Theft vs. Joyriding in NJ Explained

If you have a child that has been giving you a difficult time and may have taken your car without your permission, and in seeing that your child did that, you went ahead and called the police, that child might have been charged with theft of an automobile. It's important to understand that you should be hiring an attorney immediately to begin to deal with these charges. In order to prove that it was a theft, the state would have to show that your son or daughter intended to deprive you of that car permanently. It generally sounds more like a joyriding offense, which is a lesser offense than a theft of an automobile. And basically, that would be where they're taking a car without the owner's permission, but with the intent to at some point return it.

So again, it's important that in order to make sure your child is appropriately dealt with in court, that you hire an attorney who is experienced dealing with these charges, with the prosecutor's office, and with the judges for who's handling this case in order to have the best possible outcome for your child and prevent this mistake from ruining their future.