Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

You could be charged with first degree retail fraud because of the priors. That is a 5-year felony. If you are charged with 3d degree retail fraud (value of merchandize under $200) the maximum sentence is up to 1 year in jail. I don't recommend you go to court without a lawyer.

This message may take the cake from pretty much every prior crminal law question posted on LawGuru in the past few years.

Why are you calling people at that court "crooked"? YOU're the one who is the "crook". YOU admittedly STOLE several times (regardless of your benevolent intentions). And you've been convicted for the same thing before. So, whatever you "get" for your sentence will be well deserved.

Being unemployed and wanting to put food on the table isn't an excuse for stealing. It's your explanation. It isn't an excuse. There is public assistance, there are food banks, there are soup kitchens, etc. They may be beneath your dignity, but they are also legal sources for your family. And, regardless of your family's plight, food is one thing for basic human survival ... but Halloween candy hopping is not. Again, you can find some legal costumes for your daughter rather than teaching her that stealing and your need-of-the-moment matters most.

It's good that you're thinking of the impact that all of this will have on your daughters. I just hope that you think about them when you decide to NOT steal because of the pain you'd be putting them through if you got caught, and jailed, and prosecuted, and sentenced, and jailed again. In the end ... is it worth it?!

I disagree slightly with what the first attorney wrote in reply. The level of retail fraud (misdemeanor 2nd or 3rd degree, or felony 1st degree) depends on both the value of what you stole and your prior convictions. (3rd degree = under $200 stolen ... 2nd degree = $200-$999 stolen, or $200 or less stolen with a prior retail fraud conviction of any level ... 1st degree felony = $1,000 or more stolen, or $200-$999 stolen with a 'true' prior Retail Fraud 2nd conviction.) If you stole less than $200 in merchandise, you cannot be charged with a felony retail fraud even if you have 30 prior shoplifting convictions. Since you didn't tell us how much the bullets cost, we can't tell you IF you might be charged with a felony. but I'm assuming that you didn't steal more than $200 in ammo ... since you were only trying to feed your family ... and how many shots do you need to do that, right?