Accidental Shoplifting, Store did not press charges

[amorton25]

Colorado Douglas County

So hears the story. I was in my local King Soopers today picking up some food and mis. items for work, I work nights so this is around 5:30PM. I picked up my items, soup and snacks for work, then I went to the Magazine isle and picked up a gun magazine, rolled if up and put in my back pocket. Now it was not concealed but just plainly sticking out of my back pocket outside my ****. I then went to the Starbucks counter where I get coffee almost every day I work, I pay for my items there because there is no line and I don’t have to go though the checkout twice. I talked to the coffee girl for a bit gather up my items walked out of the store. During my conversation with the coffee shop girl I forgot about the magazine and about 15 feet outside the store I was detained by a security officer and told I had an item I had not paid for. At this point I was still unsure what he was talking about and insisted that yeas I had paid for everything. The security guard pointed out the magazine and asked me to come with him. We went to the office and he took down my information and had me sign acknowledgement that I was receiving a Demand for Civil Restitution for the sum of $250.00. He told me because I was cooperating with him that King Soopers would not be pressing charges and that I could leave.

So now I have a $250.00 fine for a $9.00 magazine that I had not intentionally taken. How should I go about getting out of this? I do not feel I did anything wrong and would have returned to the store once I got in the truck and found a 12" magazine in my back pocket. I am unhappy with the fine but more so I feel that if I pay the fine I will be admitting guilt to something I did not do. This is a pride issue for me. Obviously the store was not too concerned with the theft if the did not find it necessary to press charges but rather serve me with a $250.00 punishment. What next?

[JessiesGirl]

You still stole the magazine, whether it was intentional or not. Pay the fine or worse punishment could befall you from the store. You were lucky.

K

[The Occultist]

It's civil restitution. There is no way to get out of this. For the record, they have at LEAST a year to press criminal charges against you. Once they win (and they would), they can STILL slap you with a civil restitution on top of whatever criminal fees the courts assess. It is in your interest to just pay the fee they're charging and request some sort of note from them saying they won't press charges against you.