Marshall, TX Criminal Defense Law Firms & Lawyers

Go to court and ask the DA for deferred adjudication, or deferred probation. If you've never had any other charges on your record they should give it to you. You may be required to do some community service and take an anti-theft course while on the deferred. But, once the probation period is over the charge is dismissed. That is step one. Once the case is dismissed you will then need to get it expunged. That is something you will need a lawyer for. But the most important thing is to ensure it doesn't become a conviction; a successfully completed deferred will not be a conviction.

I'm sorry to hear about your pregnant wife. I hope you were able to bond her out of jail immediately. Simply driving a stolen car is not a crime in and of itself. The State must prove either that she stole the car, or that she knew she did not have the owner's permission to drive teh car. The two most common charges I see from what you described are Theft of Property and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. In order to prove theft, the State has to show that your wife took the car without permission, not simply that she was found after the theft driving the car. You will have to look at when the car was stolen compared to when she was found driving the car. Was there any evidence she took the car? Also, the degree misdemeanor or felony it will be depends on the value of the car. If the car has a fair market value of $2,500 to $30,000, then it will be a state jail felony. If it cost more than that, then it will be increased to a third degree felony. If the car is cheap and doesn't cost more than $2,500, then it would only be a misdemeanor theft. More likely than not, the State would charge her with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. This is a state jail felony where the State has to prove that your wife KNEW she did not have the owner's consent to drive the car. These cases are very case specific. What she said to the police will be very important. Who owns the car? When was the car stolen? How did she obtain the keys to the car? Is there any evidence the ignition was tampered with? These and similar questions must be answered to see if the State can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she knew she did not have permission to drive the car. If the State cannot prove she did not know she did not have permission, it is possible to get the case No Billed by the grand jury. Best of luck!

It is best to have the local police do a steak out to catch them. The dangers of you doing the work are many including getting hurt. If you try to make a citizens arrest and someone is hurt there may be criminal charges if excessive force is used. Other charges could be possible. Putting in a good alarm system and cameras is a reasonable alternative that does not endanger anyone.