It was her first arrest. But it wasn’t her first time stealing.
After being arrested for shoplifting $350 worth of clothing from a local retailer, Margarita found herself remanded to Reach for Youth by Marion County Juvenile Probation.
She took advantage of the opportunity to tell the truth in her registration appointment by admitting that she had shoplifted on eight prior occasions in a variety of stores. Reach for Youth made the most of this breakthrough.
Margarita entered into an intensive ninety days of counseling. She participated in Peer Pressure and Conversion group workshops where she learned to recognize when she was being led or pushed down dangerous paths and to find avenues out of those situations. Margarita testified before and later heard testimony from the jury box at Teen Court.
Over those ninety days she committed to hold herself accountable and accept consequences for her actions. She completed sixteen hours of community service, ten hours of restitution to her parents, offered a verbal apology to her parents before Marion County Court and submitted a written apology to the store.
With some help from the Reach for Youth counselors and her family, Margarita was able to move forward with her life without any formal charges being filed and kept her record clean. In Teen Court she found a positive experience that helped divert her from a pattern of criminal behavior.
In 2009, Margarita received an academic scholarship to Ball State University. She is majoring in Elementary Education.
