As a security guard for the county I live in, I stole a laptop from my place of employment. I was arrested, spent the night in jail, posted bail and was released after given a date to come to court. When I checked in to the court clerk, she said my name was not on the list and I could go home. She said the D.A must not have filed any charges against me yet. She signed my court documents saying I had shown up but can go home. Forward, four months later, still nothing. There is a website I visit every day that shows what is happening with my case, currently, there is no activity. The D.A has up to a year and a half to file the case. If they don't file within that time frame, the case goes away. I think the reason they have not filed is because they have more important cases to file first. I am probably on the bottom of the list but I think they will get to me eventually. Best case scenario, they don't file in time and the charges go away, worst case scenario, they charge me with Grand Theft ( my lawyer assures me this will never happen, if it does get filed, he will have them drop it to a misdemeanor theft charge. He is the former D.A for the county and the best defense lawyer in the county, and therefore, knows what can happen and how it will go down.) I understand that I cannot do anything until this all goes away. My question is this, If I am convicted of misdemeanor theft, can I still join the AF? Given the right waivers and such? Except for this charge, I had a clean record, no past trouble, no drugs or alcohol. The worst part is the waiting! If they do file and I get probation, that is even more waiting!

(Needless to say, I was a complete idiot in stealing that laptop and have regretted it every waking moment since it happened, I want a future in Law Enforcement and may have completely destroyed my future by doing this. That is why I want to join the AF Security Forces, get some experience, put four years behind this, and hopefully join a department. Thank you for your helps and comments.)

There is a little icon in the right hand corner of the post to edit.

There is always a waiver my friend. Once you find out one way or another on this issue getting charged and what not, explain the whole thing to a recruiter. Your life is not over, and you havn't screwed up all that bad. Just do right in the future and you'll be fine.

I would hope there is no waiver for a thief. My son was home for a 4 week leave and returned to his base to find over $3,500 of his "stuff" stolen. Once a thief, always a thief.

And BTW, your comments and rational rely on the incompetence of our judicial system not doing their job. If you’re praying that the bureaucracy saves your butt, well I hope the more intelligent powers to be see through it. I’m proud of what my son has sacrificed (and each and every man and women of our armed forces), but I deplore liars and thieves and hope there is some modicum of dignity left that is focused on the core values. I am truly proud of the Air Force and the character for which protects my/our freedom each and every day.

Sorry to be harsh, but you do not appear to be what our country needs.

I'm pretty sure you'll be able to join, just take the practice ASVAB for a recruiter and try to impress him and he will do his best to get you in, which you probably will.

But, i'm not sure if you will get the job you want, because I currently have a contract for that job (SF) and it requires a secret security clearence, which might be an issue if you have a theft charge.. but maybe not. i dont know.. just dont get your hopes up.

but you can get in.. your choices may just be limited

Have you thought about the other services? They might take you.

Perhaps "Fast Food Service"

quote:

Originally posted by AirmansDad:
And BTW, your comments and rational rely on the incompetence of our judicial system not doing their job. If you’re praying that the bureaucracy saves your butt, well I hope the more intelligent powers to be see through it. I’m proud of what my son has sacrificed (and each and every man and women of our armed forces), but I deplore liars and thieves and hope there is some modicum of dignity left that is focused on the core values. I am truly proud of the Air Force and the character for which protects my/our freedom each and every day.

Sorry to be harsh, but you do not appear to be what our country needs.

Perhaps, sir, you meant well by this post. I do agree that liars and thieves are deplorable... but i can think of worst offenders, such as rapists and child molesters. I do find your last line to be more than harsh "...you do not appear to be what our country needs." How, possibly, are you able to perceive what his character is? Thievery is no light matter, but (and to risk putting myself in the same boat of perceiving a stranger on the other side of the internet and basing opinions off of simple words) the guy appears to be sincerely apologetic and wanting to amend his mistake.

Be proud of your son. You have much to be proud about. But this guy here is another man's son...don't you think his father would like to feel the same about his flesh and blood?

We all have our flaws, we have all made our mistakes...how sad would it be though if we had to walk about with a black mark tattooed over ourselves, hindering any opportunities to come along and help prove our true potential.

scarhead8711...i'm just a noob, really...so i have no solid advice to give you...the only thing i can think of is this: always be true to yourself and true to others. if there is something that you want...go for it...perhaps you may have to go the long way around to get to that destination, but as you know, for every action there is a consequence, whether it's good or bad. keep your chin up, your conscience clear, and your shoulders squared towards your future...best of luck!

quote:

Originally posted by AirmansDad:
I would hope there is no waiver for a thief. My son was home for a 4 week leave and returned to his base to find over $3,500 of his "stuff" stolen. Once a thief, always a thief.

I feel bad for your son, but that is the reason they say to keep everything locked up and safe. Even though you are in a honorable institution there are not so honorable people in it sometimes.

But it really sounds as if this guy knows what he did is wrong and wants to correct it. If we locked up theives forever and never let them out and give them a second chance just think how many people would be in prison.

People who want to change can.

People who say they will change after getting punished who are dishonest about it are a differnt story.

People need to learn to forgive sometimes

I'd think you would have to wait for the pending charges to be dropped... As there is no activity on your case, what happens if you go to Basic and then there comes a warrant out for some stupid reason concerning the case. I'd try and get it taken care of before you join.

What disturbs me is that this theft did not occur as a naive, teenager w** is now an adult and trying to change his ways. This was **ly five m**ths ago and was serving as a security guard at the time. He was trusted with the security of another company's equipment pers**nel? That I am not sure, but nevertheless, to steal property from your employer w** has entrusted with you with protecting them, is maybe not some**e I would entrust in leading and protecting our country. I think it is good that the poster has learned a less** and wants to make something of his future, but I am doubtful that the Air Force will be the place.

As I said in my first post, What I did was irresponsible and utterly deplorable. I made a mistake and I will be paying for it for the rest of my life but that's just it, a mistake. I have seen the error of my ways and am trying to make amends. I want to better myself and I see the AF as the perfect way to do it. I will get some discipline and direction in my life, which will only make me a better person. To all the people who have made positive comments on me and my situation, I thank you. To the negative comments, all I can say is that I am not a criminal, I made a bad judgment and it will never happen again. As I said, I had a perfect record before this happened. I have seen the error of my ways and I understand what is on the line for me. I cannot do anything until this case goes underway. That can take days, months,years. All I can do now is start preparing for the future and hoping for the best. Also, AirmansDad, I am not counting on the judicial system failing and I get to walk, Whatever the outcome is, I will accept it. The purpose of this post is to see what the chances are of me getting into the AF with a misdemeanor theft charge because in all fairness, that is the charge I will most likely get. Again, Thank you to all who have replied with your comments. Side note: In HS I took the ASVAB test administered by the military, scored a 92, so I know I can get SF

This message has been edited. Last edited by: scarhead8711,

Scarhead: Don't quit because of past mistakes and lapses in judgment. A one time theft doesn't make you a career criminal or a bad person. As long as it was just a one time thing!!!

As a police officer, I have worked with young people trying to enlist and learned that typically the recruiters won't take you if you have any pending charges. They don't want to send you to basic only to have the DA come looking for you because your case came up on their docket.

I would speak to an attorney. The DA in your area may drop the charges if you are in the process of enlisting. I have agreed to allow minor cases to be dropped if the defendant enlisted. They may stipulate that if you don't go through with joining the charges will be re-instated, but like I said, talk to an attorney.

There are a lot of attorneys who will offer free consultation and may help you with this.

Thank you sir, I do have a lawyer, the best one I could get. He is the former D.A for the county I live in, now he is a defense attorney. I have thought about what you said before, about asking for the charges to be dropped if I enlist.I just hope they don't choose which branch of the military I go to, since I have my heart set of the AF. I have to just wait for them to make the first move first though. I just got off the phone with a recruiter and he says I have to wait until this is all over with ( no surprise there ). This was a one-time thing and will never happen again.

When I said you might not get SF, it's not because of your ASVAB, but because of the clearence. It might be hard to get a SECRET clearance when you have just been charged with theft.

quote:

Originally posted by AirmansDad:
Sorry to be harsh, but you do not appear to be what our country needs.

I actually have to laugh at this. You don't think there are thieves IN the AF right as we speak? Talk to any ADPE custodian who's lives are a living hell keeping track of hundreds of thousands of dollars of pilferable items. You don't even WANT to get me started on the magical disappearances of thumbdrives. Cut the kid some slack, he seems like he's willing to man up to it and has learned his lesson.

Yeah scar, you were a complete idiot stealing your employer's laptop. Just make sure that when you are asked about this stuff when the time comes to join you remain completely honest about it. I'm pretty sure a one time offense, won't get you disqualified and if your recruiter thinks you are worth something he/she may be willing to take a chance with you and be willing to work with their chain of command to get you in if any complications arise. You seem to want to make a future for yourself so cut out the stealing and make sure you actually earn any future toys.

Edit: Your former work place is prosecuting the theft right? Perhaps your attorney will be able to get the judge to rule that you just return the item instead of any jail time or anything. I don't *think* they send you into the military for commiting crimes, that seems like something they did "back in the day" I haven't heard of anyone recently doing it, but I do know one guy that actually got sent to the Air Force instead of jail. (I think his dad knew the judge.)

Thanks for the comments Eclair. Upon the arrest, I confessed and gave them back the laptop, so they did get the laptop back. I talked to my lawyer about the "enlist instead of a charge" idea and he said that they didn't do that anymore. He did say that if they give me probation, they can lessen the time if I show them proof I am going to enlist. The recruiter I spoke with also said that he couldn't help me with anything until all of this was over but he will be checking up on me monthly. He did say he would have a hard time getting me in but that it IS possible. Of course, he doesn't know anything about me as a person just yet, we only spoke on the phone for about 5 minutes so Im taking his comment about having a hard time with me, with a grain of salt.

You can not join why you have pending law violations. Until the matter is resolved, you can not join.

Once the matter is resolved, it will require a waiver of some sort. Depending on the disposition, ie charge, restitution, probation etc.

Each Commander is different when it comes to approving waivers. My commander won't even bother with a theft charge. Shoplifting is a different story, but even then, if it was INTENTIONAL shoplifting, he will deny the waiver.

You worked for a company you stole from, hired for protecting that company no less. Now you want to join the AF where we have multi million dollars worth of assets and your coworkers are supposed to trust you. As a recruiter, I wouldn't even bother doing the waiver.

quote:

Originally posted by Eclaire:. I don't *think* they send you into the military for commiting crimes, that seems like something they did "back in the day" I haven't heard of anyone recently doing it, but I do know one guy that actually got sent to the Air Force instead of jail. (I think his dad knew the judge.)

That is actually illegal for all branches now. If you get your charged dismissed on the fact that you are or will join the military, you will NEVER be allowed to join.

Across all branches, there were too many people avoiding jail and it did not create the best of troops.

USAFAnne, So you would completely blow me off if I were to come into the recruiter's office and ask for your help? That seems a bit too harsh. I understand what I did was wrong and I now want to make myself a better person, all I'm asking is for help on making that come true. I understand that nothing can be done until this is all over with! I understand! I keep saying that nothing can be done until my problem is taken care of yet people keep repeating it.