Legal Question in Criminal Law in Colorado

Re: Misdemeanor - Conspiracy to Commit Theaf

You can pay the blackmail, though that will have zero effect on the criminal charge; you can bargain with the DA; you can go to trial; you can move to New Zealand, where I don't believe they extradite on a shoplifting charge.

If you decide to plea bargain with the DA, ask what evidence they think they have that would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your son was a lookout. Unless the actual thief plans to testify against your son, or the video somehow shows your son giving an unmistakable all-clear sign to shoplift, the case sounds pretty thin. The DA may drop the charge altogether, or offer a reduced charge, especially because your son is a juvenile and if this is his first brush with the law. But that may leave you open to the civil suit.

If the DA won't drop the charge, or you don't like the deal (and I rarely like the deal where there's a defense of actual innocence), you can go to trial, and you can demand, through discovery, a copy of the video and any other evidence against your son (you'll have to pay for it). Then you or your attorney (I hope at that point you've got an attorney, if you haven't already hired one for the court date) can evaluate the evidence for yourself.

If you choose to flee to New Zealand, hug a kiwi for me.

Good luck.