Yes, we do disagree, and that's quite healthy, from my perspective.
I would say, however, that there is a significant difference between what actually happened and how you are portraying it. This isn't a case of a teen just happening to walk out of a restaurant without paying for a soda. It's a case of a teen who purposely went to steal the soda from the restaurant and when caught stealing and had the chance to leave without stealing, chose to continue the theft. Many people who are caught in the act of stealing things are given the benefit of the doubt if they fess up to stealing and/or give back what they stole and apologize for their actions. This young man did neither and so he's left with the courts deciding what his punishment should be. And really, at 18, he can't cop a plea that he was drunk or under the influence of drugs, because both of those are illegal for him at his age. Courts have discretion and maybe the judge hearing his case will show leniency. Or, before it gets that far, this young man will agree to some community service and some other restitution to the restaurant or the community at large and the charges will be dropped. But until that time, the charges seem perfectly reasonable to me, under the circumstances.
