My question involves criminal law for the state of: Louisiana
I am posting this in order to tell other of my experience when I was caught shoplifting. I know it was dumb and I refuse to make excuses for my mistake. I am actually glad it happened because I was starting to take more things the more I was able to get away with it. Now I am so scared of getting in trouble again that I refuse to carry a purse into a store and usually go shopping with a friend because I don't even want to look supicious. I was leaving a walmart two days before thanksgving and was caught by an undercover shopper taking about $25 worth of food items. I had more than enough money to pay for the iterms on me but have become addicted to taking small items every time I entered a store such as walmart or target. My items were always small like candy or random small things. The guy totaled up what I took and then called the cops. An officer came and arrested me and took me to the police station. They did paper work and a bails bonds was already there and got me out for $80. I never even left the front room once I got there and from the time I took the item to the time I was back to my car was no more than an hour and a half. I was given an arraingment date that was a month from when I was arrested. I was lucky enought that I dated a lawyer not too long before this and we had an easy breakup and I was on good enough terms with him to be able to call him and ask him for his help. My original courtdate got pushed back another two months because the original date fell around new years and I guess they didn't want to have court that day. I then went to my second court date for the arraignemt. As soon as the started calling peoples names to see who was there they asked me to come to the front and see the prosecutor. She then took me to a side room and said that my file had been pulled for a pretrial intervention since I had no prior record. The man in the back room told me I had two months to pay a $400 fine, complete 32 hours community service, and complete a theft detterance class that cost $40. After I did all this the charge would be dismissed and nothing would go on my record as long as I stayed out of trouble for the next 6 months. I know there are a lot of people on here who don't have a prior record and are scared because they don't konw what will happen to them. My ex-boyfriend is good friends with the prosecutor and I know he talked to her at some point but I think even if it weren't for him they still would have pulled my name for pretrial intervention. I am very lucky to be able to have this off my record but my $30 mistake turned into a $600 mistake. Not worth the trouble at all!! Hopefully this helps a lot of people. Also never plead guilty if you go that far in your arraingment. They tell everyone to plead not guilty that way you can make a deal with the DA otherwise they will sentence you right then and it will go on your record. I hope this helps some people and teaches everyone to never steal anything!!

