Caught Stealing, Confessed, Police Not Called

My question involves criminal law for the state of: California

I'm 20 years old and I was recently caught shoplifting at Wal-Mart on February 4th. This is the very first time I've committed any crime and I'm ashamed of what I've done. I've never been this depressed and scared before in my life. Anyway, I opened a $20 merchandise, took 1 item out and left the building without buying anything. I was stopped by an LP officer and was asked to go with him to the back room. I willingly followed his orders out of shock. He asked me to empty my pockets, took out a sheet of paper and asked for an ID and my SSN. I told him that I could just pay for the items but was ignored and asked how much money I had on me. I had $34. He told me to sign a 2 page paper and foolishly signed it before actually reading. I believe it was a document about confessing what I did. He said he will not call the police and that I may or may not receive a letter in the mail that will ask me to pay between $50-$1000. He also gave me a sheet of paper with the title "Asset Protection Recovery" with a number on it that I will have to call 5-10 days after the incident. Lastly, he told me I was banned from Wal-Mart and allowed me to leave without being escorted.

I tried calling the number on Friday but was told that I wasn't on file yet. I have a few questions to ask:
-What can I expect from this call?
-Will I have to go to court?
-What will happen after I pay for the damages?
-Am I still qualified for a diversion program?

Please, I need help. I don't know what got into me and I just want to lay this incident to rest as soon as possible (no matter how long the process is).

If the police were not called to respond while you were there, chances are they never will be involved. Lucky you.

CA state law allows the store to make a demand from you of between $50 and $500 - the average being about $300. Provided you pay the civil demand, there will be no reason to ever go to civil court, and unless you give them some reason to report this to the police, it is not going to happen.

And p.s. That stay out of WalMart means ALL Walmarts in EVERY state.

Will this incident be recorded for background checks if I pay for the civil damages?

It should not be.

And definitely pay the civil damages. If you don't, you get another letter for a higher amount, and they can sue you in Civil Court....and they might decide to go ahead with Criminal Charges too....

Quote:

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Quoting WusPromise

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Will this incident be recorded for background checks if I pay for the civil damages?

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You could end up in a retail theft database, if Walmart participates in such a database. That would be based upon the confession you gave (and my assumption that you're an adult) not the civil demand.