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Please help me, my 19 year old son got charged with 3rd degree arson in Houston, TX.?
Bored one night him and 3 friends wrapped 25 Bic lighters with tape and lit it on fire to see what would happen, down deep in a cement stairwell, outside a building,it burned and popped and that was it, no damage was done, well, this happened to be on campus at Houston U. this was back in March, turns out there was an investigation and he is being charged with 3rd degree felony arson! possible 2-10 years in jail! My son has no criminal record and is a good church going kid! I am distraut over this, I thought there had to be damage to property to be charged with a felony? Can any lawyer out there advise me? One lawyer wants $10,000 and we live week to week. Can we depend on a court appointed lawyer?
9 Answers
- la buena brujaLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
What was a church going kid doing defacing a university? I'm so tired of people using that as an excuse. He's lucky that the lighters didn't cause more damage and (heaven-forbid) kills someone. He did the crime, let him do the time.
- 1 decade ago
Well, unfortunetly, your kid is over 18 and is now an adult. So, he's going to have to start acting like one.
The law doesn't care what his background is when they charge him. They charge according to the crime.
As for the public defender vs. private attorney. That all depends. I've run across a few good public defenders. It can't hurt to talk to one first and get his/her feeling on what your son might get out of this. I'd guess he's looking at probation & fines. Hopefully he can plea to a misdemeanor to keep a felony off his record. If you don't like what the PD has to say, then go hire a private. Keep in mind though, the PD most likely knows how the courts will handle this situation.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
no no no, do NOT take the court appointed lawyer unless you want your son to face the maximum sentence. they're a bunch of morons who barely know how to practice law! if your son was a good churchgoing kid and was bored why didn't he go bowling with is friends instead of set fire to a college campus? if he damaged anything whatsoever, he's liable.
- 1 decade ago
Hire a lawyer. Public defenders are not as competent as a private lawyer.
I know how you feel about your son. He made a big mistake, but thank God no one was hurt !!!!! Support him he is your son and no one else will help him but you. You know you son better and people make mistakes. People don't understand this it until it hits home. Good luck!!!!
Source(s): It can happen to anyone !!!! - How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
dear friend
Hiring a lawyer for minor legal problems can be expensive, but there are websites like LawGuru, FindLaw and other places where you can get free legal advice. I found this website useful - http://www.uelp.org/freelegal.html
- citronge69Lv 41 decade ago
Try the the site below. Hope it helps.
Source(s): http://www.unlockjustice.com/ - 1 decade ago
If this is his first offense, he probably will just get probation and some fines.
