Underage Charge on NC Gamelands

[Abarrett127]

A week ago my son went to north carolina to go tubing with some friends. A few of members of his group slipped beer onto the river. My son is only seventeen. He was charged with possession of alcohol as a minor and littering in relation to alcohol. The arresting officer was not actually an officer but a games warden. My son walked away with a 225$ ticket. The warden said if we go to court, addition charges and fines would be added. We have not paid the ticket yet and are wondering if we should take the case to court in hopes of having the charges dissolved. He has no history of this kind of behavior and was his first charge. He was not there when the alcohol was purchased.

We live in South Carolina and my son is on track for college and currently part of the top ten students in his class. Will these charges void his scholarship opportunities (such as Palmetto Fellows Scholarship?) Is it a felony? Does the fact that the charge was on game land effect anything? In your opinion, is there a chance we could get the charges wiped from his record if he took some sort of alcohol education class or did a certain amount of community service hours?

 

[FlyingRon]

What makes you think if you go to court you have any chance of getting the charges dismissed. I can tell you for certain, wildlife officers in NC have authority to write these sort of things (and worse).

Assuming that my guess as to the charges is correct, littering is a class 3 misdemeanor, and the underage possession is a class 1. Not felonies, but plenty serious.

Your best bet would be to consult with a lawyer where he was charged who deals with NCWRC citations and see if he thinks there's anything he can do.
There's an option in NC law called prayer for judgement continued that, if you stay out of trouble, allows the charges to be dismissed.