He is a 17 year old who has been hanging around with this other boy who is somewhere around 22. The other one has been in trouble before and if he is arrested for this,will go to jail for 18 months. The 17 year old had borrowed his fathers car and they drove to a gas station carryout and according to the cashier the older of the two stole a case of beer, left the premises and climbed in to the car and they drove away without paying for the beer. The 17 year old was the driver. The 22 year old has talked the 17 year old into taking the blame because he has never been in any trouble with the law by saying that in october when he will turn 18 , the record will be wiped clean and it will be like nothing happened. And he tells the 17 year old that since it is his first time they will only slap him on his wrists. The 22 year old has warrents out for his arrest at this time . The 17 year old's father cannot convince him that what the 22 year old is saying is not true. That there is much that the court can do to him. He will not listen, he keeps saying that his family don't know that the other boy knows because has been through it and he knows how the system works. The police officers even know it is the other one, but the 17 year old is the only witness who could say so because he was in the car with him, and he won't do it because he is his "friend". And others in his family have told him that it could be up to the judge that maybe he could be given a whole lot worse than what his friend tells him but he wont listen. That is why I got on here. I thought that if I could get an idea of the kind of things he could be charged with by law, I could show him and try to change his mind before it is too late. I would really appreciate a list of the kinds of charges he could get for doing something like this. I know that it could be a whole lot worse than the 22 year old is telling him. I thought that if I could get someone else to give him an idea then maybe he could see it in black and white and start to think about his own self, instead of someone who is willing to throw him to the wolves to save themselves. The boys are saying that the 22 year old threw a 20.00 bill on the counter to pay for the beer and that they did pay for it. But there is no proof of that either and I cant see someone leaving twenty dollars for something that costs 15 and not waiting for change.
And they are convinced that if they both say this that there is no way that the 17 year old can be punished for it because it is " our word against theirs".. Please help me set them straight.
