Hi,
I was wondering if it's possible to be charged with perjury in helping a friend with her shoplifting charge? The background is that a friend was charged with shoplifting (2nd degree or 3rd), though she tells me she brought the items back to the store to return them and just doesn't have the receipts anymore. I want to believe her, because she does return stuff all the time when looking for better deals.. In any case, at the time she was stopped in the store, she was very scared and she told the employees that a friend (me) had given her the items (as hand me downs in a way, because i didn't like them) and she was returning them. This is the same story she told the police, and her lawyer, and she's pleaded not guilty.
I initially agreed to tell her story in court (i.e. say that I'd been given the items as gifts and passed them on), since she was so scared about the whole thing, and she doesn' t want to jeapordize her citizenship process. She doesn't think the court would believe that she just didn't have receipts, and I think she's scared now about changing her story. She hasn't had the trial yet.
I'm getting worried though about possibly being charged with perjury if the store provides some evidence (video or merchandise records) that show maybe that she had taken the items. (If the store does have evidence, they have not agreed yet to review it with my friend and her lawyer, so i don't know what they actually have.) Also, is it possible to change your plea once you've entered it? I'd be grateful for any thoughts..
Thanks,
inamerica

