Meijer Civil Demand

[nak11]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Indiana

last night i was caught shoplifting from meijer 13 dollars worth of items. i was walking out the door and was stopped by what im assuming was an lp or store manager. He then took me back to a room where we filled out paperwork and wrote up a paper stating what i did. i had to sign that but thats all i signed. he took my personal information then gave a paper for civil demand of $200 dollars that i have to pay within 30 days from the date issued. he then told me that if i was to pay that civil demand within 30 days they would not prosecute. there where no cops involved in any of this. i am wondering if he is in fact telling the truth or not. this is my first time and i have no criminal record.

[PandorasBox]

Well, if you don't pay that Civil Demand....they can turn over your file to the police, who turn it over to the Prosecutors office.

$200 Civil Demand.

Vs:
Criminal charges.
Hiring a Criminal Defense Attorney or Public Defender ($250+ for P.D., $1000+ for lawyer)
Diversion Program if you are a first time offender: $400+.
Community Service. Yep, you pay for your supervision.
Court costs and fines: $300+.

AND....you still owe the Civil Demand. BUT....now you will be on your 3rd letter, and the amount will be more like $600...after that, they can sue you in Civil Court, and add in $250+ per hour for the costs of their lawyers. So now you're looking at $1200+. Still don't pay....they can screw your credit history.....

So do the math and see which outcome sounds best to you. $200 or thousands of dollars and a criminal record.

[nak11]

ok thank you, and I have every intention of paying it. i just wanted to know if they will still try and prosecute me even if i do.

[Mr. Knowitall]

he then told me that if i was to pay that civil demand within 30 days they would not prosecute.

If that's what he said, it's a bad practice.

[nak11]

what do you mean by a bad practice?

[Mr. Knowitall]

I mean it's not something a professional should say, as it can potentially create issues down the road. See this older discussion.

[nak11]

ok i understand now,so that person has no real say in whether or not they will Prosecute? and it would be creating problems for them down the road bot me right, like if they do choose to prosecute.

[PandorasBox]

They can still prosecute, yes. The odds increase if that Civil Demand is not paid.

[nak11]

Alright. It also says that they will know if they are going to take further action (prosecute) in 30 days. The day the money is due. So if I don't receive anything from them before then is it done or does the SOL still come into play. Or is that just for If was caught again. I just want to know what the odds of them doing anything if I pay the money within the 30 days.

[llworking]

Alright. It also says that they will know if they are going to take further action (prosecute) in 30 days. The day the money is due. So if I don't receive anything from them before then is it done or does the SOL still come into play. Or is that just for If was caught again. I just want to know what the odds of them doing anything if I pay the money within the 30 days.

If they were going to prosecute, they would have called the police at the time. There is a chance that they would prosecute if you do not pay the civil demand, but if you do, there is virtually no chance that they will. DA's do not have the time to prosecute thousands of petty shoplifting charges. Therefore the store is unlikely to be taken seriously by DA's if they send thousands to them.