Results 1 to 4 of 4
  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3

    Default Charged with Shoplifting

    First off, my heartfelt thanks to those of you who are reading this long post to help me and to give me advice. My deepest thanks to you...for your unselfish advice and time.

    So here goes...I live in the state of California, near the Bay Area. I was shopping at a local department store for some gifts to give my mother for mother's day. I selected a whole bunch of clothes and paid for all of them, except for two sweaters that had landed on the bottom of the clothing cart, unbeknownst to me. I was so sure that I had paid for all of them, but I was stopped at the exit of this department store.

    What followed was 4 hours of the most pain and suffering I had ever gone through. I was so sad and miserable and taken by surprise that I tried pinching myself to see if it was a dream.

    I was charged with shoplifting--and went thru the same procedure that all shoplifters go thru--ie, i was handcuffed by police who arrived at scene, had my picture taken, and was thumb-printed. i was then released on the spot, and in my hands was a ticket that I had been given that said that i had to appear in court on a specific date. I have been charged with PC 488--Petty Theft (the clothes came up to be around $ 220!!! since the security ppl charged me retail for those clothes even though the sale prices were much less than that).

    Personally, I am very angry about this and feel that this chain of events was so absurd--charging me for something that I didn't do. I have a completely clean record, and I am 21 years old.

    This incident happened near my hometown, and I live in the state of California in a suburban county. A few details that make my case special is this: Since I didn't drive, I didn't have a driver's license or any kind of ID on me, and the store theft officers and police officers all were writing down info coming from my mouth.

    I gave them my real full name, but in my angst and frustration and fear of being prosecuted, gave them a fictitious (but-closely-related) 1) street address, 2) social security number, and 3) date of birth. However, they do have a pretty accurate physical description of me, my hair color, height and weight.

    Please don't judge me or see me as a liar/true shoplifter who is now hoping to get out of this. The way that I see it, is that I should not waste time or money or even jail time for a crime that I did not purposely commit, even though the evidence can be interpreted in a bad manner.

    I want to think of ways to completely avoid this mess!!! I have spent many days reading all hundreds of posts on this website and am aware of a couple things that might happen to me:

    1) If I do get a bench warrant for not showing up on my court date, will the police really come to my colllege, home, or work and just take me away, given the circumstances of my "crime?" Will they show up and/or stalk me with guns outstretched, in a scene similar to those fugitive shows?

    2) Since I provided the store theft clerks and police with altered versions of my Social security number and date of birth, will this record of shoplifting still go on my true, personal record, even though the police don't have all the accurate information about me? Is it possible that they find out my true info in some big database?

    3) Will they charge me already with some conviction before me even appearing in court? I haven’t pleaded guilty or not-guilty, so is it true that before I appear in court, there is already a specific, established conviction on my record?

    4) Since I provided them with semi-false info, will me showing up in court (where I have to provide the correct info) actually make that conviction go on my personal record, making things even worse than they had originally been.

    5) Do you think it would work if I just pretend this never happened and just move on, assuming that the police never find my true identity, even though I gave very close, but altered version of my information?

    6) And finally, any last tips or loopholes that you think I should be aware of.

    Once again, please don't judge me or see me as an insincere person who hopes to escape from a crime committed. At the time, I was just so upset that I felt the need to do myself some justice and avoid any real troubles. Please accept my deepest gratitude for your help and support, which i need dearly.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    28,906

    Default Re: Charged with SHOPLIFTING--PLEASE, PLEASE HELP!!!

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    I gave them my real full name, but in my angst and frustration and fear of being prosecuted, gave them a fictitious (but-closely-related) 1) street address, 2) social security number, and 3) date of birth. However, they do have a pretty accurate physical description of me, my hair color, height and weight.
    And thumb print.

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    1) If I do get a bench warrant for not showing up on my court date, will the police really come to my colllege, home, or work and just take me away, given the circumstances of my "crime?" Will they show up and/or stalk me with guns outstretched, in a scene similar to those fugitive shows?
    More likely, assuming they figure out who you are, you will be pulled over in a routine traffic stop, or will be in a car that is pulled over, and when the police check your ID they will come up with a bench warrant and arrest you.

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    2) Since I provided the store theft clerks and police with altered versions of my Social security number and date of birth, will this record of shoplifting still go on my true, personal record, even though the police don't have all the accurate information about me? Is it possible that they find out my true info in some big database?
    If the police figure out who you are, or if you are prosecuted, the charge will end up on your criminal record.

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    3) Will they charge me already with some conviction before me even appearing in court? I haven’t pleaded guilty or not-guilty, so is it true that before I appear in court, there is already a specific, established conviction on my record?
    No.

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    4) Since I provided them with semi-false info, will me showing up in court (where I have to provide the correct info) actually make that conviction go on my personal record, making things even worse than they had originally been.
    If they figure out that you provided false information, and they figure out who you are, you may face an additional criminal charge in relation to your providing false information.

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    5) Do you think it would work if I just pretend this never happened and just move on, assuming that the police never find my true identity, even though I gave very close, but altered version of my information?
    That's the type of determination you should make after consulting with a New York criminal defense lawyer.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3

    Default Additional Questions--Thanks so much

    Thanks so very much, Aaron. i really appreciate it. i just have a couple more questions...you said that they will most likely find out who i am and then the charge will appear on my record. i was wondering...

    1) What is the distinction between being charged and being convicted? If i never show up in court, does that mean that i will never be convicted, but only charged?

    2) Since I'm going to be applying for a job and also graduate school, how serious is it to have a "charge" on my record, and how much will they look down upon that? Is having a charge on my record better than having a conviction, ie, which happens after i show up in court?

    3) Will the bench warrant, if issued, also surface itself when an employer background checks me?

    4) Is there any way that I can keep delaying to go to court, with the reason of going to school or some other good reason, that eventually, all charges will be dropped, and the case is just so old that it is ignored. In other words, can i keep delaying and delaying my court date?

    5) Even though my court date is already shown on the ticket, is there any chance that I will get some mail or notice from the court saying that I can enter some diversion program or some other alternative method w/o showing up in court? How likely is it for this to happen in my case.

    6) If I don't receive such a notice, how else can I request or find out if i have a diversion or alternative-to-court program? If i call the court to ask for one, will that bring negative attention to my case?

    once again, please understand that i'm not trying to escape the law, but trying to keep my record as clean as possible in the least-time or money consuming way. i heard and have read that even if i did go through the whole process of the court and ended up paying a fine and some other stuff, that that process will still be hard to remove from my record, and that it will take a lot of $, headache, and time. I just want to double check with you and (possibly a lawyer later), just to see if there are steps i can take to avoid this whole mess altogether.

    I cannot thank you enough. God bless you...and my sincere gratitude to you.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    28,906

    Default Re: Additional Questions--Thanks so much

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    1) What is the distinction between being charged and being convicted? If i never show up in court, does that mean that i will never be convicted, but only charged?
    Yes, but.... If a bench warrant is issued, and you are picked up, you will be taken to court. And if you are bonded out after that court appearance, and fail to appear for a subsequent court date, you will again be the subject of a bench warrant (and you will forfeit your bond). And the next time you get picked up, you will again be held until you can be taken to court and the bond will be even higher. Once charges are initiated, assuming you are identified, you aren't going to "resolve" things by failing to appear for court.

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    2) Since I'm going to be applying for a job and also graduate school, how serious is it to have a "charge" on my record, and how much will they look down upon that? Is having a charge on my record better than having a conviction, ie, which happens after i show up in court?
    If they detect a charge and an outstanding bench warrant, that may look worse than a conviction. They will surely wonder why you haven't taken care of the charge.

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    3) Will the bench warrant, if issued, also surface itself when an employer background checks me?
    Possibly. It depends upon the records they (or the service they used) search.

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    4) Is there any way that I can keep delaying to go to court, with the reason of going to school or some other good reason, that eventually, all charges will be dropped, and the case is just so old that it is ignored. In other words, can i keep delaying and delaying my court date?
    No.

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    5) Even though my court date is already shown on the ticket, is there any chance that I will get some mail or notice from the court saying that I can enter some diversion program or some other alternative method w/o showing up in court? How likely is it for this to happen in my case.
    If the ticket has your initial court date, that will likely be all the notice you get. If you want to work out a diversion program, contact a lawyer now.

    Quote Quoting scaredtodeath
    6) If I don't receive such a notice, how else can I request or find out if i have a diversion or alternative-to-court program? If i call the court to ask for one, will that bring negative attention to my case?
    Consult a criminal defense lawyer.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Retail Fraud / Shoplifting: 18 and Charged with Shoplifting
    By kng in forum Criminal Charges
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-23-2010, 05:43 AM
  2. Retail Fraud / Shoplifting: Will I Be Charged With Shoplifting
    By natasha87 in forum Criminal Charges
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-15-2010, 09:15 PM
  3. Retail Fraud / Shoplifting: Charged with Shoplifting
    By sd_84 in forum Criminal Charges
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 09-22-2009, 09:17 PM
  4. Retail Fraud / Shoplifting: Charged With Shoplifting
    By joe1023ze in forum Criminal Charges
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 11-13-2008, 11:19 AM
  5. Retail Fraud / Shoplifting: Shoplifting Not Charged
    By lindalin in forum Criminal Charges
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 05-25-2008, 01:19 PM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources