Lottery Theft While Working At A Gas Station
I am 20 yrs old and live in Minnesota and i've never had any priors.
I worked at a Gas station where while i was on duty i purchased a Loterry scratch off ticket that won $50.
We arnt allowed to purchase lottery while were on duty and me being so impatient has gotten me in trouble.
After winning the $50 i decided i would get a few more tickets with the winnings and Cash my ticket in later that night and put the money for the tickets in my till before i left.(all this is under $100)
well i was on the closing shift and i totally forgot to put the money in the till for the tickets, knowing that my manager counts Lottery every morning i called him the next day to tell him the situation, i didn't get an answer so i went to my appointment, i came home that afternoon and called 3 more times and each time a fellow co worker told me that my manager wasnt in, so since i had to go to work that night anyways i decided i would just tell him then, he came in about 4 hours after me, and being that i have ADD i totally forgot to bring it up, he then asked me about it and i told him what happened, he told me that it was still stealing and since its lottery its a Felony, he took me to the back office and wanted me to write and sign a statement saying i STOLE the tickets, i refused because i knew it was a big misunderstanding, and he told me to leave the store and i wasnt welcomed on the property, well i called later that night to talk to him and he said his district manager was coming in to view the tapes, the next morning and i could talk to him, i came in the next morning and told his boss the same thing i told him, they said if i cooperated and told them about things going on in the store (ciggs missing,drive offs, and till shortages) that they wouldnt call the police and i could just pay it off like i planned, i didnt know anything about the Ciggs missing, and the only thing i did know was that my co workers don't watch the pumps as closely as they should, they told me to write in a statement what i told them and sign it, i also wrote that i had intended to pay the entire time but forgot and i had the money on me at that moment to pay, i signed it and handed it over to them and went to hand the money over when they said, "No we won't accept that" and told me they would call me when they decide what to do, i got no call, just an officer at my door a week later with a ticket that had a citation # on it, and it said 1st offence Theft, and under Comments it said SUMMONS i wasnt here, but he said i should call the number, well its been a week since i got that and i called, and each time they say its not in the system, and they don't understand why a City police officer would deliver me a Summons when normally only County sheriffs do that.
i'm 20 yrs old, and i planned on starting Nursing school, but now with all this i don't know what to do, i don't want a Felony on my Record, i know those things never go away
so my questions are
(1) What comes next?
(2) What sentence am i most likely to get?
(3) Is there anyway that it can be dropped down from a Felony to something lesser?
(4) If i do Serve Jail time how long will it be?
Re: Lottery Theft While Working At A Gas Station
I feel you.I have been accused of stealing $17,000 in scratch off tickets and I was planning on going back to school too but I have no idea what is going to happen to me either. I paid for my tickets too but they said they got me taking them. So I feel where you are coming from. Hang in there. I just went and talked to a detective and asked him what I should look forward too but he said he didn't know what the charges were going to be. So I just have to wait and trust me it is not easy I feel like I am walking on eggshells and I am scared to death, I am 35 yrs old with 4 kids and I want to change everything.
Re: Lottery Theft While Working At A Gas Station
WOW! Now that's the epitome of going big or stayin' on the porch. $17K!!!!!
I never saw this post when it was "young", BUT, not accepting restitution immediately pretty much ensures successful prosecution.
Here's why....if an employer accepts restitution when offered by an employee who has committed theft then the employer pretty much loses their right to bring charges against the offender. Yes, there may be a police report, but when it gets to the prosecutor they're gonna see where restitution was offered and accepted. That's widely looked at as the employer consenting that there was no crime, only "delayed" payment. When an employer makes the acceptance they pretty much alleviate themself of being the victim....no victim, no crime!
So sorry! We do not give the opportunity for the dishonest employee to "pay up" on the spot, nor do we accept an offer for instant restitution. THERE IS NOTHING IMPROPER OR "ILLEGAL" ABOUT THE ACCEPTANCE REFUSAL!
You did it, we caught you, now the rest is up to the judge.....sorry about your luck!
Re: Lottery Theft While Working At A Gas Station
It sounds like your luck ran out after you won the $50.
It is likely that you will be charged with retail theft, or charged with a Felony and allowed to plea to retail theft. If you have a Felony on your record you can guarantee that you just lost your chance of getting into a good nursing school. It will be hard to get a job with Felony charges.
It would not hurt to get an attorney involved to talk to the employer, the detective, and the DA. Doing so and paying for it now may mean that you don't have to pay for it with your career later.
If the attorney has a good enough relationship with the police and the DA they can likely get them to file the misdemeanor instead of file a Felony and drop it to a misdemeanor. This makes a WORLD of difference in the medical field.
Re: Lottery Theft While Working At A Gas Station
Ah, just a heads up but the OP posted this question back in 2006. And Dolfin73 re-opened it with their own question yesterday.