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minor vandalism

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altiaj09

Junior Member
Daughter (16 years old) lives in MD and was involved with a group of friends that vandalized a car/property to the tune of 2-3K. Is it worth it to get a lawyer? How much trouble can she get into. Seems that a bit of community service and restitution is a good thing plus I would not think the charges would be that severe?

Thanks
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Daughter (16 years old) lives in MD and was involved with a group of friends that vandalized a car/property to the tune of 2-3K. Is it worth it to get a lawyer? How much trouble can she get into. Seems that a bit of community service and restitution is a good thing plus I would not think the charges would be that severe?

Thanks
Has she been charged? I think a lawyer is a wise investment. Sure, community service & restitution are good, but is a life-long black mark necessary?
 

altiaj09

Junior Member
Has she been charged? I think a lawyer is a wise investment. Sure, community service & restitution are good, but is a life-long black mark necessary?
Waiting for the official charge which her mom suspects is coming soon by mail. When this happened she was spiraling out of control. We subsequently have enrolled her in a therapeutic boarding school in another state. We are spending a lot of money on the school and the potential lawyer cost plus a lot of other things is getting to be quite the burden. Would some sort of vandalism charge which happened when you are 16 really be that bad for life?

Not sure how her being located out of state is going to impact matters...

Thanks again for your thoughts.
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
Waiting for the official charge which her mom suspects is coming soon by mail. When this happened she was spiraling out of control. We subsequently have enrolled her in a therapeutic boarding school in another state. We are spending a lot of money on the school and the potential lawyer cost plus a lot of other things is getting to be quite the burden. Would some sort of vandalism charge which happened when you are 16 really be that bad for life?

Not sure how her being located out of state is going to impact matters...

Thanks again for your thoughts.
It could be equivalent to a felony for an adult. Juvenile records are NOT automatically sealed or expunged.
 

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
Wait - you think damaging someone's property to the tune of $2-3k is MINOR??? Guess what - that's a lot of money for some people. And they may not want to report it to insurance in fear of their premium rising.

I hope you lit her butt up AND are making her work to pay it off in full. Herself. And ground her 'til she's 18.

I raised two kids through their teen years, and they would expect to hand me their hides if they pulled a stunt like this. Fool.

>walks away grumbling "$2000, minor damage, stupid parents, stupid child, apples, apple trees..."
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Waiting for the official charge which her mom suspects is coming soon by mail. When this happened she was spiraling out of control. We subsequently have enrolled her in a therapeutic boarding school in another state. We are spending a lot of money on the school and the potential lawyer cost plus a lot of other things is getting to be quite the burden. Would some sort of vandalism charge which happened when you are 16 really be that bad for life?

Not sure how her being located out of state is going to impact matters...

Thanks again for your thoughts.
I think that you are urgently in need of a lawyer at this point. You may have broken the law by sending her out of state. Generally juveniles are restrained from leaving a state while charges are pending.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I was hoping that the OP meant that it was vandalism done by a minor. If not, then yeah, <spit>
 

altiaj09

Junior Member
I was hoping that the OP meant that it was vandalism done by a minor. If not, then yeah, <spit>
I think there were 8 of them involved, so $250 each, not trying to minimize it but the dollar amount is not as bad as it could have been in my worst nightmares...not by a longshot. I think it consisted of eggs and damage to the paint on a very nice car...when I said minor I was actually thinking no baseball bats to windshields or violent damage to property.

We have sent her to a therapeutic boarding school for the next year, which means she is not free to come and go from this remotely located place. I am pretty sure that her "punishment", although hopefully this is treatment, will far exceed anyone else and she will certainly pay to fix whatever she was involved in. Unfortunately this is one of the lesser of the bad behaviors she has been involved in recently.

Her mom notified the police re her movements. Leaving her in the current environment was not an option as the path she was on was very dangerous for her health. Police indicated that charges would await her return but did not mention anything re her not being allowed to leave so I think we are ok on that front.
 

OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
Try to keep the police out of this. Hire a lawyer and discuss splitting restitution with all other parents involved. If this can be handled without the police she is better off. Even if all parents cannot afford the $250, $1000 is better than a criminal record. She can earn it back with summer jobs or chores. contact the owners ASAP, and see if they will delay police and criminal charges temporarily while this gets ironed out.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I think there were 8 of them involved, so $250 each, not trying to minimize it but the dollar amount is not as bad as it could have been in my worst nightmares...not by a longshot.
Your thinking is wrong. There were 8 involved - each of them for the full amount. Each of them could be charged (criminally) as if they had caused $2-$3k in damages. Any one (or combination) of them can be required to pay in full.
 

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
I think it consisted of eggs and damage to the paint on a very nice car...when I said minor I was actually thinking no baseball bats to windshields or violent damage to property.
Eggs completely destroy the paint on cars. It's not "minor" damage.
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
Wait - you think damaging someone's property to the tune of $2-3k is MINOR??? Guess what - that's a lot of money for some people. And they may not want to report it to insurance in fear of their premium rising.

I hope you lit her butt up AND are making her work to pay it off in full. Herself. And ground her 'til she's 18.
I raised two kids through their teen years, and they would expect to hand me their hides if they pulled a stunt like this. Fool.

>walks away grumbling "$2000, minor damage, stupid parents, stupid child, apples, apple trees..."
Seems like the parents sent Jr off for a "special school" to deal with her. ;):(
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
I think there were 8 of them involved, so $250 each, not trying to minimize it but the dollar amount is not as bad as it could have been in my worst nightmares...not by a longshot. I think it consisted of eggs and damage to the paint on a very nice car...when I said minor I was actually thinking no baseball bats to windshields or violent damage to property.

We have sent her to a therapeutic boarding school for the next year, which means she is not free to come and go from this remotely located place. I am pretty sure that her "punishment", although hopefully this is treatment, will far exceed anyone else and she will certainly pay to fix whatever she was involved in. Unfortunately this is one of the lesser of the bad behaviors she has been involved in recently.

Her mom notified the police re her movements. Leaving her in the current environment was not an option as the path she was on was very dangerous for her health. Police indicated that charges would await her return but did not mention anything re her not being allowed to leave so I think we are ok on that front.
Wrong. Your daughter is responsible for ALL of the damage. Not just 1/8 of it. And each of the other juveniles are also responsible for all of the damage.

ETA: Or I could have just said, what Z said. he beat me to it.
 

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