Out of curiosity.

[Jacon89]

What is the name of your state? Georgia.

Originally Posted by Jacon89

Since this thread has served it's purpose, I think I'll hijack it for a quick second and see what you guys think about this.

If you're a minor in a store (around 13-14), and some strange man suddenly comes up behind you, grabs you by the arm and forcefully drags you to a small room in the store and then proceeds to accuse you of theft because a clerk apparently saw you stealing something, and then tries telling you that you can't leave the room until you remove your shoes, socks, and perform a routine search of your pockets and clothing (without a police officer or even a parent present or remotely aware of what was happening), and you hadn't attempted to steal a thing, would there be a case?

Originally Posted by The Occultist

Just because you feel a thread is done does not mean you may hijack it. Please start your own thread. And yes, store security has the right to detain you and make a citizen's arrest.

The man wasn't store security. He was a worker there, maybe a manager, but definitely not security. It was a small, local card shop no larger than a couple of my bedrooms; I seriously doubt there were any security officers on the pay roll to be present in the first place.

I thought for certain that it was illegal for someone to search a minor in such a way without either a parent or some sort of law enforcement official being present at the time of the search. Am I incorrect in that assumption?What is the name of your state?

[The Occultist]

It doesn't have to be security, it can be anybody from the store.

If you're trying to get something dropped against you for these reasons, you will absolutely require the aid of an attorney to get it taken care of. Since that is the case, you better go sit down with one and talk to him/her about it.

[Jacon89]

Originally Posted by The Occultist

It doesn't have to be security, it can be anybody from the store.

If you're trying to get something dropped against you for these reasons, you will absolutely require the aid of an attorney to get it taken care of. Since that is the case, you better go sit down with one and talk to him/her about it.

Actually, as stated in the thread title, this is purely out of curiosity. This happened to me at a local card shop a few years back when I was there with a friend and my cousin. I was probably 13-14 at the time, and it just didn't seem right, nor legal, the way he handled the situation. He has every right to be concerned when his employee claims to see someone shoplifting, but it didn't sit well with me the way it went down, you get me? I had always wondered if there could've been any legal reprocussions to that on his part. I wouldn't have sought out anything as serious as a monetary settlement or tried to sue him for what happened, that'd just be ridiculous, but it wouldn't have hurt to have called his boss and have him canned for it, or something to that effect. I'm not seeking to do anything about it at this point, as it's obviously far too late for that now. Just curious as to what could've been done. It always did bug me.

In case anyone wonders when reading this; no, I didn't steal or attempt to steal anything from the store. After searching me down (unlawfully, I still do believe) and harassing me for what seemed like ages, he finally had to admit that he had been a jackass and his clerk needs to have his eyes checked. I was an honest kid, who had a summer job and plenty of pocket change if I wanted to buy something from a second rate card shop. I still wish I could give that guy a piece of my mind sometimes.

[quincy]

What the store employee did could get him arrested. No one is allowed to take a kid to a back room and have him remove articles of clothing and search him. No way. He could be charged. Shoplifting suspicion or not.

[Jacon89]

Originally Posted by quincy

What the store employee did could get him arrested. No one is allowed to take a kid to a back room and have him remove articles of clothing and search him. No way. He could be charged. Shoplifting suspicion or not.

Thanks for the insight, quincy. What happened that day always bugged me (obviously, or I wouldn't have bothered posting this thread for peace of mind). I probably should've sought legal action for the incident, but I was too young to begin to know how to go about that, or if that would've even been possible. Knowing that I was right in my suspicions that he did something wrong does put my mind at ease about the whole thing. Thanks a lot.


(I didn't seek any legal action at the time; I did, however, inform all of my friends how sh*tty of a shop it was, and that more than likely hurt his business, seeing as I was a popular member of this small town's group of little trading card nerds, and as the shop shut down due to a lack of customers sometime later. )

[quincy]

You retaliating against the store by refusing to go there was a wise course of action, and obviously harmed the owner more than any lawsuit could. Good for you! I hate it when stores treat kid customers poorly.

[Blue Meanie]

Jacon, Could you turn on your pm's please??

Bay

[Jacon89]

Originally Posted by baystategirl

Jacon, Could you turn on your pm's please??

Bay

Never been to a message board where PMs were automatically disabled upon registration. Thanks for informing me of that, and I apologize if you had been trying to message me. It wasn't my intention to have them disabled.

quincy: While it probably wasn't very ethical to have all of my friends essentially boycott the shop, I think it was well deserved. Thanks for the help.