Diabetic Mom Arrested After Brain Surgery
My mom was arrested 2 days ago at Walmart for not scanning items in self checkout. She was taken to jail and has her first court date tomorrow at 9am.
How should she plead? Guilty, not guilty, no contest?
Here are some details:
her blood sugar was low (below 60), monitoring device was beeping repeatedly to alert her
she said she was feeling light headed and confused
she had intense brain surgery less than 6 months ago
said it was an honest mistake, and simply missed items while scanning bc she couldn’t hear the beep (she is deaf in 1 ear)
Cop did not want to take her to jail, thought it was silly. Wrote on the report that her sugar was low and alert was going off.
She paid for over $200 worth of things
items not scanned were misc, like deodorant, a pack of chicken and a case of soda (when I went to get her groceries, I asked and they said they couldn’t remember what she didn’t pay for, but said it was around $200 worth)
Walmart had no other record of theft from her
first offensive, first time in legal trouble at all.
Ohio
Here is what the bonds man told her:
- she can plead guilty or no contest, and it will end tomorrow. She will have a lifetime ban from Walmart, have to do community service, and pay a fee.
Or
- she can plead not guilty and will get a public defender and a court date for trial.
I’m wondering if it’s worth it to plead not guilty. She is older, unhealthy, and poor. So not a lot of money for fines or court costs.
Not sure what to do here, our family is inexperienced with the court system. Any advice appreciated. TIA.
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