Caught shoplifting

[yomama]

Caught shoplifting...CAN ANYONE HELP??

What is the name of your state? TX

I have a friend who was stopped for shoplifting (I was with her) as she was leaving a store. It was enough to add up to a Class B misdemeanor which means she was taken to the police station to be booked by the police. She got out on $500 bond and was told to call the DA's office every few days to see if it had been filed. It's been a month and it still has not been filed although the police detective told her it would be filed after the investigation was finished. My first ? is "How long does it normally take to investigate a shoplifting incident and for it to get to the DA?"

She also has an expungement on her record from about 16 years ago for shoplifting under $50. She has an attorney but the attorney doesn't see any need to talk to her in detail about the case until it's been filed with the DA. Is this right? She's really afraid of what's going to happen and that she's going to jail.

She's also afraid that they are investigating her for previous shoplifting she's committed because the store where she was caught knew what kind of car she drove. They told her they 'recognized' her. Can they charge her with something she may have done earlier but was never stopped for or arrested for? Thanks, she doesn't have a computer so I'm doing this for her.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Perhaps I missed something in your post, but can you tell me why she's so worried about going to prison?

IAAL

 

[yomama]

Hi IAAL. I'm sorry, I was trying to be brief I guess. She's worried that they're investigating her for past offenses and that the charges are going to be worse than what she was arrested for. Can they do that?

Also, she admits (at least to me) that she has a problem and is wondering if there is a diversion program for shoplifting that will help her stop and keep a conviction off of her record. She doesn't want to continue at all with this bad behavior.

Thank you for your help

 

[enjay]

Your friend posted on here a few days ago. She needs to make an appointment with her lawyer.

 

[yomama]

Hi enjay. She doesn't have a computer so it wasn't her. She does have an attorney but the attorney is busy and said he will talk to her when the charges go to the DA and he sees the offense report. She's 35 years old and doesn't have any kids and her parents are both dead. She's pretty much alone so I'm trying to be there for her but I don't know what to tell her. All I know is for her to be represented but I don't have any idea about all of the questions she has. Any help?

 

[enjay]

How strange...the details were nearly identical, right down to the old expunged record. The original post was deleted. How strange indeed.

The chances of her going to jail for this are very slim, particularly if it was in the $60 range, as the other poster indicated. She could possibly get a pretrial diversion, deferred adjudication, probation, or a few days in jail. Probation is probably most likely, but her lawyer, who should have all of the details, would be able to advise her best.

 

[yomama]

That is strange. I wish it wasn't deleted so that I could read it. What she stole though was $89.00. In Texas, if it goes above $50.00 you're automatically taken to the police station. I guess in some places it's $100.00 or over. I do NOT condone her stealing anything but I know she's depressed and seems to be 'filling an emptiness' or something. Well, thanks for your help. I wish her attorney would talk with her but she said he didn't return her phone call.

Do you know if they could be investigating past suspicions? This seems to be what's bothering her the most. But she's also very afraid of jail because she has a cousin that went to jail a few years ago and she doesn't like to hear him talk about it. I don't know what to do for her. But I appreciate your reply.

Oh, one more thing, should she write a letter of apology to the store and send them the money for what she tried to steal? She doesn't want to because she's too afraid to, but I'LL do it for her if it would help her! Thanks.

 

[ScaredyCat]

I'm in a current similar situation, except that I don't have a criminal history... What happened to me was that I was grocery shopping and at the last moment decided to grab some make up items that i needed. Usually i don't get these items at the grocery store but since i didn't want to make a trip to another store i decided to get them there. The items were small... i had placed them ontop of my purse but my cart was full and the items were slipping of to the side... i didn't want them slipping off and breaking [which has happened to me before] so i placed the items in my pocket, which were full with other reciepts, a cell phone, loose change and my car keys. I was shopping with my sister and we had split up earlier so i was looking all over the store for her... this was late in the day, it was busy and i was tired from a days of work. anyways, after i purchased my groceries i forgot about the make up items... and as i walked out the 1st set of doors, i stopped to grab an advertisement and was about to look over it to see if i missed any deals and that was when a security lady approached me and asked me to follow her.

well to make a long story short, i was very stupid and scared as this was my first time ever being in trouble. i didn't know if i could or should say anything and it didn't help that they [the 3 other people] just ignored me the whole hour & a half i was detained in the store. throughout the whole time i didn't say much... at first i didn't think this was serious enough where i would be arrested... the products were only about $15 total. i just wanted to give my full cooperation and in doing this i incriminated myself by signing a form that stated i had intentions of shoplifting. i dont know what i was thinking at that moment. i can swear that i had no intentions... it's also crazy that while i was there, they way i was treated i started believing that i did do it... errr!!

if anyone could give me some advice or tell me what might happen to me... and should i get a lawyer or are 1st offenses usually dismissed... will this be on my record [i wasn't arrested, an officer set up the court date and they let me go], and i did think about writing a letter to the manager of the store to beg them to drop the charges.. should i?

this just all happened to me less then a week ago and i have had sleepless nites every since... please please help!!!

 

[yomama]

I wish I knew what to tell you to do. I've never been in trouble before but if I were you I would get a lawyer. I know you're scared. My friend is so scared and she's not sleeping at night either and she said if she does she has nightmares about what she did. I don't think it would hurt to write a letter to the store. I don't know if my friend should or not because it's not between her and the store, it's between her and the county. Good luck.

 

[Boxcarbill]

Re: Caught shoplifting...CAN ANYONE HELP??

What is the name of your state? TX

I have a friend who was stopped for shoplifting (I was with her) as she was leaving a store. It was enough to add up to a Class B misdemeanor which means she was taken to the police station to be booked by the police. She got out on $500 bond and was told to call the DA's office every few days to see if it had been filed. It's been a month and it still has not been filed although the police detective told her it would be filed after the investigation was finished. My first ? is "How long does it normally take to investigate a shoplifting incident and for it to get to the DA?"

She also has an expungement on her record from about 16 years ago for shoplifting under $50. She has an attorney but the attorney doesn't see any need to talk to her in detail about the case until it's been filed with the DA. Is this right? She's really afraid of what's going to happen and that she's going to jail.

She's also afraid that they are investigating her for previous shoplifting she's committed because the store where she was caught knew what kind of car she drove. They told her they 'recognized' her. Can they charge her with something she may have done earlier but was never stopped for or arrested for? Thanks, she doesn't have a computer so I'm doing this for her.

No one can tell you how long it will take before the DA files the complaint and information. That would require knowing how many cases are on the desk of the particular DA to be filed. Obviously a Harris county D.A. has more cases to file than say a Midland county D.A..

Knowing what kind of car someone drives and "recognizing" someone does not prove theft. The time to make a case for shoplifting is when the person passes through the cash register without paying for the goods. So assuming that your friend is an occasional shoplifter for personal use, rather than a member of a shoplifting ring, she can relax about an investigation uncovering other provable thefts.

On a class B misdemeanor theft, the range of punishment is up to 180 days in jail and/or a fine up to $2,000.00. That means they can do any one of these things or any combination. Now having said that I have never seen a plea offer anywhere close to the maximum fine or the max. jail time. First offense in my county, which is not to be in any way construed as to what will happen to your friend or what generally happens in the county in which your friend is in, is usually something along the lines of 30 days jail time, $350.00, shoplifter offender program, restitution. Jail time suspended and placed on probation for 6 months. Now, again that is merely to give you an idea. There is absolutely no way of knowing what the plea offer will be in your friends county except to say that the range of punishment cannot exceed the 180 days in jail and/or up to a $2,000.00 fine.

 

[yomama]

Boxcarbill...

Thank you so much for your reply. I will relay the information to her. She is absolutely paranoid about being investigated. She said that her case is still with the investigating detective at the police station - it hasn't even been sent to the DA yet and that's why she's scared. I have to agree with her when she wonders what they could be investigating. It's pretty cut and dry that she was caught with the goods in her purse. After surfing around and reading some of the posts on this site, it's nice to receive an answer that's not rude and insulting. Thank you very much!

 

[AmosMoses]

yomama

I would think that it could be possible that the detective is still holding the case file because of it's relative lack of importance. I mean, maybe the DA hasn't gotten it yet because it isn't being pushed and is sitting on the back burner so to speak, which would be exactly opposite to what your friend fears here. The detective may simply have "forgotten it" for the time being (I don't mean forever! Short of some pretty convincing exculpatory evidence popping up, it will be sent to the DA, you can believe that!). The detective may well need to get a signed statement or two and simply hasn't gotten around to it yet. I know it's probabaly killing your friend, but just tell her that the longer it's not turned in, the better off she is (which in a case like this is probably true; you never can tell...it is not impossible that it may be overlooked until the statute of limitation runs). She's gonna worry anyway, so by doing this you can possibly relieve her mind some for now. No sense in her dwelling on something she can do nothing about.

 

[yomama]

AmosMoses...

You're absolutely right! She's so freaked out because when she called the detective to see if it had been filed yet (she knew it hadn't been) the detective told her they had 2 years to file it and it would be filed with the DA when the investigation was finished. Of course, her mind started thinking of all of these terrible things that could be going on and she's making herself sick. I told her this morning what Boxcarbill had said earlier and that made her feel much better. I'm telling you, she's a changed person. She's going to counseling and she's started volunteering for Meals-On-Wheels. She said she does not want this incident to define her life and she's doing what she knows to do to change. I really appreciate your response and will pass it on to her. I know she'll feel better!! You guys have been great!

 

[Boxcarbill]

Re: AmosMoses...

You're absolutely right! She's so freaked out because when she called the detective to see if it had been filed yet (she knew it hadn't been) the detective told her they had 2 years to file it and it would be filed with the DA when the investigation was finished. Of course, her mind started thinking of all of these terrible things that could be going on and she's making herself sick. I told her this morning what Boxcarbill had said earlier and that made her feel much better. I'm telling you, she's a changed person. She's going to counseling and she's started volunteering for Meals-On-Wheels. She said she does not want this incident to define her life and she's doing what she knows to do to change. I really appreciate your response and will pass it on to her. I know she'll feel better!! You guys have been great!

She needs to stop calling the police station. Since she is out on bond, she is required by her bonding company to check in with them. The bonding company will let her know of her next appearance date--unless she has an attorney. If she has an attorney, the attorney will let her know of any court appearances that she is required to attend. The investigator may well be hoping that she will get nervous and make an "excited utterance" regarding other offenses! She needs to keep her mouth shut and stop calling detectives and District attorney's office.

[Sidenote: I just noticed that I had inadvertently failed to mention that plea offer also include court cost--those are typically around $200.00 ]

 

[yomama]

Boxcarbill...

Thank you for your reply. I just got off of the phone with her and she has only called the police station one time and the DA's office a couple of times. She bonded herself out (paid the full $500) and she has an attorney that doesn't really show any need to speak with her until charges are filed and he can look over the offense report. I told her, though, not to make any more phone calls unless it's to her attorney. Thanks a bunch!