Shoplifting at Marshalls. What will happen? (Fresno: foreclosures, mortgage, bankrupt)
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I am a police officer here in Fresno. I will try to condense in a fairly short span what the law says.
What the op committed is a petty theft, which is a misdeameanor crime. Unless, the police were called right away, she will not be charged or have to go to court for anything. First of all, the agents of the store would have had to sign a citizen's arrest right there on the spot. Even if that was the case, she would have been cited and released (given a ticket) to appear in court.
Regarding most misdeameanors, they have to be "fresh". What I mean is that in order for a citizen's arrest to be made, it has to be done right when she was detained and the police called immediately, then the officer would have to arrive within a reasonable amount of time and investigated it, then the agents would have had to make the citizen's arrest.....all of this happening during the time of the incident.
As far as loss prevention giving having her sign whatever it is they signed, that is strictly a civil matter between her and the store.
Thanks for our law lesson today. It certainly answers a lot of our questions.
I think shoplifting is a lot like gambling, drinking, drugs, and other addictive behaviors. You get a rush and a quick thrill from it. Also, if you are under stress it could cause you to seek that quick thrill which is why you may have done it. I imagine a lot of addictive behavior is going up right now with how stressful our economy situation is.
I'm pretty sure most people just do it to get free stuff. At least in the beginning.
I am a police officer here in Fresno. I will try to condense in a fairly short span what the law says.
What the op committed is a petty theft, which is a misdeameanor crime. Unless, the police were called right away, she will not be charged or have to go to court for anything. First of all, the agents of the store would have had to sign a citizen's arrest right there on the spot. Even if that was the case, she would have been cited and released (given a ticket) to appear in court.
Regarding most misdeameanors, they have to be "fresh". What I mean is that in order for a citizen's arrest to be made, it has to be done right when she was detained and the police called immediately, then the officer would have to arrive within a reasonable amount of time and investigated it, then the agents would have had to make the citizen's arrest.....all of this happening during the time of the incident.
As far as loss prevention giving having her sign whatever it is they signed, that is strictly a civil matter between her and the store.
Credentials aside, I think what Frsno described here sounds 100% accurate. Come to think of it, when I got caught lifting, the police were called right then and there, and that's how I ended up having to go through that whole legal process. Unless you're applying for employment at that store (or chain) you should be fine, since they would have to go through the courts to put a theft on your record. If the case was not reported at that time, it would be hard to report it and get much action out of the legal system after the fact.
You probably got away with a good scare this time. Please, for your sake, just be thankful for that and resolve to never steal again. It sounds like you already have.
Was it worth it? By 28 people should be knocking down $100,000 a year. They didn't and now they can't do anything exciting, because they have no money. So they look for little rushes and shoplifting will get you a rush. When you're leaving store and running out and they chase you and you knock over a little old lady and break her hip and jump in your car and run over a child and you can't stop you keep going, then the Cops start chasing you down the road 100mph. Boy it's so ****ing exciting at this point you can't stop. I mean you're one scare SOB and you're thinking if I can just get through these. Why do I keep doigng this ignorant stuff? You start balling your eyes out and say if I can get out of this I'll work 80 hours a week so I can buy things like jet boats and fast cars, so I can get my adrenaline rush. Instead of doing this stupid stuff, so some lame Cop who wouldn't think of doing it, because he sees how stupid people are that do this dumb stupid stuff. The Cop is getting his adrenaline rushes every time he stops someone to give them a ticket. He stops you and pisses you off. It makes you want to just move to an area where you don't even need a car. A Car with payments, gas, insurance and upkeep can cost you $12,000 a year. Throw in some tickets and insurance goes up.
Kind of makes you want to move to an area where you can travel by boat. Boats don't need insurance, tags, tires, inspection, no speed limit and a 12 can drive the boat while you get slobbering drunk. So move to Venice and the hell with Cops trying to give you tickets.
You can have so much fun on a boat. You can't have fun in a car anymore. It used to be in the 70's you could race and drink, but no more. Cars are just a headache anymore. Those people having to drive in all that city traffic I don't know how they do it. A boat is relaxing. Cars are so dangerous. Get a boat and just forget about cars.
First, this business about being contacted, by the retailer, regarding a settlement sounds, somewhat, like extorsion. Next, I would contact your local police dept. and anonymously run your situation by an officer and get their take on your situation. Finally, although you did made a mistake you want to make sure that you take measures to protect yourself from being taken advantage of and/or violated. Furthermore, everyone makes mistakes--its called being human. Good luck.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Curmudgeon
Hi, Diana. Relax and breathe. They'll contact you and offer a settlement amount which could be a couple of hundred dollars. You will NOT have a criminal record to worry about so long as you take care of it. You were merely detained, not arrested, so you've learned a good lesson and it won't scar you for life.
It's not an extortion on the part of the store because under the law, the agents of the store have the right to detain her and she can be held there against her will (reasonably) until the police arrive. Again, all of this has to be done within a reasonable amount of time.
They could have handled it by calling the police or handle it on their own. Since they chose not to call the police, then they took other measures and are now pursuing civil damages against her, which again is their right, especially since she signed what I assume is an acknowledgement of her responsibility in this matter.
My personal opinion in this as an officer is this. Pay what she owes the store or company. I think in the long run, she would be better off than having getting a ticket in the first place, having to miss work and go to court, having to pay possible attorney fees and then having a misdeamenor on her record (which in all honesty probably wouldn't even make it that far). Why should she complain about what to pay, all she wants is that it doesn't go on her record.
Hi all.. my name is Diana and im 28 years old. i was caught shoplifting at Marshalls for a $10 shirt in california. the security guy took me to the room, had my driver license and all info. he even asked for my last 4 number of social security #. i signed two papers, one is a notice that i was detained for shoplifting and the other is all my info. no cops involvement. they let me go in 10 minutes. the LP guy told me i may soon receive a letter from their Recovery Dept. do you guys know what will happen to me? how much is the fine? do i have to go to court? will this stay on my record for life? will i be able to clear or seal it later on? will this effect my future jobs? please help me.. im a single mom struggling with life. i made the biggest mistake of my life. i got scared. im worried. it happened two days ago. i've been crying and praying to god that they will not charge against me. im so scared. i couldnt sleep for the last two days. i pray to god for forgiveness. may god bless all of u. thank you so much.
Calm down no cops so no charge, just don't go back to that shop! And was all that pain worth it for a $10 shirt?
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