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accidentally stole pack of gum

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ihatebias

Member
I was inside of a grocery store picking up my prescription. On my way out I was looking at the candy isle and noticed a lone pack of gum. The gum had the words "TEST GUM" on the pack. Thinking it was a sample, I picked up the pack of gum and headed out the door, gum in hand. A few seconds after I exited, an employee came out and grabbed the back of my backpack. He then asked me why I took the gum. I responded that "I wanted gum." He told me that I needed to pay for it, and so I offered to do so. He said that I needed to come with him and instead he brought me back inside the store and cuffed me. He told me I was under arrest. I sat in the back of the store as he told me what was happening. I denied that I stole it. The police arrived I told them the same story. I was none the less given a citation for THEFT 3 with base fine of 500$. I have a court date. I didn't commit any crimes but they don't believe me.

Also note:
- I have an 100% clean record.
- I had just made a purchase from their store and had enough money in my wallet to buy it.
- The gum was never concealed. (I was holding it in my hand)
- This happend in Eugene, Oregon
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I was inside of a grocery store picking up my prescription. On my way out I was looking at the candy isle and noticed a lone pack of gum. The gum had the words "TEST GUM" on the pack. Thinking it was a sample, I picked up the pack of gum and headed out the door, gum in hand. A few seconds after I exited, an employee came out and grabbed the back of my backpack. He then asked me why I took the gum. I responded that "I wanted gum." He told me that I needed to pay for it, and so I offered to do so. He said that I needed to come with him and instead he brought me back inside the store and cuffed me. He told me I was under arrest. I sat in the back of the store as he told me what was happening. I denied that I stole it. The police arrived I told them the same story. I was none the less given a citation for THEFT 3 with base fine of 500$. I have a court date. I didn't commit any crimes but they don't believe me.

Also note:
- I have an 100% clean record.
- I had just made a purchase from their store and had enough money in my wallet to buy it.
- The gum was never concealed. (I was holding it in my hand)
- This happend in Eugene, Oregon
What is the question? It sounds to me like you stole the gum. Why do I say that? Because: "I picked up the pack of gum and headed out the door, gum in hand".
 

racer72

Senior Member
I have an 100% clean record.
Everyone does the first time they steal something.

I had just made a purchase from their store and had enough money in my wallet to buy it.
Lots of thieves make the same claim. I use to work in loss prevention, in most cases the person caught had money to pay for the items they stole.

The gum was never concealed. (I was holding it in my hand)
Irrelevant.

This happend in Eugene, Oregon
Besides paying the criminal fine, expect a letter from a law firm representing the retailer asking to to pay a civil penalty too. Depending on the value of the what was stolen, it can be another $500.
 

Yertle8

Member
I will say it seems unlikely that if you had purchased items with a pack of gum in hand, which I assume costs less than $0.50, you probably didn't intend to steal anything. But you did, so it doesn't mean much.

A few years ago I was in a store and I had a pack of starbursts in my hand. My girlfriend of the time needed help getting something heavy into the cart, so I put the starbursts in my pocket to free my hands up. Then proceeded to forget about them. So we spent over $100 on items and I stole a $0.75 packet of starbursts by mistake. Fortunately I didn't get caught. In an ideal world I would have gone back and paid, but they could have had me arrested and I wasn't risking that.
 

homefree

Junior Member
Hummm...
I would question the fact that you were cuffed by a store owner/employee. I think that is wrong. :mad:
 
A google search of "test gum" only links back to your post! Otherwise I might have been inclined to allow for a misunderstanding, or mistake of fact.
 

ihatebias

Member
yea. legally I did infact steal the gum. however, it was not my intent. It was a coincidence that I saw it and when I did I just thought it was my lucky day(it was the only one of its kind, so i assumed it was the last one) and absentmindedly picked it up. i understand that regardless of my intent, what I did was against the law.

i still feel, however, that it is unfair to charge me as if I had intentionally stolen something worth 50$. i offered to come back inside to pay for it but the LP guy didn't give a **** that it was an accident. he said it was his job to crack down on people breaking the law and he goes by the book regardless of whether its an honest mistake or not. the company has also sent me a 200$ civil demand.

i would be more than willing to pay the civil demand if that was all there was to it but the fact that I also have to go to court and face criminal charges blows my mind. my only hope is that my judge is wiser and more understanding than the ruthless LP

EDIT:
My question is: What should I do? What is going to happen to me? What happens if I do not have the money to pay all the fines/court fees?(They could total 1000$? and I do not have that cash)
 
Last edited:

ihatebias

Member
Yes, it was, in fact, your intent.
You saw a pack of gum that wasn't yours.
You picked it up on purpose (ie: intentionally).
intention: an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions;

My intentions: Remove a free object from store.
What I did: Steal a object with monetary value.
 
the guy is saying he thought it was free sort of give away by way that the container was marked. not the smartest fellow but it may not have been his INTENT to steal the gum. I don't know anything about defending a gum stealer in court, but it would be pretty entertaining to see an actual defense submitting the container as evidence with words like "Promotional Giveaway - Take One" on the side of the box. If one juror thinks he could have made the same mistake, he wins the case.
 

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
the guy is saying he thought it was free sort of give away by way that the container was marked. not the smartest fellow but it may not have been his INTENT to steal the gum. I don't know anything about defending a gum stealer in court, but it would be pretty entertaining to see an actual defense submitting the container as evidence with words like "Promotional Giveaway - Take One" on the side of the box. If one juror thinks he could have made the same mistake, he wins the case.
1 - Where did it say "promotion gum, take one"?
2- I shot this dude but I did not want to kill him. He died anyway. So now I can't be charged with murder, huh? How much are your rates? I could use you on my defense team.
 

ihatebias

Member
1 - Where did it say "promotion gum, take one"?
2- I shot this dude but I did not want to kill him. He died anyway. So now I can't be charged with murder, huh? How much are your rates? I could use you on my defense team.
1. My error was assuming that being marked "Test Gum" was the same thing as "Sample Gum." I was wrong.

2. In murder they call this INVOLUNTARY manslaugther. There is however no equivalent for charges of theft.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
1. My error was assuming that being marked "Test Gum" was the same thing as "Sample Gum." I was wrong.
Your error was in assuming something was free for the taking just because it was sitting there.
You INTENTIONALLY took the pack of gum.

You are confused on the meaning of "intent" in this context.
 

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