What Happens if You Ignore a Civil Demand After Shoplifting

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Pennsylvania

Hello, I have seen similar posts on law forums, so I am going to try and explain everything in my certain situation to get help for my case specifically.

I of course know now that what I did was very wrong and I should have thought about the consequences beforehand.

I have asked a few attorneys what I should do, but I wanted to ask here to get more input. This is my first offence of any kind, so this is very new to me.

I am over 18 and live in PA. Here is my story with all the facts I can think of.

I took something out of Walmart that was for sale for about $50, the loss prevention people stopped me and questioned me after me giving the item back. I did not have ID on me, so they had to call the police JUST to come verify my identity. They did NOT arrest me, charge me with anything, ask me to sign anything or tell me I am banned from their store. All they said was that I was going to receive something in the mail from Walmart asking for money. And that I will also receive something from my magistrate asking for me to go to court. He said if I didn’t pay, then they would sue me.

A week went by and today I received a letter from a law company in New York that works with Walmart asking for a civil demand of $150.00 payed in within 30 days. I was almost going to pay it immediately but then I remembered what else might happen as that kind of shows that I admit to doing it.

Now this is where I get very confused. Most people are telling me that Walmart is going to file criminal charges against me either way, even if I pay the $150. If I pay, they will still summon me to court? Does that mean I will get a criminal record? If I don’t pay, same thing. But is it worse? Is the magistrate summoning the same thing as them suing me? Is that also the same thing as them filing criminal charging against me?

Basically all I want is for this to be put behind me and to never think about again, meaning all I want if for this to never show on my record. If it does, how will I know and how can I expunge it?

I also don’t think I can afford an expensive attorney since I am very young and have college and such. How much would I have to pay for all this? Are there payment plans?

Bottom line is this:
1) What will happen if I do and do not pay the $150?
2) If they file against me, does that mean I have to be fingerprinted?
3) Will they give me a court date?
4) Will they give me someone to defend me? Do I know how to defend my self? I think not.
5) What will happen at court? Will they really convict me on $50 item for first offence and put a misdemeanor on my record?

This was all a horrible judgment on my part and I will never do anything like this again. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you.

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Quoting ttfpaw

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What will happen if I do and do not pay the $150?

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If you pay, then the civil demand will be resolved. If you do not, they have the option of suing you for a larger amount and reporting your failure to pay on your credit. What else they might be inspired to do, only time will tell.

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Quoting ttfpaw

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2) If they file against me, does that mean I have to be fingerprinted?

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If you are criminally prosecuted you can expect to be fingerprinted.

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Quoting ttfpaw

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3) Will they give me a court date?

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If you are taken to court, civilly or criminally, you will get a court date.

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Quoting ttfpaw

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4) Will they give me someone to defend me? Do I know how to defend my self? I think not.

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If you are talking about a criminal charge, maybe. For a misdemeanor shoplifting charge, depending on the sentence or whether the prosecutor is taking jail time off the table, it is possible that you would be denied counsel based upon the minor nature of the penalty. Otherwise you would be free to petition for a court-appointed lawyer, and the court would review whether or not you qualify. For a civil case, you're on your own.

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Quoting ttfpaw

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5) What will happen at court? Will they really convict me on $50 item for first offence and put a misdemeanor on my record?

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When you choose to commit crimes, you run the risk of being convicted of and sentenced for your crime. If you don't like the idea of a criminal record, paying fines, and serving a sentence, don't commit crimes.

I understand what I did was completely wrong and stupid. I was about to pay the civil demand, but why do some people say it is better not to pay? Something like it will show guilty? If I pay, is there anything else they can do other than a criminal offence charge? Would paying it make the chance of them doing that higher or lower? Most likely they will, so do I hire an attorney then? Thanks for the replies.

They CAN criminally charge you whether you pay or not. The law does not say that if you pay your civil demand you are protected from criminal charges. However, in practice, if you pay the civil demand they will likely decline to charge you criminally. If they do, by all means either hire an attorney (if you can afford one) or ask for a public defender (if you can't).

Make no mistake, you CAN be convicted of a $2 theft, let alone a $50 one. So it will behoove you to do everything you can to keep it from getting to that point.