Hey all.. I was arrested on January 30th, and have several charges (6). In the beginning it was 12, but we made a plea bargain, and I am down to:

1 charge of robbery
1 charge of attempted robbery
2 charges of wearing a mask during the commission of a crime
2 charges of possession of an imitation firearm for the purpose of committing a crime (it was a pellet handgun)

This was my first offence..I've graduated high school, I had a job at the time of the arrest (had been working at Canadian Tire for 5 months), I have a great family, don't hang out with the wrong people, and I mean I AM a good person! I've been doing volunteer work for the last month or so, and plan on making a career of the army one day. So anyways, I've already pled guilty to those 6 charges, and my sentencing has been set for July 17th. The robbery/attempted robbery were very quick, I was calm, I held the gun at waist level, and no one was physically hurt. Anyways, I spent the weekend in a juvenile facility (Quinte) while awaiting my bail hearing. I got along with all the inmates, and it wasn't too bad of an experience. I'm not worried or scared about what's ahead, I'm just more curious about everything. Because I just NEED to know what I'm going to be sentenced to! Does anyone have any reasonable estimates? Another thing..when (if) I turn 18 behind bars (my bday is nov 6), do I then get moved to the adult stream? I am not being charged as an adult. Any responses would be very much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

-Chris. :)

Welcome to PTO Chris.. I don't have the answers but someone will probably come along who can help you. I wish you the best.

Hi and welcome to PTO.

Wow well where to start. As you are and haved been charged as a juvenille I would assume you would do your time in a juvy facility, even after turning 18. I am not 100 percent sure about that and I will do some phoning around tomorrow and see what I can find out for you.

Your lawyer should be able to give you a pretty good estimate of what your sentence will be as he would have to speak to the prosecutor and agree on some sort of time.

I am glad you have a good support network in your family. If possible get them to ask your lawyer what is going on.

I will post here tomorrow when I am better informed on juvenille cases. Its been a very long time since my son was in juvy LOL.

Gillian

ty for the welcome/replies! As for the lawyer.. when I still had 12 charges, when I hadn't made a deal yet, I asked "so if I pled guilty to everything RIGHT NOW, about how much time would I get? Just a guess?" All he said was "Well, that's really hard to guess at this point.. but something like 6 months IS a possibility." and that was it. So whether or not I can just assume "6 months in jail" is reliable or not, I don't know.

That is a very light sentence and I hope you do only get a few months. Do your time and go home and get on with your life. My son started doing drugs and stealing when he was 13. He has been in and out, mostly in, for the last 16 years. He went through juvy, provincial and now he is doing time in a federal prison.

Incarceration in not a nice life and that is a total understatement.

I'll get back to you tomorrow have a good night.

Gillian

Hey ! When you did your guilty plea you should have had an estimate then but as far as in ontario if yu are charged as a YO then you do your time in YO no matter your age! my x was in and out all his life and he had to do some YO time when he was 18 on old charges! If you need any other help you can pm me here! I am 23 now and my man is doing a life-13 sentence since we were 19 ! Before that he was in and out since he was 12! Good luck! Do your itme and get home to your family! Just remebr to keep your head up! Stevesboo23

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Welcome to PTO! I'm glad you found us and I hope Gillian can answer your questions for you.... I hope when you get out that you don't make these kind of choices again.... Will Canadian Tire hold your job for you? If you do end up with a short sentence you may want to talk to them about it....

Deb

Welcome to PTO Chris!

I agree with the above. In washington state, if you are charged as a minor you will remain in a juvenile facility up until the age of 21.

Good luck,
Kelli

Hi
Sorry for the delay in getting this to you. I spoke with some lawyers and the John Howard society and here is the scoop:

If it is a first offence and the crown has not asked for you to be sentenced as an adult you will go to juvy. All of your time will be done there regardless of your age.

After 1/3 of your time you are eligible for parole and may be allowed out. If not, you will do 2/3 of your time. If you are considered "lowrisk", not a threat to yourself or the community you may be eligible for house arrest.

Everyone has suggested that your lawyer should talk to the crown and then share the information with you. I think that would be best as it sure would be nice to know what is going on when you go into court to be sentenced.

Hope this helps and please keep us updated.

Gillian

:) Thanks for all the responses! Definitely helpful.

Deb - Nope, I was forced to quit my job at Canadian Tire. They didn't have a problem with me or anything..the boss just explained to me that I was now "an insurance risk."

Thx for clearing up that thing about turning 18 behind bars and stuff, I wasn't too sure about that. And as for the parole - I had no idea that was even an issue with my situation! Because I'm expecting a relatively light sentence and I'm a YO, so I didn't think parole was a possibility.

But anyways, this week we finally set up an appointment with the lawyer, so I'm really looking forward to that. It's this Tuesday (July 15th) so I'll let ya know how it goes! After that I probably won't be on..ex gf is coming to my sentencing (she gets here on the 16th..and yes, I love her for comin for me! :) ) So I probably won't really be on the computer.

-Chris

Let us know for sure. I'll be sending positive thoughts your way on Tuesday.

Gillian

Hoorah!! Sorry for not keeping you updated.. well, half my sentencing took place on the 17th.. my lawyer submitted all of his stuff, but then the judge had a train to catch, so we moved the rest to today! (monday) So it went ahead..no jail, got 6 months house arrest, followed by 12 months probation. So that's good news :)

Hoorah is RIGHT!!!! I am so happy to hear this. I'm glad it worked out so well. Please don't be a stranger, stop in and let us know how you are doing from time to time.
Hopefully this will be the first and last time you have to have anything to do with the "injustice" system
Gillian