Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft Need HELP please! Arrested for pretty larceny

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inshock

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I was caught shoplifting at store in Oklahoma City. I was taking to the store office then arrested. I guess the city one is closed now so they took me to the county jail. I was bailed out the next morning (bond was around 700.00). My court date is in a few days.

I am older 50+ have a clean record and have never been in any trouble. Not trying to make excuses because i AM guilty and i DO know better, and i AM regretful but...this all happened because i took a sleeping pill called ambien. Either that or i was hit with a severe mental illness suddenly.

Im in total shock about it. I hardly remember the whole ordeal, which may make things worse. I dont know what to do from this point other than to get a lawyer. I dont know if it would do any good what so ever to bring up the RX. It was my script so im not worried about that part at all.

I have a few questions
1. Does anyone know of a good lawyer in that area that specialized in this? I dont live in OKC
2. Any suggestion on how to bring up this RX thing?
3. Should i just plead guilty or are there other options i could ask for
4. Do's and donts when in court

I have a professional license and would like to keep it. two Bs and a masters. Hope my whole life isnt in the dumpster because of this.

Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks
 
I am a Loss Prevention Professional and consult people like yourself all the time on how to deal with cases like yours. Here are your answers

1. Does anyone know of a good lawyer in that area that specialized in this? I dont live in OKC
(No but check links on this site)

2. Any suggestion on how to bring up this RX thing?
(That is a question for your Attorney but personally I would not)

3. Should i just plead guilty or are there other options i could ask for
(NO!! Do not just plead guilty. Talk to your Attorney about options like ACD or Diversion)

4. Do's and donts when in court
(Dress well answer all the Judges questions and be respectful)
 
I can honestly say I have never gone to sleep, woken up, sleep walked to store, entered, shoplifted and been on the way out the entire time I have taken Ambien. In fact, based on its 4 hour productive period, your story does not sound remotely probable even if you had a history of sleep walking.
 
Thank you for your constructive reply Shrinkmaster.

Disagreeable, i have no reason to lie. No one knows me here. I will tell the lawyer i hire about this. It may not be something we want to bring up but i DO need to put it out there. With a little bit of research i have done this has happened to other and they have done far worse. Im just happy that i didnt hurt anyone, especially while driving. Im not saying that this was the cause, but it is very suspicious that it happened during the time, and i have NEVER had a history of this behavior. Plus I think if i had an illness it would have presented itself by now. Been on the Earth for over a half a century now. At the end of the day it only matters what the Judge thinks now.
 
Thanks Betty, Im still pretty shaken by this. My head is spinning thinking of how in the world it could have happened. This charge is only part of what im worried about honesty. WHY this happened is what REALLY has me scared. :(
 
inshock said:
Thanks Betty, Im still pretty shaken by this. My head is spinning thinking of how in the world it could have happened. This charge is only part of what im worried about honesty. WHY this happened is what REALLY has me scared. :(
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Have you consulted with the physician that prescribed the medication?

Have you sought medical care?

At some point you'll be asked those questions.

You proffered a scenario involving medication that apparently caused you to rouse from slumber, causing you to transport yourself to an establishment where a very disturbing set of circumstances caused you to be arrested.

Yes, consulting a lawyer is great advice and must be done.

However, if the prescribed medication caused this out of character episode to occur, you should have seen several medical practitioners by now.

I would also suggest you consult with your attorney about undergoing a complete psychiatric evaluation.

What you proffered about the Ambien is very scary.

Good luck.
 
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I know quite a few people who take ambien and I can tell you with certainty that shoplifting is NOT a known side affect of that (or any other) drug.

I suggest that you come up with an alternate (and frankly, more believable) reason or else do not provide a reason at all. The one you are proffering is a dog that will not hunt.
 
If you do a google search, there are articles where people have claimed to have shoplifted after taking ambien. OP isn't the only one to claim this. I'm not saying that is what happened here - just saying OP isn't only one to claim this.

OP just needs to work with lawyer.
 
As well as Marijuana, Opiates. Hallucinogenics, alcohol and every other type of drug that effects your system. I have never heard of it causing them to get up, find a job, go to work and earn a pay check though. However, OP should consider becoming a house painter.

While driving on Ambien is inarguably dangerous, it's not the most out-there activity users have reported while under the influence of the narcotic sleep-aid:

• Sean Joyce, a British housepainter, mixed an Ambien with two glasses of wine while on an airplane. Instead of falling into a quiet slumber, however, he jumped out of his seat, tore his shirt off and ran around the aircraft threatening to kill himself and other passengers. He claims to have remembered nothing.

• Also on the painting front, an Australian woman awoke in the middle of the night only to realize she was standing outside with a brush in her hand. While in an Ambien haze, she had painted the front door to her house.

• According to a study done by the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center, eating while under the influence of Ambien is common. A favored snack: peanut butter. Several of their patients have woken up only to find themselves with a jar in their hands and mouths full of it.
READ: Futuristic Sleep Mask Allows You To Control Your Dreams

• Heard of drunk dialing? Ambien dialing happens, too. A woman named Lori Kox told Newsweek she had ordered clothes on a home shopping channel and rang up an ex-boyfriend while on it. She, too, claimed zero recollection.
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http://www.limelife.com/blog-entry/The-Craziest-Things-People-Have-Done-on-Ambien/139855.html


Betty3 said:
If you do a google search, there are articles where people have claimed to have shoplifted after taking ambien. OP isn't the only one to claim this. I'm not saying that is what happened here - just saying OP isn't only one to claim this.

OP just needs to work with lawyer.
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People have claimed to do many things after taking ambien. Just saying OP isn't the only one to have claimed this as an excuse.
 
"Crazy" things people had reported doing while on Ambien:
http://www.limelife.com/blog-entry/The-Craziest-Things-People-Have-Done-on-Ambien/139855.html
Finally, attorney Susan Chana Lask filed a class action suit against dozens of users who reported unusual - and upsetting - behavior while on Ambien including shoplifting, eating raw eggs, opening the door to strangers and assault.
(Lawsuit filed against users for such reports.)

Mayo Clinic (not for the above though) has phased out in patient use of the drug: In November 2012, a study conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN found that hospitalized patients who were administered Ambien as a sleep aid had a greater risk of falling in the hospital than those patients who were not given the drug. The study was published in The Journal of Hospital Medicine (11/19/12). As a result of the study, the Mayo Clinic decided to phase out in-patient use of Ambien and seek other sleep aid alternatives. The study, while finding an association between Ambien use and falls, did not establish a cause and effect relationship between the two.
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/lawsuit/ambien.html
Federal health officials warned that all prescription sleeping pills may sometimes cause sleep-driving. People taking such drugs as Ambien have reported getting up in the middle of the night and going for a drive, with no recollection of doing so. The Food and Drug Administration has ordered 13 drug markers to to include warnings on their labels about rare but serious side effects including, sleep driving and life-threatening allergic reactions. (Mar-14-07) [CNN NEWS]
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/lawsuit/ambien.html
 
True. Most all drugs (if not all) have various warnings noted. When they advertise a drug on TV, they give so many possible side effects (some serious) for some drugs you almost think the possible side effects are worse than the problem you need the drug for. I guess they want to cover all bases.
 
The fun thing about the commercials (and side effects as a whole), is that they really don't tell you the truth - which is, every single side effect is reported during the Phase III/IVb clinical trials and they don't always reflect the true incidence of a certain side effect (generally these aren't known until the drug is released to the general population after FDA approval).

Very few people know that by the time the drug hits the market it has been tested on only around 2000 humans (give or take). That's it.

Yep, there's a lot of CYA. And I could tell you some horror stories! (I was contracted to work both for and "against" the FDA at various times)
 
They should just say this drug could have/cause side effects (some serious) which you will not know about until you take the drug. :)
 
I've taken this medication before and it was about noon the next day before I actually woke up. I took it the night before and managed to get up the next morning and drive myself to work as well as having conversations with people. It wasnt until later in the morning when people started asking me about things we had discussed that I knew there was an issue.
 
That sort of kills your argument, Scar. Had it been the first time, you may - just may - have had a shot with the "Ambien defense".

(I don't necessarily think that you'd get off using that, but there was still a teeny tiny chance)

As it is, it's not going to wash.
 
Betty3 said:
They should just say this drug could have/cause side effects (some serious) which you will not know about until you take the drug. :)
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No no no no no! lol :D

No, we can't have that. We'd have every felonious Thomas, Richard and Harold claiming that Benadryl left him with gangrene of a long dangly bit and that's why he broke into the White House! ;)
 
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