My 17-year-old Son Was Arrested And Is Facing 3 Felony Charges In Ohio. Should I Hire A Private Attorney? What Should I Expect?

Location: Ohio

I’m a mom in Ohio, and my 17-year-old son was arrested yesterday. He’s now facing three felony charges:
- Grand theft auto
- Attempted grand theft auto
- Failure to comply/attempting to flee police during a traffic stop

From what I’ve been told, he allegedly attempted to steal a 2022 Kia Soul before stealing a 2019 Toyota Corolla. He was pulled over because the headlights weren’t on and allegedly attempted to flee from police.

We had his initial court hearing today. He was assigned a public defender, who advised me to come to court in person to try to get him released. My son appeared via Zoom from juvenile detention, and the judge denied his release fairly quickly.

He’s being held until at least October 28, when his pretrial hearing is scheduled.

I’ve never dealt with anything like this before, and I’m trying to understand how serious this situation is, what I should expect moving forward, and what I should be doing right now.

My biggest question is whether I should be looking into hiring a private criminal defense attorney or whether a public defender is generally just as capable of handling a case like this.

I’m not assuming that paying for an attorney automatically means better representation, but given that he’s 17 and facing multiple felonies, I want to make sure I’m doing everything I reasonably can to protect his future.

I’d really appreciate advice on a few things:
• Is there any particular reason to hire a private attorney instead of working with his assigned public defender?
• What questions should I be asking his attorney at this stage?
• What should I expect at the pretrial hearing, and what does the process generally look like after that?
• Is there a possibility of his case being transferred to adult court because of his age or the nature of the charges?
• What factors typically influence whether a juvenile is released from detention while awaiting further hearings?
• Are there things I should or shouldn’t be doing as his parent while the case is pending?

I’m not looking for anyone to excuse what happened or minimize the seriousness of the allegations. I understand that these are significant charges, and if he’s responsible, there need to be consequences.

I just want to make sure I’m making informed decisions and not overlooking something important because I have absolutely no experience with the legal system.

I’d especially appreciate hearing from Ohio criminal defense attorneys, juvenile court professionals, or parents who have been through something similar.