Actually, it sounds like this was the perfect solution from the perspective of the Nevada justice system. They resolve it with a minimum of expense while at the same time seeing to it that he will likely stay the hell out of Nevada.
Here's how something like this might have been handled better. The DA gives him a felony, a one year suspended sentence, and community service - then if he pays back Michael and does the community service within six months, it is reduced to a misdemeanor. If he doesn't complete it in six months, the felony sticks.
That's a big plum. This wouldn't have cost Nevada any more, but If you have a felony on your record with a one year conviction, you can never possess a gun and the record is easily available to the public, so it's hard to get a job.
A similar deal was made by the DA a long time ago involving me after a bookkeeper was caught embezzling. It worked well. I was amazed when we got the $17,000 back. By the way, they didn't ask me, they told me that was the deal. They're under serious time constraints.
Chris
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