Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

Re: I am scared that i will have to go to jail and miss my childs birth

If this is your first theft offense, do not worry at all about going to jail. When you go to court, check in with the court clerk and ask to speak with the prosecutor. When you talk with him/her, you will be offered some type of settlement of the charges by plea agreement. You may even be offered a chance to keep this off your record if you comply with conditions of probation. If, God forbid, the prosecutor is asking for jail time, you should tell them you want to plead not guilty, get your case set for another hearing, and you will be free to leave until the next hearing date. That way you can attend your child's birth without any worries. Good luck and congratulations!

Re: I am scared that i will have to go to jail and miss my childs birth

If you have no prior record of similar offenses, first time theft cases, unless the amount of loss is large, generally are about trying to avoid a criminal record of conviction (rather than avoiding jail time). Jail time isn't fun, but once it is over it may be soon forgotten. A criminal conviction record, however can have lifelong, negative effects on income, employment opportunities, apartment rentals, travel, and reputation in general. I think you would be well advised to have a good criminal defense lawyer represent you. The cost of that would be a tiny fraction of the lifetime cost of having a conviction record.