Wrongfully Accused of Shoplifting in Georgia

My question involves criminal law for the state of: GA

Not me, but for a close family friend. Upstanding citizen, woman in her 60s.
- Was shopping at a fairly nice department store at the mall, made a return at the store and purchased another item.
- On her way out, passed by jewelry dept, looked at an item, asked the price and then returned the item to the woman. At this point she had her car keys/keyholder in her hand which look similar to the jewelry and has different things hanging off
- Gets approached by LP, says she stole a bracelet. She shows her the key and says its just that. They go together and ask the lady at the jewelry counter and she confirms that she received the item
- At this point, they take her back to the room, manager and security come in. She dumps her purse empties everything out and they can't find it. She shows her bag with the receipt for the items she had purchased. They can't find any evidence of anything.
- LP guy goes out, comes back in a few minutes later and sits right next to her (unlike other security and manager who are across the table from her at this point). Sits down right there and miraculously looks down at the floor and finds the bracelet.

They tell her to sign a paper and pay $150 cash and leave and never come back and they won't call the police. She hesitates, says she will do whatever, signs the paper and then at this point the police show up and they say it's too late.

Police come and accuse her of being drunk (she doesn't drink), they tell her to put everything in her car except her wallet.
- take her down to the station
- when she gets to the station, they refuse to let her make a call, tell her that if the bond gets posted she'll be out in a couple hours
- she tells them that she is diabetic and has high blood pressure and needs her meds and insulin shots 3 times a day, she passes out shortly after, they take her to the nurse and say that they will get her medication, but they never do
- put her back in a cell and refuse to give her any water or food
- she finally is allowed to make a call 4 hours after being booked
- bond is posted at night but they don't release her and hold her overnight with no bathroom breaks, no water, and no food

So she's out now, has court date scheduled in a few weeks, but we aren't sure what to do. There are a few questions

1) did she completely screw herself by signing that form at the dept store?
2) is there any way to get a copy of the surveillance video to see if A) she actually did it, or B) if the LP guy happened to go out and grab the bracelet and bring the bracelet back in when he took his little break
3) was the police activity justified at the station, not allowing a phone call for that long, and also withholding medication, food, and water from a person who is ill?

Appreciate any guidance.

I bet I could guess which store it was, not the actual location but the chain.

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Quoting DavisDJ

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1) did she completely screw herself by signing that form at the dept store?

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It isn't going to help her.

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Quoting DavisDJ

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2) is there any way to get a copy of the surveillance video to see if A) she actually did it, or B) if the LP guy happened to go out and grab the bracelet and bring the bracelet back in when he took his little break

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Her attorney can subpoena the video but they should do it quickly, lest it get recycled. It is possible there is no video, it could have all been floor surveillance but I doubt it. If there is video of the theft, that will likely be turned over to police/prosecutor. As for if he went back and got it, depends on how good their video coverage is. If there is dedicated coverage of the area, and a subpoena is issued quickly, it might be obtainable.

Is there a way for her to subpoena the video herself or without an attorney? If it has to be with an attorney, are there any strategies to do this in a cost effective way, or strategies for finding an attorney who will do it without charging an arm and a leg?

Plus, do they not need actual video surveillance of this in order to make a conviction in court?

No they don't need the video to prevail in court. There's no way she's going to beat this without legal representation.

She may subpoena the video herself if she knows how to do it. If she doesn’t, she’ll need a lawyer to do it for her. If the state has the video then the video can be obtained from the prosecutor through discovery. She’ll need a lawyer’s help with that, too, if she doesn’t know how to do that. She might qualify for the appointment of a public defender if she’s indigent. Otherwise, she’ll need to find an attorney on her own to help her with this. Note that the state doesn’t need a video to win conviction on shoplifting charges. The testimony of the store employees, if believed by the jury, would be sufficient. After all, people were prosecuted and convicted of shoplifting long before video was invented. Being in police custody approximately 4 hours is not a violation of her rights and certainly isn’t something that will result in dismissal of the charges against her.

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Quoting Taxing Matters

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She may subpoena the video herself if she knows how to do it. If she doesn’t, she’ll need a lawyer to do it for her. If the state has the video then the video can be obtained from the prosecutor through discovery. She’ll need a lawyer’s help with that, too, if she doesn’t know how to do that. She might qualify for the appointment of a public defender if she’s indigent. Otherwise, she’ll need to find an attorney on her own to help her with this. Note that the state doesn’t need a video to win conviction on shoplifting charges. The testimony of the store employees, if believed by the jury, would be sufficient. After all, people were prosecuted and convicted of shoplifting long before video was invented. Being in police custody approximately 4 hours is not a violation of her rights and certainly isn’t something that will result in dismissal of the charges against her.

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She was actually held overnight.

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Quoting geek

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She was actually held overnight.

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I see that she was, yes. She was evidently given bond and allowed to make the call after 4 hours. She apparently couldn't make the bond that night and stayed in jail overnight. While holding her overnight on bond is not a violation of her rights, not allowing access to a bathroom and/or not providing her her medication might be. However, even if that was a violation of her rights, it would not result in dismissal of the charges. It would instead be the possible basis for a civil lawsuit against the jail. The issue, though, is what damages she suffered as a result of it. If she suffered little in the way of damages (e.g. no medical expenses incurred, no physical injury, etc.) then there is nothing for which to sue.

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Quoting DavisDJ

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1) did she completely screw herself by signing that form at the dept store?

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If she was not born in the area in which she lives, then I think she completely screwed herself by moving into such a corrupt area in the first place. LP officers who plant evidence. Police officers who withhold medication, food, and water.

I'll bet she lives in some small, rural town, where everyone knows everyone else. If that's the case, she'll probably get some corrupt judge who will rubber stamp everything done by the LP and the police.

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Quoting Taxing Matters

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I see that she was, yes. She was evidently given bond and allowed to make the call after 4 hours. She apparently couldn't make the bond that night and stayed in jail overnight. While holding her overnight on bond is not a violation of her rights, not allowing access to a bathroom and/or not providing her her medication might be. However, even if that was a violation of her rights, it would not result in dismissal of the charges. It would instead be the possible basis for a civil lawsuit against the jail. The issue, though, is what damages she suffered as a result of it. If she suffered little in the way of damages (e.g. no medical expenses incurred, no physical injury, etc.) then there is nothing for which to sue.

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I have to wonder about the bathroom part..don't most holding cells have a toilet? At any rate, she should talk to an attorney in her area..

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Quoting geek

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I have to wonder about the bathroom part..don't most holding cells have a toilet? At any rate, she should talk to an attorney in her area..

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She needs to subpoena the CCTV footage from all cameras 1 hour before the incident and 1 hour after the incident. If this chain has a red star in their logo, you need to move fast, they don't save footage that long. They also usually have CCTV in the camera control room and the holding area. It is key to obtain all footage.

She will also need to subpoena the employee who helped her out and have her deposed and/or testify on her behalf.