[BMWGUYinCO]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone could provide some advice here for a situation with my son.

He turned 21 on 5/13 of this year. He's been renting his own condo since November of 2019. He has been driving since 16 years old, and his driving record is spotless - never even received a ticket, and has no other record of any kind.

He began working at a Waterway Car wash at 16, and because he was responsible, hardworking, and had leadership potential he was promoted very quickly to become the youngest senior manager (level 5) in the entire company; he was responsible for other managers twice his age, and mentored a lot of teenagers through their job responsibilities. He has an excellent credit record, etc. etc. etc.

So on May 1st, about 12 days before his 21st BDay, the police were called to his condo for a noise disturbance (loud music). When the officers arrived, there were 4 people there including my son. All of them had been drinking beer.

The officer ID'd everyone, and discovered that my son was a minor. He then asked whose residence it was, and my son replied that it was in his name. The officer then wrote him a ticket for drinking as a minor. My son said it was less than two weeks to his 21st Bday to which the officer replied "Oooh - so close". No other citation was issued to anyone, and no noise violation either.

My son was very respectful throughout the entire encounter and admitted fault.

So here is my question - he now has a court date set in Boulder County, Colorado. If prosecuted to the fullest extent, this could result in a misdemeanor on his record, which we want to avoid. I was thinking to accompany him to court, and try to speak to my son's personal and professional character, his mentorship of others, etc. and hope to seek a much lesser charger or community service and/or fine. So I'm wondering if this would be a good strategy, or should we hire an attorney (current estimate is $1,400 for this service).

Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance...