Shoplifting At Macy's In California

I attempted to steal $366.00 dollars worth of merchandise from a CA Macy's and was caught. I was not arrested, nor given a citatation or ticket by the police. I was detained by the Macy's Loss Prevention office for two hours, and then released into my own custody. I was given a sheet of paper that had a case number on it. The sheet of paper reads:

MACY'S Loss Preventino

CIVIL DEMAND NOTICE

You have been detained for a shoplifting incident and/or for causing a loss to Macy's West.

State laws five merchants a civil claim for damages and/or a monetary penalty against you (or the parent of guardian of a juvenile), as a result of this incident.

This civil claim is separate from any criminal punishment or criminal penalties, and is also separate from and promissory agreement related to this incident.

This civil claim may take into consideration:
*The retail vaue of the merchandise
*The costs associated with providing Loss Prevention prote4ction to our building and its contents
*And other damages and/or penalties as permitted by law

You will soon receive a letter from Federated Department Store's Civil Recovery Department explaining the amount owed and seeking promp payment.

What exactly does that mean? I came into absolutely NO CONTACT with the police. I was also informed that this would be a misdemeanor on my record. Is this true? With this fine, will I need to go to criminal court? And if I am found guilty of Petit Theft, and have it expunged, will I be able to LEGALLY say that I've never been convicted of anything? This is my first offense, and I have NO IDEA where to go for advice or information. PLEASE HELP ME!!!

You did not state if you were a minor or not, are you? As the rules change a bit if you are.

It means that you were caught and now they are sueing you for damages. You will need to pay this or your troubles will be MUCH worse. This is a CIVIL case and is seperate from CRIMINAL charges that you may be facing.

The police do not need to be called and you do not need to be arrested at the time to be charged for the crime. If you were told that this is a misdemeanor, then you probably WILL be charged criminally as this is the only way to get a record. The stores LP just sends the proof/complaint to the DA and they file the charges against you. This process can take a long time and the store has until the statue of limitations runs out to file criminal charges against you.

No one here can tell if and when criminal charges will be filed. But I'd be willing to bet that your chances are greater than 90% bc of the amount that you attempted to steal. What I can tell you for sure is if you don't pay this civil demand then they WILL file charges criminally, bc you gave them a reason. If they choose not to charge you criminally then consider yourself very lucky.

When you are charged criminally (summons in the mail most likely to appear in court) you will need to get a criminal defense attorney. Once you get one of these, discuss with them the possiblity of getting into a diverson program and if one is even available in your area. Part of your sentencing will be restitution and payment in full. This is where the civil demand comes into play.

If and when you get a summons for court, get a lawyer right away.

Where I wont go out on a limb as say they "will" file charges I will say its very likely given the dollar amount. the Civil Demand notice will be quite steep based on dollar expect your around or to exceed $500.00. This doe snot include any court fines you may get if macy's files criminal charges. Just so you know you just missed getting felony charges as felony begins at $400.00

Ok, I'm 20 years old, and the woman in Loss Prevention told me and one of my friends that we would not be prosecuted. She said that she would fine us, and that was all. I also signed a sheet of paper (the one that released me into my own custody) that stated that Macy's had up to 45 dys to file charges against me. Is that their statute of limitations for charging me on the offense? I had another friend who was with us, and he was not relased into his own custody, but into police custody, and is 19. He was given a citation/ticket by the police, and a date to appear in court, and has been officially charged. Does this make any difference?

The 45 days is Macy's policy (which they do not have to abide by) the statute of limitations is one to two years.

YOU GOT VERY LUCKY!!! Macy's has a 100% prosecution policy which they implement about 99% of the time. Pay the whatever amount Macy's is asking and consider this the luckiest incident of your 20 year old life.

Macy's does not have a 100% prosecution policy. They tend not to prosecute unless it is a felony dollar amount, you have no ID, you are repeat shoplifter and/or give them troubles.

Mouser, know what you are talking about before you post.

prtty_yng_thng06, did your friend meet any of the above criteria? Did your friend use a tool to steal? Are you in college? Answers to the questions all factor into whether or not Macy's will prosecute you.

Thank you Bam I was pretty sure mouser was incorrect but I was unsure

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Quoting bam!

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Macy's does not have a 100% prosecution policy. They tend not to prosecute unless it is a felony dollar amount, you have no ID, you are repeat shoplifter and/or give them troubles.

Mouser, know what you are talking about before you post.

prtty_yng_thng06, did your friend meet any of the above criteria? Did your friend use a tool to steal? Are you in college? Answers to the questions all factor into whether or not Macy's will prosecute you.

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My friend didn't use a tool, he just popped off the sensor. I'm a full time student in college, as well as BOTH of my friends. None of us took felony dollar amounts, we all had ID, we all cooperated, and this was a first offense for two of us. The friend that was taken had a prior for attempted murder and carrying a weapon on school grounds from when he was a Juvenile (aged 11-12 years).

So, am I going to be charged then? Even though I wasn't arrested, will I wind up going through the same process as my friend who WAS arrested?

Thanks for the info so far guys.

ok ok, maybe not a 100% prosecution policy, but pretty close to it. There are tons of cases on this forum alone where cooperative people are arrested and booked for petty thefts from Macy's. I did not mean that Macy's will take you to civil court 100% of the time, but that they will call the police.