I was arrested, but never actually charged with anything several years ago, will this affect me?

DWebb98

New Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2015
Messages
2
A couple years ago I was arrested for misdemeanor evading arrest after running into a music festival without paying. I was given community service, but was released several hours after the innocdent was never charged with any crime. Is this something I should be worried about going into the application process for the Air Force Academy, or will I be alright since I was never actually charged with any crime.
 
All you can do is apply. When filling out paperwork ensure you understand if they are asking if you were arrested or have you been charged with a crime. You will run across both these questions, obviously one is a yes and the other a no.
 
Why were you "running into a music festival without paying"?
 
A couple years ago I was arrested for misdemeanor evading arrest after running into a music festival without paying. I was given community service, but was released several hours after the innocdent was never charged with any crime. Is this something I should be worried about going into the application process for the Air Force Academy, or will I be alright since I was never actually charged with any crime.

A "festival?" Who was playing? Men Without Hats?

Seriously, though, report it. Be honest and contrite. There are worse transgressions. No one can tell you how it will play out with Admissions.
 
Disclose, disclose, disclose. You have a record and this will be a part of the application process.

Also please be very realistic about your chances of admission in realizing that you will be competing against thousands of other candidates that did not evade arrest after running into a music festival without paying.
 
First, you should get a disposition of arrest from the court that handled your case. Sometimes you can be charged with a misdemeanor and are found guilty of a violation. Also because you did community service, you were charged with something. If this was a violation, it might have been sealed or vacated after completion of the community service, depending on the state. In some states, if you are a minor and the sentence is sealed or vacated you do not have to disclose the arrest since all records would have been pulled from the system. So basically get the disposition and start from there to see exactly what the outcome was.
 
You are best off being honest and disclosing this. At some point, there will be a security clearance check performed on you, and if something shows up there that you did not disclose, there will be consequences.

In fact, knowing this is in your background, it would be good now to think about a reply to "why did you do it" which encompasses not only the why but how it changed you and the impact it had on your life. This may come up in an interview at some point during the process.

Good luck.
 
First, you should get a disposition of arrest from the court that handled your case. Sometimes you can be charged with a misdemeanor and are found guilty of a violation. Also because you did community service, you were charged with something. If this was a violation, it might have been sealed or vacated after completion of the community service, depending on the state. In some states, if you are a minor and the sentence is sealed or vacated you do not have to disclose the arrest since all records would have been pulled from the system. So basically get the disposition and start from there to see exactly what the outcome was.

Great info from Annamaria. If the court mandated community service you probably don't have a conviction. But, even if you completed community service you would still have an arrest record. Contact the court and check. As Annamaria stated, if you were in the juvenile system the record is sealed and it is nobody's business.

Please clarify the charge. Evading arrest is avoiding prosecution. (Running from the police) Sneaking into the music festival would be considered theft or criminal trepass. Was there more than one charge?

Were you fingerprinted and photographed? If so you have an arrest record, conviction or not, that was reported by the arresting agency to the FBI. That will show up in a background check and will have to be disclosed on an application. I really hope you were a juvenile at the time of the offense. What state do you live in and how old were you at the time?
 
Were you fingerprinted and photographed? If so you have an arrest record, conviction or not, that was reported by the arresting agency to the FBI. That will show up in a background check and will have to be disclosed on an application. I really hope you were a juvenile at the time of the offense. What state do you live in and how old were you at the time?

To add to this, depending on the charge, case disposition, age and state, an arrest might not even be reported to the FBI. In fact it would be a crime for the federal government to look into such offense. The rules change from state to state. If you aren't sure, call your lawyer and he could tell you if you need to disclose it. If he doesn't deal with federal law, you might want to get a second opinion.
 
(With tongue firmly planted in cheek) I won't offer legal advice but do want to suggest some self improvement advice...

If you got caught by a local yokel, gate attendant, or music festival employee then I highly suggest you start working on your run speed and endurance. You may also want to work on escape and evasion techniques. Both will serve you well at the Academy and on active duty. ;)
 
You can also have one of your local Police officers run a check on your driver's license and see if any form of a personal file number or state record number shows up. If one does, that means there is an arrest and booking record on file for you.
 
You are best off being honest and disclosing this. At some point, there will be a security clearance check performed on you, and if something shows up there that you did not disclose, there will be consequences.

OP, please re-read the two sentences above. There are two things in play here: A. obtaining admission to the academy and B. serving honorably as an officer. You do not want to have something in your past that you are constantly thinking, “Gee, I sure hope they don’t find out about that.” Security clearance check will happen at some point, and you do not want to get caught with your pants down.
 
lol you must think it's still 1969. No way you would've been caught or even charged there. But yeah great advice above.
 
Great info from Annamaria. If the court mandated community service you probably don't have a conviction. But, even if you completed community service you would still have an arrest record. Contact the court and check. As Annamaria stated, if you were in the juvenile system the record is sealed and it is nobody's business.

Please clarify the charge. Evading arrest is avoiding prosecution. (Running from the police) Sneaking into the music festival would be considered theft or criminal trepass. Was there more than one charge?

Were you fingerprinted and photographed? If so you have an arrest record, conviction or not, that was reported by the arresting agency to the FBI. That will show up in a background check and will have to be disclosed on an application. I really hope you were a juvenile at the time of the offense. What state do you live in and how old were you at the time?
I was a minor, a minor and it was just one charge. I live in Texas and was 15 at the time.
 
I was a minor, a minor and it was just one charge. I live in Texas and was 15 at the time.
Right, so it's a minor thing. You should treat it as such. Nevertheless you need to accurately report it so double check to see if there was an arrest. I doubt there was one but it doesn't hurt to double check it. In some states you might be able to check it yourself online, since its a public record.
 
I was a minor, a minor and it was just one charge. I live in Texas and was 15 at the time.

I don't know the law in Texas but in NY there would be no record and you would not be required to disclose it. Again get the disposition. Because you were a minor it would not be public record and you wouldn't be able to search online. You need to go personally to the court that handled the case: juvenile or criminal. If you don't remember where it was, start with the precinct and they can direct you.

If the court has it then you will know that a) there is an arrest, b) what is the final charge. If it says sealed, it means there is no public record. If the court has no record, you could still have an arrest but with failure to prosecute. If the precinct has no record, then there is no arrest.
 
I was a minor, a minor and it was just one charge. I live in Texas and was 15 at the time.

I am a police detective in Texas. If you were 16 years of age or younger at the time of the offense that record may be sealed, provided that the juvenile court did not waive jurisdiction and try you as an adult - highly unlikely that ever happened in your misdemeanor case. There are some requirements that have to be met to have the record automatically and permanently sealed. Get online and look up the Texas Family Code, Title 3, Chapter 58.

Iam not defending your actions but under Texas law you are entitled to have your records sealed. My suggestion is to contact the juvenile court now in the county in which you were charged and ask if the record has been expunged. If it has it is nobody's business but yours.

Good luck.
 
Iam not defending your actions but under Texas law you are entitled to have your records sealed. My suggestion is to contact the juvenile court now in the county in which you were charged and ask if the record has been expunged. If it has it is nobody's business but yours.

And during the clearance process for secret, top secret, TS-SCI, aren't sealed documents available?

I've never seen anything cited to answer this question.... the usual answer is "yes, they can be accessed.." but I have no idea what that info comes from.
 
The question they ask is not;

Is there a record of you ever being arrested?

They ask;

Have you ever been arrested?

Sound like the answer is yes.
 
And during the clearance process for secret, top secret, TS-SCI, aren't sealed documents available?

I've never seen anything cited to answer this question.... the usual answer is "yes, they can be accessed.." but I have no idea what that info comes from.
Taught ROTC 78-81. Had a cadet who was caught by university police trying to shoplift a pack of gum. He was taken in to the university station, went on what he thought was just a university record. Did not disclose on 398 paperwork. It showed up during investigation. He was gone. Not for the gum but for failure to disclose. Also per O-6 JAG sealed records are available for that type of investigation.
 
Back
Top