Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

I am a 16 yr old who threw an egg along with several other teenagers at a 17yr old's truck while it was parked. The 17 yr old owner chased us and I was the only one to stop and admit of the wrong doing. I offered to clean the truck right away and did so until it was clean as before. A few days later, the owner of the truck demanded that I owed him $300 for a complete detailing and $80 for gas = $380. I said I could not pay but that I would clean and wax his truck using my dad's cleaning/wax chemicals. He refused and after several days of demanding and threatening me for the $380, he, along with 4 other teenagers appeared at my house in a car. He proceeded to threaten me again for the money and told me that his friend (the driver - whom initially instigated the egg throwing) mentioned that I had photographic equipment and that he (the truck owner) was going to go into my house and that I was going to give him something of value...or else. He walked me to my room and took a $800 camera lense that was sitting on my desk. He then told me that I would have to pay $380 to get it back and left. My neighbor saw the incident with the truck owner leaving the house with the lense in hand. For the next month or so, I kept asking for my lense back and offered to clean and polish the truck myself but the 17 yr old truck owner refused until one day, he told me that he would exchange the lense for a pack of cigarettes. Being a minor, I told him I would give him $6 dollars for a pack since I couldn't legally buy cigarettes. He said OK and told me to meet him at a parking lot. Having demanded and threatened me for over a month, I thought this was a trick and that he was going to physically beat me. I was talking to a friend of mine at the local skate park about my fear of being 'jumped' by the truck owner and his friends when another big teenager (whom I've seen at the park quite a few times) told me that he would come with me to the meeting place (parking lot) to make sure no one would hurt me. I agreed and another friend of mine who can legally drive, drove us to the meeting place. I got out of the car and gave the $6 to the truck owner and he gave me back my lense all while the big teenager was present. I got back into the car and the big teenager told the 17 yr old truck owner that he should respect me and not ever threaten me again. The truck owner, standing in front of his 10 friends started to 'back talk' and get in front and really close to the big teenager. I couldn't hear all that was being said. Suddenly, the big teenager threw a few punches and the 17 yr old fell down next to his truck. I got out of the car and pulled back the big teenager and told him to stop and leave...which we did without further incident. The truck owner spent his 18th birthday in the ER that night with a broken nose, broken tooth, and a mild concussion. A police report was filed and I have been contacted by a police officer that is determined to get the big teenager for felony and "throw him behind bars". I along with the car driver have told the truth and have stated that we really don't know the big teenager except for seeing him at the local parks on occasions. The officer has threatened both of us that we will be charged and have a record for the felony crime. He has called me out of class several times and has spoken to my parents several times...but thinks I'm not telling the truth and that I know this big teenager. When my dad spoke to the officer last and mentioned that I truly didn't know the big teenager, the officer raised his voice and told my dad that I could be charged with felony and it would ruin my college opportunities. My dad, in turn, mentioned that based on what he just heard from the officer, he would have to hire a lawyer and would also consider pressing charges on the 17 yr old truck owner for threatening me and coming into our house and taking the lense. The officer's tone quickly changed.

Not knowing what is legally possible, my questions follow:

a) Can I truly be charged (felony or something else)..even though I didn't hit anyone?

b) Can the officer continue to call my house and pull me out of class several times a day to question me or my parents...even though I have told the truth and don't have any other information to share that hasn't already been provided?

c) Can I get a state provided legal advisor should matters get worse.

Any help would be truly appreciated.

Thank you!


Asked on 11/08/10, 1:12 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

James Goff James R. Goff, Attorney at Law

Without any additional information my answers have to be somewhat general. Why didn't you notify authorities when the driver attempted to extort money from you? Being charged with a felony depends on whether probable cause exists to believe that you participated with the person who inflicted the damages. If there is evidence that you withdrew before the assault then the probability of your being convicted is diminished, but it would not prevent you from being charged. The police can conduct an investigation when they suspect a crime was committed. You can complain to the Chief of Police, if you can demonstrate that the officer is unduly harassing you. If you are indigent and cannot afford to pay for your representation then you can seek representation by your local public defender's office. Unfortunately, the public defender is often limited to representing a person charged with a crime. You should contact the office explain your situation and see if they can help you at such an early stage. Good luck.

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Answered on 11/17/10, 1:18 pm


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