y ago
Again, IANAL, but this is especially a good instance where I would hire an attorney if you can afford to. You may be able to get the DUI and assault cases consolidated, even though they are separate incidents. You may be able to take a stiffer sentence on the DUI to avoid the penalty on the assault. Just as an example, I was able to get two completely unrelated charges almost a year apart consolidated. Took a stiffer sentence (longer, more prohibitive probation) to avoid certain jail time on the greater charge. My lawyer was able to get probation on the greater charge to run simultaneous with the other probation. So I served one year of hard probation (curfew, almost daily monitoring, and constant monitoring of my home and business), instead of two years in jail. As for the girl turning herself in, if she is the one that actually committed the theft she may be worth more to the prosecutors in terms of conviction than your assault charge. Just like a getaway driver turning in the bank robber. The bank robber is who they really want, and in most cases they will let the getaway driver off with a slap on the wrist if they help get the bank robber convicted. I can't reiterate enough though that I am not a lawyer, not familiar with your case, and this by no means legal advice by any stretch. The only honest, been there done that, advice I can give you at this point is that in situations like this you need to step back and assess the direction you are headed. If you are truly remorseful, this was a slip in judgment, and you are honestly wanting to get your life headed in the right direction, you need to remove yourself from your current circles. Snitches get stitches is all fine and great when all you aspire to is life on the streets or in jail, but if you want to change for the better you have to look out for yourself first. That means taking actions that can be difficult at times, like completely dropping the circle of people you hangout with (they aren't your friends if they are robbing stores when you are with them) or moving out of the area.