Caught Shoplifting In Mervyns

My question involves criminal law for the state of: California
i was caught shoplifting on March 9, 2008 at Mervyns in CA. the total amount was about 180.00. i was out the door when the LP security ran after me and asked to to step back inside. i was so scared i thought i was going to die. i was ashamed and even now just thinking about it scares me. she took my info and told me that the amount required her to call the police. the officer was really nice he just gave me a citation and let me go. he didnt even walk me out (walk of shame). so my court date is April 15 and im scared of what will happen. my biggest fear is that my family and friends will find out. i got in contact with a program NASP(National Association Shopplifing Prevention) and completed a sort of rehab program with them in hopes showing to the judge that im trying to get help and stop shoplifting. Ok so here are my questions. Does anyone know what will likely happen in court? also i got a letter in the mail from Mervyns Lawyer this is what it says "This letter is a demand that you pay 295.00 in satisfaction of this civil matter. this is not an attempt to collect a debt. under CA Law Cal. Penal Coder, Section 490.5, meryvns has a civil cause of action against you because you intentionally deprived Mervyns of merchandise without paying for it. the law further provides that seperate from and in additon to any criminal action arising from your conduct you may be held civilly liable for costs of merchandise if damaged a civil penalty and court costs and reasonable attorneys fees. mervyns does not wish to file a civil action against you however, if we do not recieve payment wthin 30 days from the date of this letter, mervyns may make every effort to enforce its right under this law, which could include a civil court action against you. if you are determined to be reponsible and the judgement is not paid, this could also result in an adverse impact on you credit rating."..... Im thinking if i should even pay this or go to court first. im planning on going to talk to a public defender. i dont want to rush and pay these 295.00 if i really dont need to. id rather pay them in court costs which im sure i will. basically i need advice on what to do in my situation. please anyone

If you fail to pay the Civil fine (unrelated to your criminal case in court) the fine will likely triple or more. If you still fail to pay they can sue you in court and win. Then your looking at legal fees and court costs as well. So your $295.00 fine could run thousands. Pay the Civil Demand. Far as court ask for Public defender or hire an Attorney and ask if you qualify for Diversion

:)thank you for the reply... as for the demand of payment, i had heard from other people that paying the fine has nothing to do with what will happen in court. right now im more worried about that. i hope completing the NASP program will help me. what if i cannot pay the fine in full (295.00)?

Make payment arrangements just be sure to make them on time or face fine being raised

im planning on being a school nurse. im sure this is going to come back and bite my butt. how do i go about getting it cleared from my perm. record? and lets say i get pulled over by a police officer. im scared my family will ever find out anything about my shoplifting so if the officer says have u ever been arrested what do i answer? when i was caught the police were called and i was read my miranda rights so was i arrested just not formally?

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Quoting pigglywiggly

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im planning on being a school nurse. im sure this is going to come back and bite my butt. how do i go about getting it cleared from my perm. record? and lets say i get pulled over by a police officer. im scared my family will ever find out anything about my shoplifting so if the officer says have u ever been arrested what do i answer? when i was caught the police were called and i was read my miranda rights so was i arrested just not formally?

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You have a court date. You will be sentenced.

Trust me, you were arrested.

You may be able to get this expunged at some point in the future... but it isn't something you can do on your way out of the courthouse.

Oh, and until it is expunged, when asked if you have been arrested, you say "Yes."

i have another question. the letter i recieved demanding 295.00 from mervyns' lawyer was postmarked Apr.2 and they said i have 30 days to send the money. my court is next week on the 15th. im not yet sure if i am going to pay the full amount or in payments or if im going to fight them on it. my question is, during my court date will the letter come up? i believe the criminal aspect of my situation is different from the civil correct?

Once more Civil Demand as nothing to do with court case. If you want a payment plan on Civil Demand do not wait until 30 days are almost over!

i called the public defenders office today and they told me they couldnt really give me any advice or counsel until i actually go to cout and get appointed to one of them. but she did tell me that i have to plead not guilty in order to even have one appointed to me. i dont think it makes sense. it doesnt make sense that i would plead guilty and basically represent myself. or plead not guilty which is a lie (i had decided to plead no contest which is basically guilty but i believe it means they cant hold the plea against me in a civil suit is that correct) anyway, i dont know what to plead now, i dont want to plead not guilty because i am but i cant go in blind to all their legal talk and not know half of whats going on. my court date is getting closer this tuesday to be exact and im so anxious to just get it over with.

Your not lieing your merely extending case to talk with Attorney. However if you wish tell judge you wish to not neter plea at this time and would like a public defender. Judge will enter not guilty plea for ytou but you would not have lied. I find humorous your now have morals not to lie (so you think) in court but can steal!?

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Quoting panther10758

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Your not lieing your merely extending case to talk with Attorney. However if you wish tell judge you wish to not neter plea at this time and would like a public defender. Judge will enter not guilty plea for ytou but you would not have lied. I find humorous your now have morals not to lie (so you think) in court but can steal!?

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i thought this forum was on legal advice not preaching to someone about the morality of their crime. just because i did one bad thing (steal)that makes it ok to do another(lie) right? you make total sense. thank you for the legal advice but u can keep ur "humorous" comment. you dont know my situation or what my intentions were. so like i said i appreciate the legal advice. and will keep posted on the outcome

Actaully I know more about you than you think but that isnt point. My point was valid. However onto your legal issue if you plead guilty you will be found guilty and sentenced. No deal nothing you get what judge wants to gives you. If you enter no plea (option I gave you to save your moral issue I found funny) then you will get new court date and time to talk with public defender. If you dont want your morals judged then dont take action some may question your morals on

my court date is tomorrow, im really nervous. i was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on how to approach the judge. i know all judges are different but im not even sure what to say. so far i know im going to dress nice and appropriately, im gonna leave the cell phone in the car. when he talks to me im not going to make excuses or blame other people for what i did. im sure that makes them mad. but i dont know what to expect him to ask me or what i should answer. any advice would be greatly appreciated. as i said before i will post an update of what happened when i get out of court. i want to share with people in siimilar situations what to expect as well as any advice i have from my experience. i really hope everyone on here who has ever shoplifted really feels bad about it and never does it again. accept responsibility for what you did and move on. everyone makes mistakes and you cant change the past but you can definitely change your future by the actions you make today. once again thank you to everyone for sharing similar stories and to those who gave me advice especially panther most of the useful information i recieved was from you.

You should have an Attorney with you if not then enter no plea and request public defender

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Quoting pigglywiggly

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my court date is tomorrow, im really nervous. i was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on how to approach the judge. i know all judges are different but im not even sure what to say. so far i know im going to dress nice and appropriately, im gonna leave the cell phone in the car. when he talks to me im not going to make excuses or blame other people for what i did. im sure that makes them mad. but i dont know what to expect him to ask me or what i should answer. any advice would be greatly appreciated. as i said before i will post an update of what happened when i get out of court. i want to share with people in siimilar situations what to expect as well as any advice i have from my experience. i really hope everyone on here who has ever shoplifted really feels bad about it and never does it again. accept responsibility for what you did and move on. everyone makes mistakes and you cant change the past but you can definitely change your future by the actions you make today. once again thank you to everyone for sharing similar stories and to those who gave me advice especially panther most of the useful information i recieved was from you.

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When in doubt, tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

ITS ME PIGGLYWIGGLY.........SO I HAD COURT YESTERDAY AS YOU ALL KNOW. i was there very early because i was unsure of where to go. so when i got there i was told to look at the calender and find my name then check what court room id be in. well i looked and my name was nowhere to be found on any list. i went to the criminal court office and spoke to a receptionist. she saw my notice to appear citation and looked me up in the computer. she told me there have been no charges filed against me FOR NOW. but they have a year to do so. she gave me a phone number and told me to call back and check in every 2 week to see if charges have been filed. so basically i didnt even see a judge i was out in 30 minutes. i hope i dont get charges filed. but im going to contact the attorney for mervyns and set up a payment plan asap. i guess my punishment for now is not knowing for sure and knowing that they have a whole year to charge me.

an update... i called the attorneys office from where i recieved the restitution letter from. I informed them that i wanted to ressolve the matter asap but was unable to pay the 295.00 up front. she was very nice and explained to me that i could set up payment arrangement. we agreed to monthly payments of 50 dollars starting may 1. she told me if for any reason i could not make a payment simply to call them and let them know when to expect payment. i was so nervous putting it off to call them and now i feel so relieved.