My question involves criminal law for the state of: California
My arraignment is on Tuesday, the 2nd of March. I will update this as it goes forward. This is a lengthy post but I feel the details are important.
On Feb. 7th, 2010, I went grocery shopping with my son (23 months old) at Whole Foods. When I go shopping with my son, I have to be in and out before he acts out. I keep my hands free as much as possible in case he knocks things over, so no purse, just my credit card.
While shopping I noticed that there was a significant price difference between organic ($2.99) and non-organic ($.99) broccoli. I made a note to myself to remember the prices and pay attention to the cashier screen because WFM had overcharged me on several occasions when I bought non-organic produce.
As I continued shopping I noticed some scented oils that I liked that were on sale for $9.99, regularly $16.99. When I see something on sale for a great price I usually buy more than one, so I took the last four vials. I attempted to put them in the cart but saw that the size of the vials was smaller than the holes in the cart. I could not put them in the cart. I could not put them next to my toddler, because he would just toss them out of the cart. I attempted to push the cart while holding on to the four bottles for a few steps, and realized that it was awkward and uncomfortable, and I didn’t want to drop them, they were made out of glass. Without thinking, I put them in my jacket pocket, and went over to get the last item on my list. Then I went straight to the cashier at the express lane while trying to remember the broccoli prices and the vials in my pockets.
When I was at the cashier, as I unloaded my groceries, a couple that was very affectionate with each other over in the café area distracted me. While I was looking at the couple, I was also watching to make sure my son wasn’t getting into things, especially the credit card machine (he loves to push buttons). I glanced over at the cashier screen and saw that the broccoli was rung up at $2.99 instead of .99 cents. I asked the cashier to correct it. When everything was done, I walked out to the parking lot approaching my car. Then the Loss Prevention officer approached my son and me, and asked if I was short of cash. I realized that I had forgotten about the vials in my pockets. I was mortified and pulled them out from my pocket and said that I would go back in and pay for them. He pulled out his badge, and said that he was not arresting me. He just wanted me to come up to his office to do some paper work and promised that I’d be out of there in five minutes. I attempted to show him how the vials could slip through the cart, and that I could not easily carry them in my hands and push the cart. He did not care to see or hear what I was saying; he just wanted us to go to his office without making a scene. Ironically, I had to put the vials back in my pocket to push the cart back to the store and carried my son to his office.
When I got to the office, the loss prevention officer, bombarded and drilled me with questions, such as, “Are you a single mother,” when I said, “no,” He asked what my husband does for a living. Does my husband know what I was doing? Then he assured me that I didn’t need to tell my husband if I didn’t want to. He asked, “Have I stolen before?” And I said yes, and explained that I was thirteen, which was 20 years ago. He repeatedly asked if I had a problem of stealing. He said that he spotted me as a shoplifter as soon as I walked in the door. I became keenly aware of the situation that I was in. I wanted to call my husband, but I knew he was on a bike ride and it would take him more then 45 minutes to get to me. I just wanted to get my son out of there as soon as possible. Amidst the accusations and judgments that were being thrown at me, I repeatedly said that I had no intent to steal and it was just an innocent mistake. He just shook his head and said he didn’t believe me. I felt like I was in a twilight zone. All that was important to me was to keep my son safe, happy, and not be afraid or affected by any of this.
When the LPO finally realized that he could not get me to confess for something I did not intend to do, his demeanor turned 180 degrees on me. He asked where I came from. I asked if he was referring to my nationality and he nodded. I said I was Vietnamese. He said that his friends wanted him to go to Vietnam because there are “pretty women” there. Then the officer arrived. The LPO said that he was sorry, if it were up to him he would not charge me. The LPO and officer stepped into another room to talk.
When the officer came to me, he was polite and cordial, read me my rights, and called in for my criminal records, and confirmed that I had a clean record. Then he sat down and asked me what happened. By this time I was mentally and emotionally exhausted and my son’s patience was running low. We were there for over an hour. I told him a brief version of what happened: I was doing some shopping, ran into a friend, checked out the essential oils, picked 4 vials up, saw that they would fall through the hole of the cart, could not push the cart with the vials in my hand, put them in my pocket, did some more shopping, got distracted at the register, paid for the grocery’s, walked out to the parking lot forgetting that the vials were in my pockets, and then the LPO approached me. The officer asked how much the total of the stolen items was. I said 4 at $9.99 per vial. After hearing my story, he said that he believed me, and advised me to tell the judge what I told him, the judge would be sympathetic and dismiss the case. He took my picture and a picture of the vials. He gave me a ticket and told me the arraignment date.
I have a Master’s in Social Welfare from Berkeley and am a responsible citizen and mother. I am committed to live my life with a good sense of morality and integrity. I understand the consequences theft has on the merchants, their employees and customers, and the shoplifters. I am well aware of the consequences of what could happen to the offenders’ children once they enter into the system. I would never put my child’s life and sense of security at risk.
I am starkly aware of the implications and consequences of having a criminal record in my line of work. Not only would I face professional discrimination that might keep me from getting the job that I want to best serve the community (which is in public health), but it would make me very vulnerable to those who might intentionally or unintentionally want to incriminate me. As a social worker I work with people with mental disorders, if I were to have a criminal record of theft and one of my clients accuses me of stealing from them then I would face a possible felony charge. I would never steal anything or do anything illegal knowing what is at stake.
Am I obligated to pay the fine rendered by Whole Foods if diverted or the charge is dismissed?
If diverted, where would the record be kept, and who has access to it?
Is settling with diversion an admission to guilt?
What are the differences on your record between pretrial diversion and dismissal?
Is it possible for me to file a Petition for Factual Innocence in a shoplifting case?
Any advice?
Thank you


