Trouble as a minor. Advice is welcome.

[capsalot]

When I was minor I had gotten into trouble with a class b misdemeanor. I was never charged or cited for the incident. I sent my package in for my CHL back in November and at the beginning of the year I got a letter from the DPS stating that I had an arrest 3 months after the incident took place.

I only had to go and talk with a Probation Officer and she had told me that the charges were suspended. I later found out that the "talk" with the P.O. was only a scare tactic to keep me out of trouble.

It struck me as odd to get this letter because I have been through several other background checks for jobs and the military, and I know atleast 2 of the checks were NCIS.

My question is.

Has anyone been through anything similar to this? and if so how did you handle it?

What is the best way to go about this ordeal?

Thanks in advance.

[RoyGBiv]

Hopefully a lawyer will be along soon with a firm answer (IANAL), but an "arrest" is not a "conviction"...
You also don't say how long ago this incident took place... "When I was a minor" could be yesterday or, in my case, a very long time ago.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administra ... chlaws.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Eligibility
(8) has not, in the five years preceding the date of application, been convicted of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code;

[capsalot]

Let me add a few more details.

I wasn't arrested, although it says I was.

The Police Officer took my information, called my parents and they came and got me from the scene.

The date of the "arrest" according to the letter was 08/21/2006. The incident took place on July 4, 2006.

I was never convicted, ticketed, or cited, and I never had to see a judge which I assume means I wasn't charged.

I called the county and the PD today and neither found any records on me.

Would I have to contact the juvenille facility possibly?

[KC5AV]

Since they have no record, you should be able to get a certified disposition from the jurisdiction indicating that they have no record of an arrest. That should at least get the ball rolling toward straightening this out.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

[RoyGBiv]

Again, IANAL...

Did DPS deny your license? What'd they say exactly?
Are they saying you have been "charged" and the disposition is still pending?
There is an eligibility requirement that would allow them to do so if something like this is still pending..

Arrested... is still not... Charged...

(4) is not charged with the commission of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or of a felony under an information or indictment;

[redlin67]

I had an arrest when I was a minor, I supplied documentation that that nothing could be found and had no problem getting approved. Mine was more serious than a class B, but records as a minor are supposed to be sealed.

[sjfcontrol]

Underage records are NOT sealed from DPS (at least those in Texas are not), and will show up in the background check.

[Charles L. Cotton]

If the letter is asking for more information, just get the letter stating they have no record of an arrest or anything else. If the letter was rejecting your CHL application, you need to send a letter to DPS telling them you want to appeal the decision and you only have 30 days to do so. Send me a PM with your phone number if you want to talk about this.

Chas.

When I was minor I had gotten into trouble with a class b misdemeanor. I was never charged or cited for the incident. I sent my package in for my CHL back in November and at the beginning of the year I got a letter from the DPS stating that I had an arrest 3 months after the incident took place.

I only had to go and talk with a Probation Officer and she had told me that the charges were suspended. I later found out that the "talk" with the P.O. was only a scare tactic to keep me out of trouble.

It struck me as odd to get this letter because I have been through several other background checks for jobs and the military, and I know atleast 2 of the checks were NCIS.

My question is.

Has anyone been through anything similar to this? and if so how did you handle it?

What is the best way to go about this ordeal?

Thanks in advance.

[capsalot]

I will spare you all the actual details of the letter, but simplified it states that my DPS packet was incomplete.

They highlighted a part of the packet that states:

"If the charges were dropped by the arresting agency, submit a certified County Clerk and District Clerk record search in the county where the arrest occured, beginning with the year of your arrest to the present date that indicates no records were found."

"we must have certified copies of the judgment and sentence from the courts."

That is the part I am not sure about, because there was no judgement and sentence from the courts.

I am going to attempt to get a letter from the County Clerk like Charles said. That seems to be the best place to start.

Although if the background check from DPS found something, I would assume the County Clerk would too.

[Tamie]

1. Get a letter from the clerk of the court saying no records are found.
2. Send the letter to DPS.
3 ?
4. Profit!

[dicion]

I will spare you all the actual details of the letter, but simplified it states that my DPS packet was incomplete.

They highlighted a part of the packet that states:

"If the charges were dropped by the arresting agency, submit a certified County Clerk and District Clerk record search in the county where the arrest occured, beginning with the year of your arrest to the present date that indicates no records were found."

"we must have certified copies of the judgment and sentence from the courts."

That is the part I am not sure about, because there was no judgement and sentence from the courts.

I am going to attempt to get a letter from the County Clerk like Charles said. That seems to be the best place to start.

Although if the background check from DPS found something, I would assume the County Clerk would too.

See, I have an issue with this, mainly because they plainly said that they only found an 'arrest', and no charge or conviction.
Personally, I'd call and/or write them back and go "...and? So? Did you find a charge? No? A Conviction? No? Then I don't have to send anything, because those 2 items are the only things that can prevent it."

But that's me, and I enjoy playing hardball and making people do their jobs when they don't want to sometimes

Mainly, my issue is the whole 'guilty until proven innocent' approach that they take towards this aspect. They make it your responsibility to prove that you are, in fact, clean, rather than do the stinkin' work themselves. IMO, they should have to have proof that you were charged/convicted before they could even try to reject anything... but that's my perfect world.

[Charles L. Cotton]

I will spare you all the actual details of the letter, but simplified it states that my DPS packet was incomplete.

They highlighted a part of the packet that states:

"If the charges were dropped by the arresting agency, submit a certified County Clerk and District Clerk record search in the county where the arrest occured, beginning with the year of your arrest to the present date that indicates no records were found."

"we must have certified copies of the judgment and sentence from the courts."

That is the part I am not sure about, because there was no judgement and sentence from the courts.

I am going to attempt to get a letter from the County Clerk like Charles said. That seems to be the best place to start.

Although if the background check from DPS found something, I would assume the County Clerk would too.

See, I have an issue with this, mainly because they plainly said that they only found an 'arrest', and no charge or conviction.
Personally, I'd call and/or write them back and go "...and? So? Did you find a charge? No? A Conviction? No? Then I don't have to send anything, because those 2 items are the only things that can prevent it."

But that's me, and I enjoy playing hardball and making people do their jobs when they don't want to sometimes

Mainly, my issue is the whole 'guilty until proven innocent' approach that they take towards this aspect. They make it your responsibility to prove that you are, in fact, clean, rather than do the stinkin' work themselves. IMO, they should have to have proof that you were charged/convicted before they could even try to reject anything... but that's my perfect world.

Knowing there were no charges does seem to make it unnecessary to pursue this arrest, but Gov't Code §411.174(b)(7) does require disclosure of arrests. Since 411.184(a)(2) makes failure to disclose a material fact grounds for revocation, it would be unwise not to cooperate with DPS. They could simply deny the license. The only way he could then get his CHL would be by appealing the denial based upon the DPS's definition of an "arrest." (He may not have been arrested in spite of whatever came to DPS's attention.) But it would be his word against some record that apparently is available to DPS.

Chas.

(b) An applicant must provide on the application a statement of the applicant's:

(1) full name and place and date of birth;
(2) race and sex;
(3) residence and business addresses for the preceding five years;
(4) hair and eye color;
(5) height and weight;
(6) driver's license number or identification certificate number issued by the department;
(7) criminal history record information of the type maintained by the department under this chapter, including a list of offenses for which the applicant was arrested, charged, or under an information or indictment and the disposition of the offenses; and
(8) history, if any, of treatment received by, commitment to, or residence in:

(A) a drug or alcohol treatment center licensed to provide drug or alcohol treatment under the laws of this state or another state, but only if the treatment, commitment, or residence occurred during the preceding five years; or

(B) a psychiatric hospital.

[srothstein]

Just to clarify, there was an arrest. If the officer stopped you and held you until your parents came to pick you up, you were arrested. You may not have been formally charged, but you were arrested. I cannot explain why the difference in the date DPS found and the date you remember. It could be a paperwork error or something similar.

But, their letter is not a rejection, just a request for more information. I know it says they want the disposition of the charges, but that is just a form letter. Most people who are arrested get charged and have a more formal disposition than you did. You just need the letter from the PD saying they have no records from the arrest and no record of any charges or convictions.

When you do call them, make sure they know to check their juvenile records also. In some departments, the computer records for juveniles are kept in separate files from the adult suspects. If you call them now as an adult, the clerk may not think about also checking the juvenile records unless you specifically ask them to. Even if you say you were a minor, it may not click without the request.

[sjfcontrol]

It was my understanding that you aren't considered arrested unless you've been photographed and printed. Is that not the case?

[Charles L. Cotton]

It was my understanding that you aren't considered arrested unless you've been photographed and printed. Is that not the case?

That is the DPS definition for CHL application reporting purposes and this would be controlling in an appeal of a denial based upon failure to disclose a material fact. That's what I was referring to in my post.

Chas.