RN was very scared when she came to meet with me. She had been accused of shoplifting in Fort Walton Beach and she had never been in trouble before. She was a busy mom who had gone shopping with her kids. When she paid, she forgot about the items that were on the bottom of her grocery cart. After paying for the items that were in her cart, she went to leave and was detained at the front door.

As soon as she realized what she had done, she profusely apologized and offered to pay for the items immediately. The store wasn’t interested in helping her, so they called the police. Even though the police told her that they believed her, she was still arrested for misdemeanor theft.

You Owe it to Your Future to Fight These Kinds of Charges

Being a new mom, RN had a lot on her plate. She was also a military spouse and a student. Because theft is a crime of dishonesty, I knew it was imperative that her charges get dropped. Although she was very scared and very embarrassed, she was also very determined to keep this off of her record. We never even discussed the possibility of pleading guilty. Instead, we focused on ways to get the case dismissed.

Theft cases in Fort Walton Beach are difficult to resolve. Judges and Prosecutors take a very hard stance against anyone they deem to be a “thief.” My task was to get them to see RN as a good person who had made an honest mistake and not just a “thief” or a case number.

After a lot of back and forth with the Prosecutor, I was able to secure a pretrial diversion agreement for RN. She completed the agreement and her case was dismissed. Once it was dismissed, I proceeded right to the expungement process and had the arrest expunged from her record.

RN got a clean slate and a fresh start and she was very grateful for what I was able to do for her.

If you have been accused of Theft in Fort Walton Beach, call Flaherty & Merrifield at (850) 243-6097 for the help you need.

Case Dismissed