Will Stores Prosecute Minors for Shoplifting

I've been curious about shoplifting laws and haven't found anything on minors. What would happen if a minor stole say a lighter from WalMart. Would he be charged or let go?

I would recommend you use the search function here. You'll find plenty of threads about shoplifting minors and the misery that follows!

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Quoting silentstoner

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I've been curious about shoplifting laws and haven't found anything on minors. What would happen if a minor stole say a lighter from WalMart. Would he be charged or let go?

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Odds are that his parents would be called to come and get him. He would be banned from all Walmart stores, and would have to pay a civil fine of about $300.00.

They could also call the police and have him arrested...whether or not they would do so generally depends on how good or bad he behaves through the process.

Pretty darned expensive lighter.

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Quoting llworking

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....and would have to pay a civil fine of about $300.00.

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Typical civil demand laws allow the store to issue the civil demand to the minor and the minor's parents.

Stores don't prosecute. Stores make complaints, it is the state that decides whether to prosecute. The question is whether such would get reported. Often that's a local decision. They certainly can.

As pointed out, that if LP at Wal*Mart catches a shoplifter, you can be assured that they (or their parents in the case of a minor) will get a letter from Walmart's "lawyers" demanding civil restitution.

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Quoting flyingron

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Stores don't prosecute. Stores make complaints, it is the state that decides whether to prosecute. The question is whether such would get reported. Often that's a local decision. They certainly can.

As pointed out, that if LP at Wal*Mart catches a shoplifter, you can be assured that they (or their parents in the case of a minor) will get a letter from Walmart's "lawyers" demanding civil restitution.

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While there is technical truth to this, if I, as a store LP/AP person make a complaint on a normal shoplifting case when I have the subject in custody, there is about a 100% chance that it will be prosecuted. Similarly, if I asked for the prosecution to be stopped, there is also an almost 100% that this would happen as well.

The only times that there is gray area is when there are questions about whether we have enough PC to prosecute; those do have to be run through the prosecutor, who makes a decision.

The reason the OP has not found any shoplifting laws regarding minors is that there are no shoplifting laws that are specific to minors. Shoplifting is shoplifting, regardless of how old you are when you decide to turn yourself into a thief. A specific store may make the specific decision to make or not make a complaint based on the thief's age, but minors are subject to the same laws as adults - they don't get special shoplifting laws all their own.