Hi,
Since this post turned out a bit more lengthy than I had originally intended, I have summarized my questions at the bottom.
I'm a newcomer to this forum and I have a few questions that I hope you guys can help answer. I've searched through everything I could find on the internet and my results were inconclusive - there's simply not enough written material out there that is specific enough to answer my questions.
Question 1:
I work at a department store in Texas and last night I helped a man find a DVD. I went back to the desk to finish writing down instructions for the next shift and heard the telltale sound of the plastic (cellophane?) wrapping being torn. I walked over to the isle where the customer was and saw him put the DVD case back on the shelf. After he left the isle, I looked at the case and sure enough, it was unwrapped, the seal was broken, and it was empty.
I alerted our management (we don't have a loss prevention squad) and they told me that by law we can't accuse the individual of shoplifting unless we know EXACTLY where the item is on that person, otherwise the person could counter sue us for defamation of character. We didn't even call the cops or ban the individual from the store! How infuriating! It was on 2 of our cameras but you couldn't distinctly see where he stashed the DVD disk.
Could we actually have called the cops?
Question 2:
A few years back, I was in a Wal-Mart department store shopping with a friend. He ended up stealing something (trading cards of some kind) while I was browsing electronics, so I honestly had no idea that he was even capable of theft. Yes, I was naive. I paid for my game and we exited the store together. The Loss Prevention squad rushed up and escorted us both to the back of the store into their security office. I didn't steal anything and I even told the officers that were called in that I had no idea he was stealing anything. I asked them to review the security footage which would prove that I was on the complete other side of the store but they didn't bother.
He got charged with shoplifting as he should have (We, of course, are no longer friends after this incident) but I got charged as an accessory to shoplifting, which is more or less the same charge as shoplifting. I was not guilty of that by any means but a family friend suggested that I enter a plea of no contest and go for deferred adjudication, so I did. I went to some class and I served 90 days probation. I was told that the charge would be expunged from my record after completing the class and going 90 days without getting in trouble. I completed both tasks easily. I seem to be having a rough time getting a job lately and I'm starting to wonder if this has anything to do with it.
Is there a way to check my record? Do I answer 'no' on an application that asks me if I've ever plead 'guilty' or 'no contest' to a misdemeanor?
Summary:
1. A guy was shoplifting in my department at work but I couldn't pinpoint where the item was on him. Can we call the authorities anyway?
2. I plead no contest to being an accessory to shoplifting. Can I check my record? What do I put on a job application that asks if I've ever plead 'guilty' or 'no contest' to a misdemeanor?
Thank you in advance for your time!

