Domenic John Lombardo's Answers

2nd Degree Burglary

There is an extremely high likelihood that this matter will be filed as a misdemeanor, not a felony. You won't face any more jail time. You may be able to avoid a conviction entirely if the retailer agrees to a civil compromise. In any event, the court will not impose drug conditions in a matter resulting in summary probation or where there is no basis to order testing.

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I would like to dismiss the attorney I hired to represent my son, he has done nothing to defend him. How much time do I have?

You cannot "fire" the attorney. The attorney is ethically, legally and morally bound to your son, not to you. The decision to continue with the attorney is your son's to make, not yours. On the other hand, your son has the right to the attorney of his choice. If he cannot hire another attorney he should act quickly to ask his present attorney to arrange for the Public Defender's Office to be appointed. Although he cannot choose his P.D., some of the best attorneys in the County work as P.D's.

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I just went to court for an incident involving my Pitbulls and another dog, but was wondering if the case could continue...

The man can file a civil suit against you even after you have resolved your criminal case. He does have a case but as he will have trouble proving any damages he will have trouble finding a lawyer to pursue this case. Be careful with those dogs - the next case could result in severe criminal and civil liability because you are on notice the dogs are aggressive. In any event, you are strictly liable for the damage caused by your dogs; meaning, no finding of fault is necessary to hold you...

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My son received a ticket with a violation code and section 488 - Petty Theft, can you give me some guidance?

The Office of the Public Defender provides excellent representation but only for those matters that have already proceeded to court. A private attorney is in a position to work on the case before the first court date. You should consult with a private criminal defense attorney to determine exactly what work, if any, is necessary to possibly improve your son's legal situation in the event charges are filed.

3rd dui. I was sentenced to work furlough today. I tried to turn myself in to do jail time instead and wasn't admitted.

If this is a San Diego matter, call work furlough (619) 232 -8600 and see if they will take you as surrender. If they won’t take you, you must appear in court immediately to have your case added-on to the court calendar where you were sentenced. If your matter is downtown San Diego, and if you show up at court before 8:30 A.M., they will put you on the morning calendar, if you show at a later time but before 12 P.M they will add you on for the afternoon. If the warrant gets issued they may not...

What kind of time is he looking at for a robbery?

This answer is a duplicate of my answer which was submitted in error under a misspelled screen name: The determination of whether an out-of-state offense actually qualifies as a serious or violent felony ("strike") in California is a complex question. Many theft offenses from other states do not automatically qualify as strikes here in California because some element of the offense is materially different from that here in California. I have recently had success challenging alleged strikes...

How can we go about getting my friend out of jail?

Yes, the probation officer can arrest a probationer where probable cause exits to believe that a violation of probation has occurred. Felony probation violations typically result in a no bail hold on a defendant until he or she is produced in court for a hearing as to whether probation has been violated. The probationer can request bail at this hearing, or a release on his or her own recognizance.

How should we proceed with our son on informal probation and getting caught shoplifting

Your son may have been placed on informal supervision without admitting the conduct in the old case. This means that it may not be too late to fight that old charge. In that case, your son will face charges in a new petition filed by the Distinct Attorney that will include charges relating to the old matter and charges relating to the new matter. On the other hand, if he was given informal probation after admitting the conduct in the old matter, he will now face disposition (sentencing) on the...

If someone is found with cocaine on them and one of the charges is intent to sell can they still be eligible for diversion?

No. Diversion is not available even without the intent to sell charge because of the battery charge. The best defense in a case like this is to demonstrate illegal police entry of the house. If this can be proved, the charges may be dismissed.

4 Warrants and only one surrenders

You will possibly get a benefit on the issue of bail. The court looks favorably on people who surrender rather than those picked-up after running from a warrant. An attorney can only advise you to surrender on the warrant; in any event, it would be impossible to predict how you would fare relative to the others simply because you surrendered earlier in the case.