New Jersey legal advice/difficulty...please help?

I am seventeen and a few months a go I was arrested for doing something I shouldn't have done with my friends that involved automobiles, it was stupid and dumb and I immediately regretted it. The officers that processed me said that I would go before an informal committee of peers and at most be sentenced to community service and fines. Now, I've got a letter in the mail that said i will go before a judge as a formal hearing and that I could face jail time and fines. Not only am I confused as to what will happen, but the letter said the the hearing will take place when I'm 18 even though the incident happened when I was 17, does that influence anything at all?





Charges:


Theft to the fourth degree


Burglary to the third degree


Criminal Mischief





What is the maximum punishment for this type of crime and what is the minimum aside from being let go scott-free.New Jersey legal advice/difficulty...please help?
look this up on your states website, see if there are any reduced pleas that might be offered. Get as much info as possible to work in your favor. Also, see if the verbally statement by the 1st officer is applicable, was it in writing? Good luck, hope this is the end of that career.New Jersey legal advice/difficulty...please help?
You need to talk to a lawyer not a bunch of yahoo answer people. This is serious.
Hire a lawyer NOW. He/She can start the paperwork to prevent the hearing.
You really need to get a lawyer. Going to court when you are 18 means that you can be prosecuted as an adult, you are no longer a juvenile.





You can have a lawyer assigned to you, that is the law, but that will happen on the day of your court appearance, just like you stated above. That date will be a hearing, and then it will go to court, where you could be sentenced.





When you go to court get dressed up, wear a suit and tie, get a haircut, and look like you're squared away. Be very mannerly and act mature. That all helps!