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EnglishHow to Tell If Your New York Criminal Charge Fits This Firm's Practice
Updated
The Law Office of Paul D. Petrus Jr. & Associates P.C. presents itself as an NYC criminal defense firm handling larceny, weapons, sex crimes, assault, and post-conviction record sealing, organized by borough and by charge level. If your situation falls into one of those categories, the firm's own site points to a free consultation as the next step. Only a licensed attorney reviewing your actual facts can tell you whether they can take your case — the categories below are a screening guide, not a legal assessment.
The charge types the site discusses
The firm's blog and practice content address five recurring situations. Each is framed around a specific legal mechanism rather than a general promise to "fight" the charge.
| Situation | What the site says the defense focuses on | Legal reference cited |
|---|---|---|
| Theft / larceny | Whether the prosecutor can prove the dollar value that elevates the charge | New York Penal Law § 155.30 (grand larceny threshold) |
| Knife possession | Two separate bans — one statewide, one city-specific | NY Penal Law § 265.01 and NYC Administrative Code § 10-133 |
| Sex offense registration | Attacking the SORA point score and requesting a downward departure | SORA risk level challenge at sentencing |
| Assault | Whether the injury makes it a misdemeanor or a felony | Injury-based distinction |
| Record sealing | Post-conviction application to seal a criminal record | Post-conviction relief |
If your charge is not on this list, that does not automatically mean the firm cannot help — it means the site does not describe it, and you would need to ask directly.
How the site organizes cases: borough and charge level
Two distinctions run through the content and are worth checking against your own situation.
Borough. The blog titles pair each charge type with a specific NYC borough — a Staten Island theft lawyer, a Manhattan weapons lawyer, a Bronx sex crimes lawyer, a Queens assault lawyer, a Brooklyn post-conviction lawyer. This reflects that the courthouse, the local prosecutor's office, and in some cases the local ordinance (as with the NYC knife rule) change how a case proceeds. If your case is in one of the five boroughs, the site's framing matches your venue.
Misdemeanor versus felony. The assault article states the point plainly: the analysis "starts with the injury, not the fight." The same logic applies across the other categories — the larceny article turns on the property's dollar value, because that value is what moves a theft from petit to grand larceny. Before contacting anyone, it helps to know:
- What you were charged with, exactly (the statute or the charge name on your paperwork)
- Whether it is being treated as a misdemeanor or a felony
- Which borough and courthouse your case is in
- Whether the case is pending or already decided (relevant for the sealing question)
When the free consultation is the right next step
The site offers a free consultation for your case. That is the point at which case-specific evaluation happens — the articles describe general defense approaches, not outcomes for any individual.
Use the consultation to get answers to questions the site cannot answer for you:
- Does my charge fall within your practice? Name the charge and the borough.
- What is the realistic range of outcomes? Ask what the misdemeanor/felony line means for your specific facts.
- What would you need from me? Paperwork, dates, prior record.
- Who would handle my case? The firm is named for Paul D. Petrus Jr.; ask who appears.
A consultation is also where you can raise anything the site does not cover — a charge type outside the five categories, a case in a venue outside the five boroughs, or a situation mixing several charges.
What the site does not tell you
The site does not publish fees, payment arrangements, or whether the consultation carries any condition beyond being described as free. It also does not state case results or success rates. Treat any assumption about cost or outcome as unverified until you ask.
One more limit worth stating directly: nothing on the site — and nothing in this summary — is a substitute for an attorney applying New York law to your facts. The value of the categories above is that they let you walk into a consultation knowing which questions to ask.