Many residents of Gwinnett County, Georgia, may not see most property crimes as all that serious. Many pre-teens, teenagers and young adults, more than one might think, have been accused of theft on account of an alleged shoplifting incident, and others get in trouble with the law for pranks like painting graffiti or stringing toilet paper on someone’s property.
However, no one who has been accused of these sorts of crimes should take them too lightly. For example, in Georgia, theft can easily become a felony since all that is required for a felony charge is that the item stolen be worth more than $500. A group of youthful offenders can easily be accused of, collectively, taking more than $500, even if each teen individually only took a smaller item.
Moreover, any property crime can potentially lead to jail and significant fines, as well as other serious consequences. Although lighter penalties are often the norm in cases of first-time offenders committing a property crime like theft or vandalism, it is the judge and, to a lesser extent, the prosecutor, who has the power to show leniency or “throw the book” at someone. Also, no one should forget that just about any criminal conviction will show up on a person’s permanent record and may make it harder for that person to find a job, and can also lead to problems with getting in or staying in school or college.
Our law office has the experience and knowledge to recognize how serious these types of charges are and how important it is to have an effective defense strategy. We do our best to create opportunities for our clients that might otherwise not have existed, both with respect to fighting charges and with respect to getting a more favorable sentence.