It is second appearance and he does not need to be in Court for that. All the same, it could have been a set up but only God knows. The sad part is, Laws are written in black and white here. The credit cards were found in his possession. End of story.
If you get in a car with three other people and did not know the car was stolen, when the Cop pulls the driver over, everybody in the Car gets booked into Jail for investigation of auto theft. When all is said and done, the others get released. Whoever takes the rap gets sentenced after months of been in Jail and goes to Prison for 18 months or more depending on past points. He does need prayers for a light sentence as he is a first time offender.