Caught Stealing but Not Detained - What Happens Next

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Texas

My cousin Patty stole a pair of panties (no, really) from Walmart. Valued @ $3. She says she was stopped at the door by LP & when the LP woman tried to hold her & make her empty her pockets she refused & left. As she was leaving, LP may or may not have gotten her license plate number.

She admits to taking the underwear, but says she was uncertain if there was video evidence or just the LP woman who assumed she stole them, since she says there was nobody around & no (visible) cameras.

I'm just wondering what the worst case is? Assume LP got the license plate (car registered under her step dads name) would the store send cops to her step dads house looking for her over a $3 pair of underwear?

Yes, she is deff. guilty, but don't the police have better things to do w their time than chase someone who stole $3?
& what happens if it WASN'T on tape? It would b LP word against Patty's. It happened like 4 days ago, so by now, if there's no video proof, would the police still pursue this? What if there IS video proof? Would they go after her?

I have been in a Walmart security room. They have a very large number of security cameras. There are very few places in a store that does not have camera coverage and almost every camera is not visible to somebody that doesn't know exactly where the camera is.


Shoplifting is shoplifting. The dollar amount is irrelevant.

So, how much do you think would be worth the police's time? How much should a thief like your cousin be allowed to steal before the police and the store should be allowed to stop them? How many times should she be allowed to steal $3 before she's made to face the consequences?

It's not that I think she should b allowed to get away with it, it's just that I wasn't sure what will happen next.
Especially since it was her step dads car. I certainly don't think he should b punished for what she did.

No one's going to punish him for what she did, but you implied that since it was *only* $3, the police shouldn't bother with her. I don't know if they will or not - I don't even know if they got her on videotape or not. But if more thieves like your cousin were given consequences that hurt, maybe they'd stop stealing. Do you have any idea how much the prices you and I pay have gone up because of thieves who *only* stole $3?

You should tell your cousin this:

Once she is caught and charged, her work options will be limited. $2500 in legal fees (including lawyer), $84K in lost wages because I can't even get a job typing.

I guess what I actually meant was: do u think police will bother goin to her step dads house looking for her, or is it more likely they will just send him some type of mail once they find out who he is. Do u think they will actually come to arrest her or what?

I don't know how busy your police department is.

Having a guilty thought process after petty theft / awaiting arrest seems to be a common theme . . . . but all in all your prob. cousin got away with the $3 "heist".

Honestly, I hope she DID "get away with it".
It's not that I feel she shouldn't b held responsible, it's just that she has 3 kids & her husband isn't working. They don't have any $$.
I feel guilty 2. If I would've loaned her the $$ she asked for this wouldn't have happened.
She was going from her am job to her pm job & called me on the way to ask to borrow $5 bc she had a "female accident" & couldn't go home between & only had $.14 n the bank.

I just don't know what's going to happen to her & I feel like I'm a little responsible as well. I hope she learned her lesson!