Arrested for Shoplifting a Pair of Child's Sunglasses

[hollysmommy917]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Louisiana

In April of this year, (it is now July) I was arrested for "shoplifting" a pair of $4.99 child's sunglasses. As you can probably assume, shoplifting is in quotes because I didn't intentionally steal them. I know, I know; how many times have you heard that, right? Honestly, I didn't. I had my 7 month old with me and as I walked in the sunglass thingy caught my eye. I grabbed a cute pair, tried them on my daughter and loved them. So I left them on her head and proceeded to shop around. A friend of mine met up with me and while we were talking and laughing my daughter decided to rip the sunglasses off her head and try to chew them- mommy instinct kicked in and I grabbed them and without thinking- stuffed them in the diaper bag and kept going. I shopped for another hour or so, checked out (buying more than $60 worth of items) and walked out. At this point I was stopped by Loss & Prevention and you can imagine from there (even though when I realized I still had them I offered to pay for them), I was arrested booked - given a court date and let go.

A few weeks later, I received a notice to pay a fine of $200 to the store itself as a restocking fee, though it said if any argument was to be made it had to be in 10 days. Immediately my husband went in on my behalf (we live on a military base, and as I was no longer allowed on the premises he had to go in my stead) and was told he would receive a call when they were ready to discuss the charge. A month went by of dodged calls (by them, not us) and finally my husband demanded to see the manager or he would call corporate. They gave him and appointment the next day, and told him that nothing would be changed, they had viewed the tapes (though they would not let my husband view them) and that I had taken the tags off so it was clear I had intended to steal them (I had not taken the tags off actually, they had a sticker with the price on them, which remained even after they were confiscated).

My husband took it up with his chain of command who was told that nothing could be done.

My court date is coming up in less than a week, and as a person who has never even seen the inside of a courtroom, my nerves are an absolute mess. My husband seems to think I can plea "No contest" and simply pay the fine and be done. Is this possible? Would anybody do anything different? I need this solved in the best way possible, in the fastest way possible- as we are set to move to Germany by September 8th of this year.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[cbg]

You have not said one single thing that is any different from any other shoplifter.

[Mr. Knowitall]

You have not said one single thing that is any different from any other shoplifter.

What cbg means by this is that your story, whether true or not, sounds like a run-of-the-mill explanation from somebody who was caught shoplifting. Thousands upon thousands of mothers intentionally attempt to shoplift then blame the distraction of their infant for "forgetting" to buy merchandise, or claim that they didn't see their toddler take an item and put it in their bag or cart. The net result is that stores and courts are highly skeptical.

My court date is coming up in less than a week, and as a person who has never even seen the inside of a courtroom, my nerves are an absolute mess. My husband seems to think I can plea "No contest" and simply pay the fine and be done. Is this possible?

A "no contest" plea is treated as a guilty plea (if accepted by the court), and will result in your being convicted and sentenced.

Would anybody do anything different?

Yes. Many people would consult or retain a lawyer. Most people will explore their eligibility for first offender / diversion / deferred sentencing to try to avoid a conviction. If you decide to contest the charge, and cannot work out a resolution before trial, it is not advisable to try to take a criminal case to trial without a lawyer.

[hollysmommy917]

Thank you, Mr. KnowitAll I haven't looked into a lawyer yet because, well I guess I thought I wouldn't need one.

[cbg]

What kind of help were you expecting from a free internet board? We don't come with guarantees.

[tc498]

Given the low amount maybe with a lawyer you can get the charged dismissed or dropped. (this might be a long shot). Sure you can just pay a fine and be done with it then your stuck with a misdemeanor for theft,which can bite you in the as$ later. Some court have a diversion program that let you get the charge dismissed. I would call a few local lawyer.