"I need you to come get me." My daughter's voice was trembling and I could tell she was near hysterical. My first thought was that she had been in an accident. I was near in panic when I asked if she was okay. Her reply shocked me. "I'm being arrested for shoplifting."
Juvenile delinquent is a general term referring to someone that is under the age of 18 and found guilty of committing a crime. The penalties vary from state to state but in our state they can be quite severe. Crimes committed while under the age of 18 here can be sealed but remain on your permanent record. The offense cannot be viewed without special permission by a potential employer. But it can limit or eliminate your chances for a federal college grant or scholarship. My daughter was in serious trouble. I had time to think while driving to the mall jewelry store. I hoped I could consider all the angles before I arrived.
My daughter had never been a materialistic child. I worked two jobs and had more to offer my child than my parents had. My daughter would not have had to steal for anything she wanted. She never complained about having to work or keep her grades up for things she wanted in the shopping windows. What she had stolen would have been something she knew I could not have given her. Perhaps it was something I could not have given her immediately. It was a jewelry store so she had to have taken something valued in excess of $1000. I feared she would be charged with grand larceny.
My daughter had left with her friends shortly after returning from school. She took our second car and said she was going to do some shopping. I asked if she needed any extra money but she declined stating she still had funds on her allowance card. I had opened a bank account and obtained a debit card for my daughter. This would help her to gain an understanding of budgeting and the banking system. I put funds on her card every two weeks and she had done well in budgeting her finances. She had actually been able to save money over the two years she had her allowance account. Surely she would have put a payment on anything she wanted beyond her savings and walked out with it.
I considered peer pressure as an option. Had my daughter been pressured to steal on a dare? My daughter had been raised to be a leader. She was highly competitive and was the team captain of her soccer team. Her friends followed her lead. It was doubtful she would have been urged to steal by peer pressure. And she had very good friends that were not known for hoodlum behavior. They could be somewhat annoying when gathered in one house for slumber parties but I never saw any bad sheep among her little crew.
There was only one possible reason remaining that could explain this. As I walked into the jewelry store I saw two police officers and the store manager sitting with my daughter behind the counter. Her friends were standing just outside. They informed me the officers had told them to leave but they refused to leave my daughter's side. My daughter's eyes were wide and red peering up at me. The woman behind the counter looked at my daughter as if she had been already a convicted habitual offender.
My daughter was terrified as I walked in. I gave her a supportive wink. Instantly she began to smile and I knew in that moment my daughter had not stolen anything. I glared at the woman with vicious intent. Her smug expression left her pinched face and she backed away from my daughter. I addressed the officers now. "May I see what has been stolen?"
The woman pulled my daughter's purse from behind the counter and with it a small ring case. I began to suspect what had occurred here. I recognized the ring case. It was from this jewelry store but purchased over a week ago. It had held a ring my daughter had given my mother for her birthday. I still had the receipt in my wallet. I gave my daughter the same glance I always give her when I want her to hush. Then I asked the woman. "Where is the ring?"
The woman stated she believed the ring to be hidden on my daughter's person although she did not seem so confident now. She admitted that she had not bothered to ask my daughter about the ring case. The alarm had gone off and the security guard had taken her purse. Had my daughter been informed what caused the alarm to go off she could have easily explained it.
I took the small box and went toward the door and the alarm sounded. The officers were beginning to figure this out as well. They stood my daughter up and released the handcuffs. She ran over and wrapped her arms around me. I looked at the woman as my daughter's friends circled her supportively. "Do you want to apologize to my daughter here or in court?"
Previously Posted on FullofKnowlege.com
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