Shoplifter Database? Pls. help!

[jeanine05]

What is the name of your state? CA


Hello everyone.

About 3 months ago i made a huge mistake and shoplifted. I was caught and they got all my info took my picture and told me i would get a letter in the mail requesting money and to pay it or a warrant will be issued for my arrest. There were no police involved at the incident, within 15 min i was released. Since then i have paid the civil demand and have not heard anything from the store or notification from any courts. ( It still worries me if i will be taken to court ) Well, i've read on some forums like this one that there is a database that stores enter shoplifter's information and it will come up on some background checks. Is that true? And if it is how do you find out if you're on one? I'm scared that i might have been possibly entered into one because of this incident. Please help.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? CA


Hello everyone.

About 3 months ago i made a huge mistake and shoplifted. I was caught and they got all my info took my picture and told me i would get a letter in the mail requesting money and to pay it or a warrant will be issued for my arrest. There were no police involved at the incident, within 15 min i was released. Since then i have paid the civil demand and have not heard anything from the store or notification from any courts. ( It still worries me if i will be taken to court ) Well, i've read on some forums like this one that there is a database that stores enter shoplifter's information and it will come up on some background checks. Is that true? And if it is how do you find out if you're on one? I'm scared that i might have been possibly entered into one because of this incident. Please help.

**A: post the name of the store, your full legal name and the last 4 numbers of your SS# and we will see if you are on the list.

 

[CdwJava]

If there is such a database, it is a private one that I have never heard of. It might be in that particular company's alert system, but there is not any big brother database of shoplifters out there.

- Carl

 

[grasmicc]

What is the name of your state? CA


Hello everyone.

About 3 months ago i made a huge mistake and shoplifted. I was caught and they got all my info took my picture and told me i would get a letter in the mail requesting money and to pay it or a warrant will be issued for my arrest. There were no police involved at the incident, within 15 min i was released. Since then i have paid the civil demand and have not heard anything from the store or notification from any courts. ( It still worries me if i will be taken to court ) Well, i've read on some forums like this one that there is a database that stores enter shoplifter's information and it will come up on some background checks. Is that true? And if it is how do you find out if you're on one? I'm scared that i might have been possibly entered into one because of this incident. Please help.

The store's conduct in this case constitutes (felony) extortion.

You should report them to the police immediately.

 

[CdwJava]

The store's conduct in this case constitutes (felony) extortion.

You should report them to the police immediately.

Not illegal in my state (CA).

These civil demands are perfectly legal under state law and the letters simply relate the store's legal options should the person choose not to pay. They can be sued, and they might be prosecuted. I have yet to see the store call the police a few months after the fact and report the matter for criminal posecution, but I have seen them go to court on a refusal ... though even that is rare as it is a small claims matter and too expensive to send a corporate representative for a $350 assessment.

If the letter actually said that a warrant WOULD be issued for their arrest, there might be some problem with it. If someone in the store made a mistake and passed on the wrong info - his bad. But I can virtually guarantee the demand letter never said that a warrant would be issued if they failed to pay.

- Carl

 

[CdwJava]

PC 490.5:

CALIFORNIA CIVIL SHOPLIFTING LAW

SECTION 1 Section 490.5 is added to the Penal Code to read: (b) when an unemancipated minor's willful conduct would constitute petty theft involving merchandise taken from a merchant's premises, any merchant who has been injured by such conduct may bring a civil action against the parent or legal guardian having control and custody of the minor. For the purposes of such actions the misconduct of the unemancipated minor shall be imputed to the parent or legal guardian having control and custody of the minor. The parent or legal guardian having control and custody of an unemancipated minor whose conduct violates this subdivision shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor to the merchant for the retail value of the merchandise, if not recovered in merchantable condition, plus damages of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) plus costs. Recovery of such damages may be in addition to, and is not limited by, any other provision of law which limits the liability of a parent or legal guardian for the tortious conduct of a minor. An action for recovery of damages, pursuant to this subdivision, may be brought in small claims court if the total damages do not exceed the jurisdictional limit of such court, or in any other appropriate court; however, total damages, including the value of the merchandise, shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each action brought under this section.

SECTION 1. Section 490.5 is added to the Penal Code to read: (c) when an adult or emancipated minor has unlawfully taken merchandise from a merchant's premises, the adult or emancipated minor shall be liable to the merchant for damages of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), in addition to the retail value of the merchandise, if not recovered in undamaged condition, plus costs. An action for recovery of damages, pursuant to this subdivision, may be brought in small claims court if the total damages do not exceed the jurisdictional limit of such court, or in any other appropriate court. The provisions of this subdivision are in addition to other civil remedies and do not limit merchants or other persons to elect to pursue other civil remedies.

A detailed posting of the section can be found at:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=01032225337+6+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

- Carl

 

[grasmicc]

That statute just provides the store with a civil remedy. I'm not denying that the store has a civil remedy available. It goes without saying that, even in the absence of a statute specifically authorizing it, a store can sue a shoplifter to recover costs arising from the shoplifting.

The issue is that, in this case, the store is threatening to bring criminal charges if the money is not paid.

They never contacted the police, then they made a civil demand, and threatened to contact the police and "have a warrant issued" if this civil demand isn't complied with. If these are the correct facts, then that's one of the most clear-cut cases of extortion I've ever seen. If the store followed up on this threat, they could also be sued for malicious prosecution - and those claims are often worth tens of thousands.

I'm focusing on this line in his post to come to these conclusions.

"i would get a letter in the mail requesting money and to pay it or a warrant will be issued for my arrest."

Carl, you state -

"But I can virtually guarantee the demand letter never said that a warrant would be issued if they failed to pay."

The extortion wasn't in the letter, but rather was in the statement by the store employee. It may also have been in the letter, which would just make it that much easier to prove.

The fact that they didn't contact the police just makes this whole situation look extremely bad. They are basically running a scam where, rather than calling the cops on shoplifters, they are demanding payment of some moneys and then threatening to prosecute if not paid. That's criminal.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

The store's conduct in this case constitutes (felony) extortion.

You should report them to the police immediately.

oh brother. Do you enjoy showing your own ignorance or is it a medical condition?

 

[grasmicc]

Belize, where'd you go to law school? Get out a crim law hornbook and flip to extortion. This case - a store threatening to report a shoplifter to police unless shoplifter pays money -is a common example of extortion that hornbooks use.

 

[HomeGuru]

it may be both.

 

[grasmicc]

HomeGuru, consider the following:

I send one of your guys a demand letter stating "I know that you never intended to make good on our contract for you to install the tile. If you don't give me back the amount I've already paid you, plus 25%, I'm going to report you to the police for fraud/theft-by-deception/whatever and try to get a warrant issued for your arrest."

Is that extortion?

 

[grasmicc]

Also, I refer you to People v. Fichtner (281 A.D. 159, 118 NYS2d 392), wherein the conviction of two individuals for extortion was affirmed under facts identical to those above. (Shopkeep caught a man stealing, told man he had to pay them $50 or else they would report him to the police. Court stated that the value of the goods stolen, and the amount demanded, were irrelevant.)

Some states may have an affirmative defense available for extortion under these circumstances. In New York it is Penal Law section 155.15(2). From what I can tell, no affirmative defense is available in CA.

 

[HomeGuru]

HomeGuru, consider the following:

I send one of your guys a demand letter stating "I know that you never intended to make good on our contract for you to install the tile. If you don't give me back the amount I've already paid you, plus 25%, I'm going to report you to the police for fraud/theft-by-deception/whatever and try to get a warrant issued for your arrest."

Is that extortion?

**A: H_E_L_L_O, could you maybe read the writers post again.

 

[grasmicc]

They are threatening to "get a warrant" for his arrest if he doesn't pay the civil assessment...

threatening to take criminal action due to someone failing to pay a civil claim is extortion.

 

[HomeGuru]

Also, I refer you to People v. Fichtner (281 A.D. 159, 118 NYS2d 392), wherein the conviction of two individuals for extortion was affirmed under facts identical to those above.

**A: so are you telling us that People V. Fichtner involved shoplifting and extortion by the retail establishment?

*********
Some states may have an affirmative defense available for extortion under these circumstances. In New York it is Penal Law section 155.15(2). From what I can tell, no affirmative defense is available in CA.

**A: New York? This is a CA question.