My question involves criminal law for the state of: California
I have been accused of shoplifting at a Macy's in California. I have never been convicted of any crime, ever. I am 24 years old and am studying for a Master's degree in Library Science.
I went to Macy's to look for some picture frames for my grandmother. I didn't find anything and decided to try on some clothes after my search; still, nothing to be found. I walked out of Macy's after trying the clothes on and was about to go into another store when I was grabbed by a Macy's employee and told to come back in the store for taking two shirts. She (the employee) took my bag and had me walk in front of her.
I didn't know what was going on. I had left some clothes in the fitting room, but there were already clothes in there from a previous customer, so I thought it was okay. Anyway, they took me to a secured room and told me to sit down on a white bench. They proceeded to take my picture, a picture of my bag, and a picture of two shirts that were in the room. They said the shirts were damaged and showed me a hole in one of them. Then they took a picture of two price tags that I assume belong to the shirts.
I didn't say anything and was quite shocked by all of this. When they asked me why I "took the shirts," I told them that I plea the fifth. I did try to cooperate and tell them that I would pay for the merchandise, but that it was not mine. They said, "It's too late for that."
The funny thing is, I heard them call on the radio for someone to go into the fitting room to get some sensors, but they could not find any in the fitting room I was in. After that, one of the employees asked the other if she should "take a photo of two sensors anyway." Hmmm...
They also said the the merchandise was worth over $100, so they would have to call the cops and file a report.
While waiting for the police, they had me sign some paperwork for their company files and told me I could not come back into the store for 3 years (like I would ever want to shop there again anyway!).
When the police officer came, he asked the employees if I had ever "done this before." There were two employees in the room with me, and they both said that they had seen me taking clothes before! At this point, I'm thinking this is a case of mistaken identity. I shook my head no, but did not say a word because I did not have a lawyer present and this was obviously a false accusation.
The officer also questioned me about my name, which is unusual in the U.S. I told him it was Hebrew and that I was from Israel. One of the employees that apprehended me quickly turned to me and said, "You're Hebrew?!" As if "Hebrew" is some type of ethnicity, which it is not. I told her, "No." And she just stood their and stared at me for a little while.
The officer wrote me a citation for 484 (a) Petty Theft and gave me a court date. I would like to consult with a lawyer about all of this and am planning to call Macy's tomorrow to tell them about the situation. My husband has already gone in the store where this all took place and explained the situation to a manager; the manager actually apologized for the incident and gave him a phone number for me to call about this.
I'm just scared that I will be indited because I am going abroad in January to visit my grandmother who is very ill; I don't want some type of probation to prevent this.
Please help. Thank you.

