First Offense, Third Degree Shoplifting Charge
I recently got a call at home from an officer saying i didnt pay at a place i ate at (small restaurant), and he gave me a citation for retail fraud 3rd degree. he himself was there and saw me on tape as it might have happened once or twice before and the owner prolly called him. however the officer only charged me for that offense that he saw for about $20 for r.d. of third degree. However, when i called to apologize to the owner he said i owed him alot more because hes seen me eat there before. however, i want to know what will happen at the pretrial? will the court go by the officers charges or will they go by what the owner was saying? i am in the process of getting an attorney but wanted your feedback as to what would happen in or after the pretrial.
Re: 1st time 3rd degree - need advice
You will go on your charges. The Officer only saw the one theft without more evidence they cannot charge you with others. The owner however can sue you which will be tough to win but he can try
Re: 1st time 3rd degree - need advice
Did you admit to the owner that you had done the same thing on prior occasions?
Re: 1st time 3rd degree - need advice
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Quoting
aaron
Did you admit to the owner that you had done the same thing on prior occasions?
If so who was present? If its your word againist owner that works in your favor
Re: 1st time 3rd degree - need advice
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Quoting
panther10758
If so who was present? If its your word againist owner that works in your favor
nope, the prior thing was just something verbal that the owner said to me when i apologized to him... i did not admit to any prior thing, i was just called by the officer and i told him exactly what happened, and he asked me to write it down and i apologized in it and wrote it was a mistake and unintentionally happened and can pay the differences... Even the officer told me not to plead guilty in court and he said that the owner was making a big deal out of it.
Re: First Offense, Third Degree Shoplifting Charge
Pleading not guilty and being found guilty can result in max in penalty. Consult with a criminal defense Attorney
Re: First Offense, Third Degree Shoplifting Charge
What did you write? "I'm sorry that every time I come to this restaurant I mistakenly forget to pay for the food I eat"? What's the point of issuing an apology both you and the restaurant owner know to be both false and insincere?
Re: First Offense, Third Degree Shoplifting Charge
This "apology" also works against you in any attempt to plead not guilty. You see your "apology" is a confession!
Re: First Offense, Third Degree Shoplifting Charge
you deserve to be found guilty and get the max sentence.. Why would you do such a pointless act. YOu must not be poor if you have the money so good luck and I hope you pay a nice big fine. You have admitted to us you have done this before and on purpose.
Re: First Offense, Third Degree Shoplifting Charge
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Quoting
redtoy92
you deserve to be found guilty and get the max sentence.. Why would you do such a pointless act. YOu must not be poor if you have the money so good luck and I hope you pay a nice big fine. You have admitted to us you have done this before and on purpose.
reezo i didnt say i do it before, i said the owner say me there before so thats why he thinks i did it before... actually i paid for the food but i went and got more stuff so thats what the complaint was about...
my question is, the officer charged me for the amount he came up with, while when i apologized later to the owner he thought i did it before, so what do i expect in the pretrial whats written in the citation/ticket (3rd degree, $40 bucks) or what the owner thinks/wants? what you think about me getting fines etc dont matter as I never said i dont want to pay a fine if the court deems necessary... i just want to know how they will go about the whole thing... the officer told me to plead not guilty so that i am offered a pretrial diversion which is offered in the particular court ill be at, i didnt mean to say that it never happened...