Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

I would really suggest speaking to a lawyer, before going to court on your own and entering into a plea deal. Convictions have hidden consequences, that arise later during your life, and I have rarely met a person who did not regret it later. You may have even have defenses. The penalty depends on plea bargaining, and how much you stole, etc. These are based on facts that you have not provided.

Attorney Roach is right. ALWAYS BE REPRESENTED. In fact, I am such a believer in that I do not even represent myself if I am a litigant in a case in my own area of practice. This is because one can not really be objective when dealing with your own matter particularly when you stand to lose something. Your situation is even worse since you presumably are not trained in the legal field. Get an attorney unless you have to steal or to break the law in order to retain one. Good luck.