Prison bail set at $100,000

[pasajes4]

Take a deep breath. Hold it. Blow it out. Repeat until you are calm. The car is his responsibility. Let him figure out how to get it out of impound. I would not loan him a dime. He will probably be sitting in jail until his actual trial. Do not consider paying bail even if it is lowered. He needs to marinate awhile longer so that the remorse is not for his situation, but for the victims of his actions. Your son is lucky to be alive. Where I live, the police shoot first, and ask questions later. Let him feel the indignity of losing your rights when you take away the rights of others.

I know what it is like to have a child in jail. Mine will have been locked up for a total of 1 month shy of 3 years for a burglary of a home and probation violations. He is finally starting to see that he is not the victim in all of this. He hurt people that cared about him when he stole from them. He lost his friends and the respect of his nephew who had idolized him. It will take him years to rebuild his life. He is only 17. He is lucky to be alive. His friend was shot by the police and will be paralyzed for life, because he ran. He was only 15.

 

[Lil]

All a preliminary hearing is for is for the prosecution to show they have enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Again, different states do it a bit differently. Here, we have a four stage system... At the felony level the court appearances are 1) Initial appearance. This is where the accused is told the charges and bail is determined. 2) Preliminary hearing. This is for the prosecution to present enough evidence to show the judge that they have reason to believe the accused committed a crime. The defense does NOT usually present evidence at preliminary hearing. If the court finds there is not enough evidence, they dismiss charges. 3) Arraignment. This is where the accused is formally advised of the charges and enters a plea of not-guilty or guilty. If he enters a plea of guilty, you move on to sentencing. That may be that day if there is a plea bargain or it may be later if it is what they call an "open plea" where you basically are throwing yourself on the mercy of the court. If you plead Not Guilty, the next thing is 4) Trial.

In some states, the initial appearance (1) and arraignment (2) are the same thing. You go straight from arraignment to preliminary hearing and then to trial.

Alternatively, in some states you don't get a preliminary hearing unless you refuse to enter a plea.

I suggest you google: criminal court process <your state>. You should be able to find specifics on how things work, at least the general process.

So...the short answer is, if this is the preliminary hearing, your son won't say a word. Your son's lawyer won't produce any witnesses or evidence...he might even waive the whole thing. That happens all the time.

 

[Scott_G]

All a preliminary hearing is for is for the prosecution to show they have enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Again, different states do it a bit differently. Here, we have a four stage system... At the felony level the court appearances are 1) Initial appearance. This is where the accused is told the charges and bail is determined. 2) Preliminary hearing. This is for the prosecution to present enough evidence to show the judge that they have reason to believe the accused committed a crime. The defense does NOT usually present evidence at preliminary hearing. If the court finds there is not enough evidence, they dismiss charges. 3) Arraignment. This is where the accused is formally advised of the charges and enters a plea of not-guilty or guilty. If he enters a plea of guilty, you move on to sentencing. That may be that day if there is a plea bargain or it may be later if it is what they call an "open plea" where you basically are throwing yourself on the mercy of the court. If you plead Not Guilty, the next thing is 4) Trial.

In some states, the initial appearance (1) and arraignment (2) are the same thing. You go straight from arraignment to preliminary hearing and then to trial.

Alternatively, in some states you don't get a preliminary hearing unless you refuse to enter a plea.

I suggest you google: criminal court process <your state>. You should be able to find specifics on how things work, at least the general process.

So...the short answer is, if this is the preliminary hearing, your son won't say a word. Your son's lawyer won't produce any witnesses or evidence...he might even waive the whole thing. That happens all the time.

In my state things were slightly different from what I seem to remember. There is an initial appearance where bail is set. Then there is the arraignment hearing/preliminary hearing. If a not guilty plea is entered, next comes the pre-trial hearing. At pre-trial there are no witnesses and no testimony. The defense attorney and the DA get together and try to work out a plea deal. If a deal is reached, it is usually going to be a punishment that is less severe than a guilty finding at trial. If the defendant agrees to the deal, they go before the judge that same day and in my experience they plead no contest to the charges. In a technical sense, no contest is not an admission of guilt or innocense, it just tells the court that the defendant does not wish to contest the charges. Also, from what I recall the sentence was part of the plea deal so if the deal was accepted, there was no sentencing hearing. If a deal can't be reached at pre-trial, then the defendant enters another not guilty plea and then the case goes to trial.

 

[Woriedmom]

Pasajed, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your son's friend and about your son in jail ...so young these kids are. It is a shame.
How about this kid on the news living outside of St.Louis,MO....now that's a shame. If it happened like how the witnesses said ...that really is awful. The policeman should be locked up for that one.

Lil, I will go on our states site to find out more info. but what you are describing seems like what it is in my state also. ( according to my hubby anyway ) , I just never know if I can trust what he is saying. I will look into things myself.

thank you for being here for my support, the only support for my son right now is the Lord.

 

[DammitJanet]

I am going to answer you with what I know before reading everything so that I dont forget to add anything. Aggravated Assault is a 2nd Degree Felony and the fact that he has 8 charges against him plus other charges in other jurisdictions will be problematic for him.

Here is what I got off a legal site. I couldnt get the exact timing for your state because I dont know what state you live in but this is the general idea.

Penalties for Aggravated Assault
Aggravated assault is usually a felony punishable by approximately one to twenty years in prison, depending on the specific provisions of each state’s sentencing statute or sentencing guidelines. Normally, the judge has some discretion on the length of the sentence and whether to allow the defendant to serve any portion of the sentence on probation rather than in prison.

Factors that judges consider
In determining a sentence, judges usually consider the defenses presented at trial, whether the defendant has taken responsibility for the crime and shows remorse, circumstances surrounding the crime, the extent of any injuries incurred, the type of weapon used, the accused’s prior criminal record and, in some situations, the victim's background or relationship to the defendant.

Sentence enhancement
In some states, assault against a special victim like a police officer or elderly person carries more severe penalties or is subject to sentence enhancement, which permits the court to add extra time to the sentence for the underlying crime. In many states, there also are more severe penalties or sentencing enhancement provisions if the deadly weapon used in an assault or battery is a firearm. Finally, in some states, the penalties are even more severe for certain types of firearms such as automatic weapons, machine guns, or guns that shoot metal-resistant bullets.

 

[DammitJanet]

Ok now I have read everything...lol.

Whatever you do, dont bail him out. I would go with the public defender since it appears that getting him a private lawyer is out of your financial means. It is nice if a family is fortunate enough to provide a private lawyer a time or two but not necessary.

Like others have said, your son is now in jail not in prison. You dont go to prison until you are convicted. Prisons are for the most part much better than jails.

I have never had personal experience with prison but quite a bit with jails thanks to my lovely son. One thing that has helped me the most in not worrying much at all about if or when my son lands in one or the other is the program LockUp on MSNBC. I suggest you watch a marathon of it...lol.

Dont worry so much about what he looks like. He isnt being sentenced for a sex crime or a crime against a child so he wont go in with a target on his back. I hope he hasnt already told anyone that he is aligned with any gangs. Or that he doesnt have any tat's that could be construed as gang tat's. That can be problematic.

Now if it was me in your situation I would put money on his commissary account. Not a ton but maybe what you would have spent on the extra groceries if he was living at home. While they do get fed in jail and prison the food isnt the best and having snacks can make a difference. Also being able to have snacks lets him mingle with the other inmates when they make "dinners" in their cells.

Like I said, watch that show. You will learn a whole lot and hopefully you will calm down and see it wont be as bad as you are imagining it will be.

 

[Lil]

Wondering how it went yesterday. Was thinking of you.

 

[GuideMe]

I'm wondering how it went too, let us know.

 

[Woriedmom]

Hello everyone, You all were right...it didn't matter what he wore in front of the judge, and that the judge didn't say a word to my son or his "friend" nor to me or my husband. There were 3 witnesses but the fact that these kids they robbed were teenagers didn't help one bit.
The 1 thing I can be thankful for is that my son is being represented by a court appointed attorney. He is a real lawyer that works in a firm outside of the courts.The "friend" has the public defender and both 20 yr.olds are being tried separately though they are co-defendants.
I bet my son can kick himself for getting out of the car and helping his "friend". Turns out his friend was the one with the gun...going around terrorizing the kids and hitting one of them in the head so hard the kid needed to go to the E.R. and getting staples in his head. His "Pal" is facing horrendous charges. His "Pal" is very dangerous and I'd be afraid of him too if I were my son. His "friend" told my son to get out of the car and help him.
My son did get out of the car with a pipe and hit one kid in the lower leg. Not hard to where the kid had to go to the E.R. but enough to where the kid did make an appointment. to see his Doctor for x-rays which showed nothing. I think the fact that the boys father was a COP and knew the judge didn't help any at all. It's because of this that my son is faced with the aggravated assault, my sons lawyer did try to get the judge to lower it to a simple assault but the judge wouldn't budge. One case was dismissed since my son wasn't identified, but it's this one aggravated assault charge that will determine the outcome of my sons sentence.
When the hearing was finished the attorney spoke to my husband and I stating the he is going to challenge the judges decision about the aggravated assault. I doubt a public defender would do this. I liked the way with each witness my son's lawyer when questioning them would make it a point to separate my son with his co-defendant.
My sons lawyer says the next thing he is going to do is see if he can get a line up at the jail to see if these victims can make an identification. I hadn't realized the cops drove these kids up to the mall and asked them if my son and his "friend" were the guys who did the robbery.
At this point I don't know what is going to happen, my son is now trusting in the Lord with all this. My son is talking like a completely different kid, It's amazing that jail has to be the wake up call.
I know it might sound like I'm still trying to protect my son I'm sorry but I am his mother and yes, although I do think he needs to time for his mistake...I don't think it's fair to spend years for hitting a kid in the leg. It did no damage..I know my son has the strength to break a kids leg. I would agree to a simple assault but NOT an aggravated one.

In the meantime I'm having panic attacks all day long so bad that I can't go anywhere.

I can't find my son's phone with the threatening messages from his "friend". It may be in my sons car which we are having difficulty getting back.
I will put $$ on his books but not alot. Thank you all for your advice...and support in all this.

 

[Lil]

WM, it sounds like it actually went really well. That's about the best I could have ever hoped for from a prelim. Nice you got a court appointed attorney (Not that PD's aren't real lawyers) and it sounds like he has criminal trial experience. I still lean toward a plea bargain being the best bet though...and if he pokes enough holes in the prosecutions case, by line-ups etc., that gives him a bit of leverage. The texts would help too...as would your son rolling over on his "friend" - but really, sounds like there's so much evidence your son turning on his friend wouldn't be that useful. It is very good they separated the cases.

Now...you have a lawyer, you know things will be taken care of. Take care of YOU!!! Get to therapy or a doctor if necessary. Spend the day communing with nature. Get your mind OFF this for just a bit. Making yourself sick will NOT change the outcome or help your son.

 

[Woriedmom]

WM, it sounds like it actually went really well. That's about the best I could have ever hoped for from a prelim. Nice you got a court appointed attorney (Not that PD's aren't real lawyers) and it sounds like he has criminal trial experience. I still lean toward a plea bargain being the best bet though...and if he pokes enough holes in the prosecutions case, by line-ups etc., that gives him a bit of leverage. The texts would help too...as would your son rolling over on his "friend" - but really, sounds like there's so much evidence your son turning on his friend wouldn't be that useful. It is very good they separated the cases.

Now...you have a lawyer, you know things will be taken care of. Take care of YOU!!! Get to therapy or a doctor if necessary. Spend the day communing with nature. Get your mind OFF this for just a bit. Making yourself sick will NOT change the outcome or help your son.

 

[Woriedmom]

Thanks Lil, oh and I wasn't insinuating that PD.'s aren't great, I just know that they are often overworked, especially in the city I live in. It is true that his lawyer use to be a PD for another county ( the one where he has the possession of marijuana charge ) I just wish my son wasn't in a cell with what could be a murderer. yicks!

But...I will spend the day with my little girl creating a butterfly with colorful tissue paper and playing outside in her pool and blowing bubbles.

Thank you DJ,SG,Jabber,TL,Donna,Nancy, MWM,GM,COM and the rest of you for caring and supporting me.

 

[Woriedmom]

Oh before I forget...I was going to post this in my "Life on the Line " but since everyone's in this thread I'll just post it in here... I called his attorney yesterday and left the message that my son meet up with this "friend" by the fact that my husband kicked him out of the house. I said that it was information that my son probably won't offer to him since my son wouldn't want to make his step-father look bad"...I also said " it could be that my son felt obligated to help the guy out...you know like " You be the driver, since I'm giving you a place to stay" kind of thing.
Should I have left this message or not? Now I'm worried that I shouldn't have left this message.

** I only made the call because he'd asked both my husband and I after the hearing "how did your son get mixed up with a guy like him ?" I was going to tell the attorney right then but my husband was standing right there. SO...did it make me look bad? did it even make a difference? Is he still gonna work hard on the case? knowing that my son didn't give him this information right away? Oh God!

 

[Lil]

I can't find my son's phone with the threatening messages from his "friend". It may be in my sons car which we are having difficulty getting back.

You might want to see if you can take anything out of the car...even if the car itself remains in impound.

** I only made the call because he'd asked both my husband and I after the hearing "how did your son get mixed up with a guy like him ?" I was going to tell the attorney right then but my husband was standing right there. SO...did it make me look bad? did it even make a difference? Is he still gonna work hard on the case? knowing that my son didn't give him this information right away? Oh God!

You're panicking again over nothing. Nothing you tell his attorney is going to hurt your son's case. Lawyers do need all the information but nothing you tell him will make him work harder or work less. It doesn't matter what you look like and no, that doesn't make you look bad.

Again, you need calm down. You can change absolutely nothing here. It's in the hands of the justice system, the lawyers and the court. FWIW, I'm also not concerned that the judge didn't lower the charge yet. Normal. Let the lawyer handle it.

Deep breaths. It's proceeding as normal.

 

[Woriedmom]

How do you spell R.E.L.I.E.F ?... thanks Lil. I just don't want to say anything wrong. I feel better now.

 

[BusynMember]

Although I know that now you are very stressed, you may be able to help your son never do it again (because if he did it once, he is capable of it) by having him focus on the victim and of how scared he probably was. What if somebody had done to your son what your son did to this teen? I think it is mandatory for our adult kids to have empathy in order for them to get better. It isn't your son's friends fault...feel like I'm repeating myself. There are other kids on the street and most are not violent, gun-toting criminals, but he went along with this man. I hope your son comes to realize what he did, more than worrying only about his own skin. And, WM, one day I hope you think about it too.Neither he nor you have addressed sorrow for the victim. That is not criticism. I'm more puzzled than anything. For me, the first thing I'd think, after bursting into tears, would be, "OMG! That poor kid! What on earth did my son do to him? HOW could he do that to him? I hope he's ok." Then I'd worry about what the charges meant, butg the victim would be on my mind. Anytime my oldest son hurt somebody, and he never hurt anyone the same way yours did, all I could think about was, "What kind of person is he that he does this?" When he was little I tried a zillion therapists to try to stop his angry aggression because it appalled me.

Our adult kids who lack a conscience are the ons that tend to keep getting into trouble over and over again. The ones who are capable of taking responsibility and feeling remorse have a much better chance of seeing what they did as very wrong and changing.

Don't make this just about your son and his plight. If it were me, I KNOW I'd be talking to my son about his victim, A LOT. It would mean more to me than just getting him off the easiest I could (not sure I'd do that). But maybe I would. Even so, that victim would be in my thoughts and prayers and I may even have apologized to the family, although I was not the one who did it. If your son is only sad and scared because of himself, that isn't going to make him change his ways once he is sprung.

I'm not sure you can teach empathy, but since you have him talking to him about God, well, in my opinion it's a good time to bring up that he terrified and hurt a minor teenager and that the teen may still be having nightmares over the attack. If my son or daughter had EVER perped in any way on another person, they would have to express remorse to me and a willingness to try to make amends in order to have my support. This is probably just my opinion, but since your son has never once expressed any concern for anyone except himself, if it were me, I'd be worried that he doesn't see the big picture and that other people were hurt by his actions. And I don't care if he didn't break the boy's leg or if the "friend" was more violent. There are plenty of others like this "friend" for you son to find if he doesn't understand that no matter what or how sorry you feel for yourself, you do not hurt other people. My own son's lack of empathy is what scares me the most about him.

Getting your son a mild sentence is not the end of his story. In fact, it could be just the beginning if he fails to see that hurting others is a horrible way to behave and NOT blame anyone else for what he did. And I doubt, if there's a next time, if he'll get any breaks at all.

You probably won't read this as it is not about jail/prison, but I felt compelled to set it down. Ignore it if you like Still with you, holding your hand, hoping for the best for everyone

 

[Lil]

I'm going to say this as gently as possible - I agree with MWM. Of course you are worried about your son. Anyone would be. But you do need to recognize that he had other choices than to do what he did. So his stepdad threw him out...he did not have to take up with a criminal. He could have gone to a shelter. He could have slept on the street. This goes back to him telling you, "You know this is all <stepdad's> fault." It wasn't. He made a terrible choice and he brought this on himself. The other boy had a gun. If the other boy had killed someone, your son would be an accessory to murder.

I mean this with all due respect and with sympathy, because there are times I live in fear of my son getting arrested and God knows I don't trust or like his friends. But you should take a step back, take a good hard look at what he's done, and remind yourself that whatever consequences there are, are for a reason. Remind yourself...he is not innocent. He is not wrongly accused. He committed a crime - several, in fact.

I understand your fear and hope for a light sentence or probation. I understand you just want your baby to be okay. In your mind he is your little boy...as my son is mine. I struggle to remember that my son is an adult. I would be heart-sick in your position - truly, I understand.

That being said, trust the legal system to provide the correct consequences and prepare yourself to see them in that light...consequences for his actions.

 

[BusynMember]

Thanks, Lil. That was hard to write for me. But I'm truly baffled that both WM and her son seem to think this is all about him and getting him off as easy as possible. I think most moms would be thinking, "How could my son hurt somebody else? Scare a younger person? How could MY child, who I raised better, do something like that?" I think most parents here would be horrified at what our son had done. That doesn't seem to be the case here...just how can he get a light sentence.

I don't think that's bodes well for this young man to have a decent life after this. He is thinking he is the victim. WM, you also (and I mean this without rancor) that your son is a victim because the other guy was worse. That attitude will fuel your son's belief that he can do what he wants to do when he wants to and what's the big deal? Heck, the kid's leg wasn't broken and he is certainly big enough to have broken it. So what's the fuss? All he did was HIT him. The boy JUST had to go to the doctor. No harm done, except maybe in his victim's nightmares.

Think about it, maybe. It is not going to help your son to pretend it wasn't really that bad. Or that somebody made him do it.

 

[Lil]

[quote="MidwestMom::]I think most moms would be thinking, "How could my son hurt somebody else? Scare a younger person? How could MY child, who I raised better, do something like that?" .[/quote]

I think that's there. I just think its overridden by fear for her son.
Sent from my PC36100 using ConductDisorders mobile app

 

[BusynMember]

I hope so. Seems there were eight minors who were involved who did nothing to deserve this. If this were my son, I'd be terrified for my son...but it would be equally sliced between jail and what he had done. And I'd be furious at him too. We are all very different in our reactions to these difficult children, I guess. I do not feel he will improve until he admits that he is responsible for his behavior...not his stepfather, not his father, not his "friend with gun", not his aunt, kissing cousin or dog. And when the remorse spills out and they are sorry and become all apologetic about the victims, not just their own fates. It is in my opinion not a good sign to blame everyone else and to not even talk about the victim in a remorseful way. I think remorse is part of the path one has to take in order to get well. I think it's an important part. I see it with those difficult children stories that have positive endings. The light goes on and they suddenly realize, "I can't keep doing this. It's not fair to me, but also...not to my (mother,, father, kids, victim, etc.). My daughter who quit using drugs before she got throw in jail (she was very lucky it hadn't happened) partly quit because of how it hurt the rest of her family and has often apologized. She was heading nowhere good...drug dealers were "friends" and she used meth and even shot heroin a few times (for those who think it is automatically addictive the first time, I guess it's not). I believe that her empathy saved her. Not completely, but partly.