thank you so much for answering, we have not yet gotton a letter in the mail because it happened today and they said that they will be sending us a letter soon

but the officer that came did tell us sooner or later we will be going to court and paying, will we still have to pay the fine if we are going to court?

Not necessarily, it depends on what happens in court. Wait until you get something in the mail and then repost on this forum based on what comes in the mail. It could be a summons or it could just be a demand letter. I'm not sure how much you stole, but stores don't usually follow through with lawsuits for small amounts, it just isn't worth their time.

they said it was around 200 for an estimate and it was less than a felony, and thanks we will repost after we get the mail

also when speaking, they didnt read us our rights, were they suppose to?

They would only read you were rights if you were arrested and from what you've stated it doesn't sound like you were arrested.

*your rights

do you know how long it would take for our letters to come?

I don't have a clue, I assume it can vary a lot.

when we were talking to the cop he said that this will effect our financial aid, and colleges and jobs can see this, but then later on he told us that if we go to court and stay out of trouble then it will go away, can you clarify what he might meant by this?

I can't, you are just going to have to wait and see what happens.