Charged With Burglary After Giving a Shoplifter a Ride

[lawfacts]

A woman in Maryland has been charged with 4th Degree burglary, theft under $1,000, and theft of a credit card, for a shoplifting incident. She drove her boyfriend to a store, where they both separately shopped and made purchases. She paid for everything she selected. Without her knowledge, he paid for his purchases with a stolen credit card. She did not know what her boyfriend did before she drove him away, and the store found them through her license plate tag number. She has no criminal record, and wants to know if the charges will stick.

[Mr. Knowitall]

The prosecutor is proceeding based upon the theory either that the woman and her boyfriend were both active participants in the crime, or that she was an accessory to the crime even if not a full participant. The best thing that the woman can do is get help from a criminal defense lawyer. Even if her boyfriend insists that she had nothing to do with his acts, and no knowledge of what he did, it can nonetheless be difficult to convince a prosecutor, judge or jury that such a statement is true.