Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft Theft

Victini

Victini

New Member
Jurisdiction
Tennessee
My friends decided to shoplift at walmart and they never told me they would be shoplifting until after the fact. I really wasnt paying attention to them at selfcheck out. I never bought anything at walmart or scanned anything. We tried to walk out but the loss prevention man stopped us to check my friends bags. He seen that a certain item wasnt on the receipt and made us go to the loss prevention room. He then accused them of tampering with the barcodes at selfcheck out. If they play the camera it's going to show I didn't bag or scan anything. I didnt even attempt to walk out with nothing. My friend has had a plea bargain for a theft charge before. I've never been in trouble before and I'm not from the city just a visitor. Will I still be considered assersory to theft?
 
If what you say is true and accurate it is unlikely you will face any criminal charge as there will be no evidence against you. Your presence does not make you guilty.
Was law enforcement involved? Did you sign any documents of any kind for loss prevention? Did the loss prevention employee seem to be accusing you of taking part?
 
mightymoose said:
If what you say is true and accurate it is unlikely you will face any criminal charge as there will be no evidence against you. Your presence does not make you guilty.
Was law enforcement involved? Did you sign any documents of any kind for loss prevention? Did the loss prevention employee seem to be accusing you.
Yes he said I was a lookout.
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I am a Retail Theft Consultant and answer questions like yours daily. I agree with MM however they could charge you as you were present and they could claim you had knowledge of the theft. Its hard to say however if they do charge you it will cost you more to fight charge than to cop a plea so its it going to be your call. they could also send you a "Civil Demand" letter. Normally i say suggest paying this but in your case I might reconsider. Either way I like MM want to know if you signed any documents while there and if so what were they? Here too is some info on Civil Demand

Civil Recovery
 
He can say you were a lookout all he wants but it doesn't make it true.
If law enforcement was not involved it will not likely become involved now.

If anything happens it will be that you receive a letter demanding money. I suggest you do not respond in any way to such a letter. You have no legal obligation to pay anything they demand of you.

If the letter leaves you concerned then take it to a local attorney for a quick consult and you should be put at ease.

This should be over for you. There is nothing to do and nothing to worry about despite the threatening letters you may soon receive.
 
I agree with mighty moose... do not listen to the comments above him. If you look closely, the first thing said by "shrink master" is that he works in the very field of loss prevention...aka it is in his best interest that you pay everything they demand you pay. That is bs.
"MightyMoose" is 100% right in stating that the demand letter you get from Walmart is a scare tactic that is used by stores to try to milk you of $500 whether you did anything wrong or not and also to try to detour you from doing it again. It is bs because if you don't pay it, the cost for Walmart to take matter to court ends up costing more for them then if you paid it to begin with. You will not here anything of it again after.

As far as the criminal charges go... I doubt the DA will file the charges once you get to court for it... most likely when you go to arraignment they are going to say your case is dismissed. However if they do not, have them appoint you PUBLIC DEFENDER and make sure your public defender does everything he is capable of to ensure he defends you... if he does not do what is best for you in any way shape of form file a bar grievance against him. Make sure he understands you had nothing to do with it. Make sure he files discovery request to obtain copy of Walmart security footage that will prove you had nothing to do with what had happened. Plead not guilty, don't take a plea deal no matter how sweet it may seem. That would still require you admit to being guilty. Don't do it if you truly didn't. Fight for what is right.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Let me explain I work both sides and I gain NOTHING from suggesting or not suggesting you pay Civil Demand. In fact in this topic I suggested OP not pay. Where differences in opinion are encouraged I think it both rude and wrong to tell some to totally disregard a post from another member. I always tell posters "its their call" I explain the risks and agree its minimal at best.My background is in this field but I am not on either side!
 
Nashley428 said:
a scare tactic that is used by stores to try to milk you of $500 whether you did anything wrong or not and also to try to detour you from doing it again.
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Note to the OP: Taking advice from someone who doesn't know the difference between "deter" and "detour" might not be the smartest thing to do. Same goes for this person's apparent inability to engage in basic logical reasoning when it comes to attacking someone's suggestions based on perceived bias.

Nashley428 said:
have them appoint you PUBLIC DEFENDER and make sure your public defender does everything he is capable of to ensure he defends you... if he does not do what is best for you in any way shape of form file a bar grievance against him.
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Appointed counsel would not likely be available in a case such as this. Even if that weren't the case, the notion that a public defender would spend any more than a minimum of time and effort on a shoplifting case is more than a little absurd.
 
zddoodah said:
Note to the OP: Taking advice from someone who doesn't know the difference between "deter" and "detour" might not be the smartest thing to do. Same goes for this person's apparent inability to engage in basic logical reasoning when it comes to attacking someone's suggestions based on perceived bias.



Appointed counsel would not likely be available in a case such as this. Even if that weren't the case, the notion that a public defender would spend any more than a minimum of time and effort on a shoplifting case is more than a little absurd.
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A Public defender will likely spend less than one hour on case and probably suggest plea deal. Its sad yes but that is the norm from what I have seen
 
shrinkmaster said:
Let me explain I work both sides and I gain NOTHING from suggesting or not suggesting you pay Civil Demand. In fact in this topic I suggested OP not pay. Where differences in opinion are encouraged I think it both rude and wrong to tell some to totally disregard a post from another member. I always tell posters "its their call" I explain the risks and agree its minimal at best.My background is in this field but I am not on either side!
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I 100% agree with you that in the end it is the person who is seeking the advice who needs to make the decision. However in post after post in these discussions I have seen you tell person after person to pay that fee. It is complete bs and I cannot condone to watching you lie to people about paying the demand that is sent out. In this post any answer other then telling him not to pay would have been horrible advice.

Aside from that how is it you can work both sides of Lost Prevention? I do not understand what you mean by that? Because you are either working for lost prevention or you are being accosted by them? If I am missing any other alternative there please clarify.

Thank you


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Private consulting means bias is to whom is paying the bill. I dont lie I give facts i admit the low chances of law suit etc. I tell all the possible consequences (keyword possible). by the way its LOSS Prevention
 

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