Son and friends did a beer run cops keep coming?

[stranger3232]

My 17 year son was out with his friends 3 weeks ago and decided to take some beer for a local store.

The cop investigating this showed up at my door two nights ago at 11:30pm banging on my door and windows asking to speak to my son. after i woke my son up the cop read him his rights and questioned him and left. The next night the cop called my house asking for more information i declined to give them more information as they have all ready asked my son what they needed to.

I'm not sure why they keep wanting more information and i find it extremely odd as i would think they have bigger crimes to track down. I talked to my son and asked him if anything else might of happened that night that would cause for the cops to be coming to my house past 11pm at night 3 weeks later for a 22.00 theft of beer. he said nothing else happened and this was the only time they have done this.

He is a good kid and im super surprised that this even happened.
I'm really concerned now and not sure what the cops are trying to pin on my son.


is it time for me to get a lawyer? Or should i wait to see where they take this

The cop said that he would have to go to a Juvenal court to and the judge will determine his punishment.
however now that they are coming back from more info has me concerned and what there main focus might be

 

[justalayman]

You cannot prevent the police from questioning your son and could actually get yourself charged with obstruction if you act to prevent them from questioning your son.

Your son does need to not say any more than he has. if they do arrest him he needs to not say anything other than: I want a lawyer.

 

[CdwJava]

What state are you in?

What punishment have you smacked down on your son for his thieving ways?

I don't know what you don't get about this situation ... your son and his friends were engaged in a criminal act. The police are expected to investigate criminal acts. No, you and your so do not have to answer any more questions, but, to be upset that the police are doing their job is ridiculous. You say they have better things to do, and you may be right. Unfortunately, your kid was involved in a criminal act, so they are doing their job and HIS actions have diverted the police from other duties because they have to address this one. It's also possible they are keeping tabs on him and his friends because they now know them to be thieves, and, perhaps they are involved in some other activity that you are not yet aware. Hopefully his freedom is now sufficiently restricted such that you will not have to concern yourself with his activities because he is beneath your thumb for a long while.

If your son is tried, he will need an attorney. Depending on the law in your unnamed state and the facts of the offense, this could be a felony ... though, it is likely a misdemeanor if all that he did was grab the beer and run out the door.

 

[Silverplum]

My 17 year son was out with his friends 3 weeks ago and decided to take some beer for a local store.

The cop investigating this showed up at my door two nights ago at 11:30pm banging on my door and windows asking to speak to my son. after i woke my son up the cop read him his rights and questioned him and left. The next night the cop called my house asking for more information i declined to give them more information as they have all ready asked my son what they needed to.

I'm not sure why they keep wanting more information and i find it extremely odd as i would think they have better things to do. I talked to my son and asked him if anything else might of happened that night that would cause for the cops to be coming to my house past 11pm at night 3 weeks later for a 22.00 theft of beer. he said nothing else happened and this was the only time they have done this.

He is a good kid and im super surprised that this even happened.
I'm really concerned now and not sure what the cops are trying to pin on my son.


is it time for me to get a lawyer? Or should i wait to see where they take this

The cop said that he would have to go to a Juvenal court to and the judge will determine his punishment.
however now that they are coming back from more info has me concerned and what there main focus might be

You can think whatever you want. The police and DA *will* investigate your son up one side and down the other, till they're finished. Actions have consequences.

 

[stranger3232]

You can think whatever you want. The police and DA *will* investigate your son up one side and down the other, till they're finished. Actions have consequences.

Just to be clear im not saying the cops should not question him and as a matter of fact i had the choice since he is a minor. I let them do what they wanted as i wanted my son to **** in his paints. Now the fact they came at 11:30pm at night was a little odd to me and the crazy banging and ringing of the door bell is what caught me off guard. The whole family was sleeping and my little ones as well.


I'm not coming here to get bashed on we where once all young and might have done stupid stuff that we where or where not caught for. My son will deal with his actions and he is always under my thumb however one night with his friends for a birthday party lead to this. yes we have to deal with our actions im just trying to get advie from people that deal with this often. If i was an expert at this i would not be on this site.


The fact they keep coming back is what has me worried as he told them everything he knew.

I'm only trying to figure out why they would be doing this.

I live in a very large city in California and we have tons of crimes going on all the time.

So i just found it very odd for this to happen at this time of night for 22.00.

 

[Zigner]

Just to be clear im not saying the cops should not question him and as a matter of fact i had the choice since he is a minor. I let them do what they wanted as i wanted my son to **** in his paints. Now the fact they came at 11:30pm at night was a little odd to me and the crazy banging and ringing of the door bell is what caught me off guard. The whole family was sleeping and my little ones as well.

It seems to me like a good time to come knockin' - the criminal was mostly likely present at that time.

So i just found it very odd for this to happen at this time of night for 22.00.

Yeah...because crimes over $22 never escalate in to something more

 

[Silverplum]

We can never really answer "why" questions, for obvious reasons. The only person whose motives I know is me.

 

[stranger3232]

True however they could have done the same at school during the day.

Like i said i never deal with this and my first time so maybe me thinking its odd is not out of the norm for 22.00.

and yes i agree that 22.00 can lead to something bigger and that's my fear.

However i trust my son to tell me the truth and he told the cops the truth as well.

I guess only time will tell.

When is a good time for me to get a lawyer is what im trying to figure out.

 

[stranger3232]

We can never really answer "why" questions, for obvious reasons. The only person whose motives I know is me.

Very true

Im just trying to get a understand of what is going on as this is not something i have ever had to deal with.

 

[Zigner]

and yes i agree that 22.00 can lead to something bigger and that's my fear.

That's not actually what I meant. What I meant is that many times a crime over something worth a very small amount can escalate in to a much more serious crime. I'm sure you've heard of shopkeepers being killed over the $20 that was in the register...

The police take this seriously because it IS serious.

 

[Ohiogal]

My 17 year son was out with his friends 3 weeks ago and decided to take some beer for a local store.

The cop investigating this showed up at my door two nights ago at 11:30pm banging on my door and windows asking to speak to my son. after i woke my son up the cop read him his rights and questioned him and left. The next night the cop called my house asking for more information i declined to give them more information as they have all ready asked my son what they needed to.

I'm not sure why they keep wanting more information and i find it extremely odd as i would think they have bigger crimes to track down. I talked to my son and asked him if anything else might of happened that night that would cause for the cops to be coming to my house past 11pm at night 3 weeks later for a 22.00 theft of beer. he said nothing else happened and this was the only time they have done this.

He is a good kid and im super surprised that this even happened.
I'm really concerned now and not sure what the cops are trying to pin on my son.


is it time for me to get a lawyer? Or should i wait to see where they take this

The cop said that he would have to go to a Juvenal court to and the judge will determine his punishment.
however now that they are coming back from more info has me concerned and what there main focus might be

Your son is NOT a good kid. He is a thief. He needs an attorney. He also stole beer which means he was drinking underage. Underage drinkers are NOT good kids. They are law breakers. Should I continue with how your child is NOT a good kid and is a criminal. Quit being in denial. Your child is most likely also a liar. Did you know he was going out to steal beer that night? If not, he lied about his reason for being out. If he did tell you he was going to steal beer and you allowed it, you are worse than he is.

 

[Ohiogal]

Just to be clear im not saying the cops should not question him and as a matter of fact i had the choice since he is a minor. I let them do what they wanted as i wanted my son to **** in his paints. Now the fact they came at 11:30pm at night was a little odd to me and the crazy banging and ringing of the door bell is what caught me off guard. The whole family was sleeping and my little ones as well.


I'm not coming here to get bashed on we where once all young and might have done stupid stuff that we where or where not caught for. My son will deal with his actions and he is always under my thumb however one night with his friends for a birthday party lead to this. yes we have to deal with our actions im just trying to get advie from people that deal with this often. If i was an expert at this i would not be on this site.


The fact they keep coming back is what has me worried as he told them everything he knew.

I'm only trying to figure out why they would be doing this.

I live in a very large city in California and we have tons of crimes going on all the time.

So i just found it very odd for this to happen at this time of night for 22.00.

They can come back every night. Your son lied to you (birthday party but he didn't say he was going to steal and drink) and he committed theft and underage drinking/possession. They are doing this because your client is a stupid criminal. And maybe they will scare him straight whereas you seem to want to excuse him.

Signed,
An attorney who deals with stupid thieves who are minors

 

[justalayman]

Just to be clear im not saying the cops should not question him and as a matter of fact i had the choice since he is a minor.


.

You had the choice of what? Whether the police interrogated your son or not? No, you didn't. They do not need a parents permission to question a minor. In fact, they don't even have to involve the parents until/unless the minor is arrested and placed in custodial detention. Then, after the person is processed they must allow the child to contact their parents.

You do not have a right to obstruct justice.

 

[CdwJava]

Just to be clear im not saying the cops should not question him and as a matter of fact i had the choice since he is a minor.

Actually, there is no specific law in CA that requires that the police need your permission to speak to your 17-year-old son. Certainly you could have declined to get your son or refuse them entry, but, there's no specific law that says they need your permission.

I let them do what they wanted as i wanted my son to **** in his paints. Now the fact they came at 11:30pm at night was a little odd to me and the crazy banging and ringing of the door bell is what caught me off guard. The whole family was sleeping and my little ones as well.

It probably took some time to get to that point. The officers had to respond to the call. They had to interview witnesses and review video. Then they had to track down your son (easier if he was driving a car registered to you or at the address), and then decide who to talk to (as he may not have been the ONLY thief they interviewed that night). Sometimes these things take a little time. And i fthe officers work the night shift, then they will be investigating it on that shift.

I'm not coming here to get bashed on we where once all young and might have done stupid stuff that we where or where not caught for.

There's "dumb," and there's "criminal." He committed a crime and got caught. In all honesty, the penalty I would apply to my son would be far greater than anything the CA juvenile justice system might apply to him. Because of that, the one son who DID get in trouble with the law did not have to go before a court because Juvenile Probation was confident that he would be properly dealt with at home without the need for the court.

My son will deal with his actions and he is always under my thumb however one night with his friends for a birthday party lead to this. yes we have to deal with our actions im just trying to get advie from people that deal with this often. If i was an expert at this i would not be on this site.

As a parent, a teacher, and a cop, I have dealt with this from all sides and I WOULD consider myself an expert. If your son gets the impression that you are more annoyed with the cops for doing their job than you are with him, the message will not be the one you want to relate to him. He needs to understand that what he did will NOT be tolerated and that there WILL be consequences for his actions NOW! Not months from now when the matter might eventually get heard by a Juvenile Probation Officer, or a court, but immediately. The problem with the juvenile system is that the consequences occur far removed from the offense. Consider how effective it might be to swat a dog on the nose a month from now for chewing on the coffee table today. The penalty is so far removed from the offense that there is no correlation between the action and the consequence.

The fact they keep coming back is what has me worried as he told them everything he knew.

Well, he may have told them what he admitted to you. There may be some more that he did not relate to you.

I'm only trying to figure out why they would be doing this.

Probably because there are holes in his story, or, his cohorts have been spinning a different tale.

I live in a very large city in California and we have tons of crimes going on all the time.

So i just found it very odd for this to happen at this time of night for 22.00.

Most crimes occur after dark. In fact, beer runs typically occur at night and not in the daytime, so ...

 

[CdwJava]

True however they could have done the same at school during the day.

No, they couldn't. Few patrol officers work 24 hours per day. The officers that were working that night would not be on the next day. So, to investigate, they do it when they are on duty. It's cheaper than calling them in on overtime, paying someone to work for them because they stay over or come in early on overtime, or take a detective off of more serious offenses in order to conduct the followup. This is SOP to do the follow-up that night ... or, maybe the next night the officer(s) work.

Like i said i never deal with this and my first time so maybe me thinking its odd is not out of the norm for 22.00.

It's a crime. Would you rather the police NOT investigate it at all?

In all honesty, most agencies do not investigate property crimes anymore because they haven't got the staff. But, if they have some good leads or additional offenses (maybe a string of similar offenses), then they just might look into it.

and yes i agree that 22.00 can lead to something bigger and that's my fear.

However i trust my son to tell me the truth and he told the cops the truth as well.

A healthy bit of skepticism might be a good idea here. We all want to believe that our kids tell us the whole truth, but I have been around long enough to have learned that this is not always the case. What they DO NOT tell you can be just as damning.

I guess only time will tell.

When is a good time for me to get a lawyer is what im trying to figure out.

When he is arrested, or, when he is issued a summons or other order (juvenile detention order or warrant) compelling him to appear in court or before a Juvenile Probation Officer. In CA most offenses (particularly misdemeanor offenses) will be heard, first, by a Juvenile Probation Officers. The PO will determine if there is a need to proceed with the matter to court, or, if they can deal with the matter informally. A LOT will depend on the parents. If the parents don't give a crap and give junior a pass, you can pretty much guarantee that it will go to court. If parents come in with him to see the PO and tell the PO that junior is grounded, lost the ability to drive his car, lost phone and/or computer privileges, and has personally apologized to the store manager and employee(s) and volunteered to do some grunt work cleaning toilets or graffiti for a weekend, THEN he is likely to be given a pass and an informal process whereby he can keep his nose clean and nothing more will come of it.