shoplifting

[MFrattura]

hello all,
my girlfriend, who lives in connecticut had a rather bizzare experience.
she shoplifted a wallet from T.J. Maxx, and was not caught in the store, but the next day she recieved a voicemail from someone claiming to be the manager telling her that she was "identified" and should come back to the store "to be arrested". neither of us have any idea how they identified her and found her cellphone number, but assuming that this is not some sort of prank, and that they do indeed have video evidence of her in the act, how far can they pursue this? i had always thought that surviellence camera footage was not enough by itself to prosecute for shoplifting and i advised her to just ignore the message as they did not have enough evidence to do anything. is this good advice? most importantly, can T.J. Maxx, based only on video footage, send police to her house or issue a summons?
thanks,
-MF

 

[spallanzani]

As a side note, I find it interesting that the bizarre-ness of the experience was not that she shoplifted, but the method in which she was tracked down. Is shoplifting normal for her?

 

[PJ Weber]

She DID shoplift . . . so it looks like they got the right person

The manner of trackdown is indeed unusual. They didn't pick her name and number out of thin air, so somebody at TJ Maxx must know her

 

[mslady]

MFrattura, just tell your friend to stop stealing and go turn themself in and if you are "your friend" oh well same applies...

 

[MFrattura]

OK, so three replys so far and nothing but moral judgements
i thought this was a legal advice forum,
anyone want to actually answer my question?

 

[garrula lingua]

I've seen a lot of people convicted with only video proof of the crime.

Most frequently, forgers (stole someone's check & Prosecutor obtained a store video showing them cashing the check (the cashier will also testify as to the transaction).

Another one is ATM theft, where there is only a video of the person using the ATM card.

OP, why are you surprised ?

CCTV is everywhere.

She got caught.
There's so many cameras around these days, she's a fool for stealing.

If identity is not at issue, the Prosecutor can file petty theft charges against her, and issue a warrant. (And, yes, I've seen ID made on copies of Driver's License pictures and warrants issued after the clerk picks her out of a six-pack).

She should contact them and she should stop stealing.

 

[Elias]

I have to agree with ^^^^^ What do you expect? She obviously got caught and its strange that she got told in the manner that she did, ah well. We can't give you anymore information.

So, they know who she is, what do you expect, they obviously have proof.

 

[efflandt]

Did she buy something from that store on that day or another day? If she used anything other than cash it would not be too far fetched to match her up with another image and check/credit transaction. Or if she was bragging about it, maybe someone snitched.

 

[las365]

i had always thought that surviellence camera footage was not enough by itself to prosecute for shoplifting

Why would you think that? What makes you think that video that shows someone shoplifting is weak evidence? You are wrong.

and i advised her to just ignore the message as they did not have enough evidence to do anything. is this good advice?

No. It is just about the worst advice that anyone could possibly give.