how to take someone to court for theft?

how to take someone to court for theft?
alright, so long story short; today i was in school and during gym class i changed into my gym clothes for P.E. throughout the time period that i was in gym someway, somehow, someone broke into the locker room and stole twenty dollars out of my wallet and my iPhone, both of these items were in my pockets of my jeans. Literally a couple of minutes ago Officer Anderson called me to his office and found my phone in the trash can. Apparently when these low life, immature, worthless, ruthless children steal cell phones and such and once they realize that the device has a passcode and they have no use for it, they toss it in the trash can. Luckily for me, Officer Anderson was wandering around the school and he decided to look in the trash can of the cafeteria, and amazingly came across my phone. Two of my friends also had their phones, iPods, and cash stolen, but unfortunately for them they still haven't found them. The Officer and school administrators are still looking through and backing up video recordings of when the students entered the locker room and stole the items. Now my question is, if and when they find out who the suspect is, can i and how can i press charges against the suspect? i know that circumstances are different with minors, but i would still very much like to sue them or have them suffer some type of consquence more severe than what the school plans on giving them. I am very desperate for an answer to this question and i am still in the process of doing lots of research on my state laws. For the record I attend Middle Creek High School in Wake County, North carolina. Thanks very much for your input! -Tim*
Law & Ethics - 1 Answers - 2010-02-15 11:58:41

Best Answer
There are two avenues for redress, civil and criminal. In civil actions it's the plaintiff who sues the defendant. In criminal actions the state (government) brings charges against the plaintiff. This is a crime so the police could identify a suspect, arrest them and charges would be brought against them. Practically, it's unlikely that they will do so for twenty dollars. Yes, I know you feel violated and you want justice. It's more likely the school will identify the thieves and suspend or expel them. You might go to the principle and demand that if they do identify the person guilty of the theft, that person would have to make restitution (or have your parents do so).

All Answers
Answer 1
There are two avenues for redress, civil and criminal. In civil actions it's the plaintiff who sues the defendant. In criminal actions the state (government) brings charges against the plaintiff. This is a crime so the police could identify a suspect, arrest them and charges would be brought against them. Practically, it's unlikely that they will do so for twenty dollars. Yes, I know you feel violated and you want justice. It's more likely the school will identify the thieves and suspend or expel them. You might go to the principle and demand that if they do identify the person guilty of the theft, that person would have to make restitution (or have your parents do so).
2010-02-15 18:13:10