Mr. Klepper, I was in a truck-stop store while I was purchasing fuel and gathering a few items to purchase to take with me. Like I have done many times before when my hands got full, I stuck a candy bar in my pocket to carry around while I shopped. While I was still looking for items to purchase, the store clerk called security. Security approached me and asked what I had in my pocket. I pulled out the candy bar and they told me it was shoplifting and called the cops to arrest me. The police did arrest me. I had to be booked, go before a judge and pay a fine before they would let me go.
I never meant to steal that candy bar, I was going to pay for it when I went to the cashier but never got the chance. What did I do wrong to get convicted of shoplifting?
Driver Bob A.
Bob, it appears as if you were in a state that does not require you to take the unpaid merchandise out of the store to be guilty of shoplifting. Shoplifting is basically larceny, which is the concealment or taking of items being offered for sale. Shoplifting can be charged as a felony, misdemeanor, or infraction depending upon the value of the items in question. Usually a felony results in a jail sentence of more than one year, a misdemeanor may result in up to a year in jail, while an infraction is usually just a fine. All three of these convictions may result in restitution to the store for the value of the stolen item and possible probation.
Larceny is defined as the taking of almost anything of value without the consent of the owner, with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the value of the property taken. Shoplifting is defined as the theft/larceny from a store of place of business. The name shoplifting is often called other things in different states such as ‘retail theft,’ ‘concealment of merchandise,’ or just about anything the state wants to call it.
Shoplifting usually consists of two elements (depending upon the state); both must be present before you can be convicted:
- Willfully concealing or taking possession of items being offered for sale;
- AND the intent to deprive the rightful owner of possession of the items, without paying the purchase price.
Thus, you can break shoplifting laws without attempting to leave the store with the stolen items. In some states, just concealing the items is enough to warrant the charge of shoplifting. Many states consider the act of concealing items to be evidence of intent to steal.
Besides hiding an item to avoid paying for it, many states also consider shoplifting to consist of actions to avoid paying full price for an item. This includes changing price tags to a lower price tag or even changing the packaging the item was in to lower-priced package.
Many states have statutes authorizing stores or their employees to detain a suspected shoplifter, however the detention must be reasonable in length and manner. That means the store can’t keep the suspected shoplifter any longer than necessary to resolve the issue. For instance, the store could not keep a shoplifter in a back room trying to get them to sign a waiver of store liability, but could keep the shoplifter until the police arrive within a reasonable time.
Let’s look at the facts in your case and apply them to the law. You put a candy bar in your pocket intending to pay for it later. In many states concealment of items is sufficient to show intent to shoplift.
Security detained you for shoplifting until the police arrived. You do not say how long that was, but I believe it could be understand that your detention by security until the police arrived was reasonable.
You were arrested and booked. A judge found you guilty and ordered you to pay a fine. The good news, if there is any in this matter, is that this shoplifting case will not affect your CDL or your driving record. However, since you were arrested, you will need to advise any employer, should they ask about any arrests, that it did occur.
How could anyone avoid this shoplifting scenario? The simple answer is to never put anything from a store in your pocket, or eat it prior to paying for the item. Never change a price tag or even put something in a different package to get a lower price. When your hands get full, take the items to the counter and go back and get more items. The clerk will appreciate it and so will you if you don’t have to see the backseat of a police cruiser.