Q: What’s my punishment? I got mixed in with the wrong people and made a dumb move! I stole my grandmothers credit card and used it for $450. I live in Pennsylvania. Charges are in Allegheny County. I’m under ARD consideration. This is my first offense ever. On my court papers its charged as class C misdemeanor.

A: I don’t know what a class C misdemeanor is. If you are guilty or have no defense, Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition would be a good option for you. With ARD, if you receive it, you will get probation, have to pay costs and fines and may have other conditions, like restitution to the victim and community service. The greatest feature of ARD is that once you complete the program, the DA of Allegheny County will expunge your record. Normally, a defendant has to pay an attorney to do this.