I SHOPLIFTED

Dear iShoplifted,
I’m 16 and recently shoplifted from a neighborhood hardware store. I got away, but the owner saw me and  knows my parents, so he called them. My dad was waiting for me when I got home. It was a $40 drill. My dad not only kicked my ass (and it doesn’t look like I’m going to my junior prom this year), but he made a deal with the owner that I will be cleaning up the parking lot at the store I stole from every Saturday afternoon for a month for two hours. I think I would have been better off getting arrested. My dad showed me this site and told me to ask you. What do you think?

I think you got off extremely easy. You’re also learning a lesson. Let’s see. You lost 4 Saturdays. the prom and you got your ass kicked by your dad, (which I’m assuming didn’t put you anywhere near the hospital) but you didn’t end up getting arrested, which is a big deal. Sounds likes your dad is a pretty cool guy. You don’t appreciate your punishment right now, but I have a feeling you will someday.

If you were my kid, you’d be writing a letter of apology to the store owner, as well.

Dear ishoplifted,

I have recently been charged for theft at a local wal-mart here in Texas. I was out on my own with no money and for some reason decided to take a Flat Screen TV. I had picked up the merchandise and I had noticed a big 320 pound man following behind me, at this point I moved down some separate isles and went to the back where I had lost him, then proceeded out the door. I had lost him for a little bit and I am guessing he saw me about to walk out and ran to catch up( as he had told me).

As I had gotten halfway to my car he walked up and asked if I had payed for the merchandise. I said, Yes, I had payed for it online with online pickup today. He asked me to follow him, so I did, he started saying he didn’t think I had purchased it and I claimed I did, he asked for a receipt which I could not present, I presented an older receipt from earlier in the week and told him I don’t know what I did with the other one. He tells me stop lying and that he saw me pick it up but I lost him so he had to run to out to catch me in the parking lot ( which he had admittedly told me). So I just went ahead and followed him to the office, this is the point where they physically pushed me in the doorway and two other wal-mart managers had came up and grabbed me by my neck and telling me to quit resisting, at this point I was not trying to be cornered because I didn’t know my rights with them but I was not fighting or any other manner. In fact, in the video you can see my hands are up and asking them to let go and they are continuing to grab my neck. They call the police and they shortly come there, they take an image of me walking out but the agent is no where to be seen in the pictures. They total up the TV I had taken valuing at $1020 a class A misdemeanor, they arrest me and take me downtown. They then find my car, remove all items including my cell phone, wallet, car keys, my laptop (which I have a receipt for) and put them in evidence and tow my car off. I am wondering what are my options here and did THEY do anything illegally? What should I bring up in court?

Ask your shoplifting question here.

Thanks for writing. There’s a major difference as to what is illegal and what is against Walmart company policy. You were caught with a $1000 television and apprehended by Loss Prevention. I think you’ve got bigger problems than worrying about whether Walmart did things by the book. In other words, I don’t think you’re going to be able to justify in front of a judge why you walked out of Walmart with a high dollar item and have him/her feel bad and take action against someone else for your actions.

That being said, if you feel you were abused by Walmart security or management in anyway, feel free to call an attorney and get an opinion. The right time to file assault charges would have been when you were arrested.

Good luck!

Dear ishoplifted,

So about 1-2 months ago (can’t remember if it happened Janurary or Feburary) I got caught stealing from publix. Long story short, once I made it out of the store, three guys who I assume were lp came after me and asked that I come back in the store. I refused and kept fast-walking. I would have ran but the purse I had was heavy as hell with stolen beers and other items.

So the guys were a good couple paces behind. I heard one of them say that “that’s ok the cops are on their way”. I said whatever but kept going. When I realized that one of them were on a cell phone giving the cops my description and telling them the exact color of the jacket I had on, I ripped it off, threw it down and against my better judgement took off running across a busy intersection. I wasn’t caught neither was I hit. But the problem is, that same day, just a couple minutes later publix called my cell phone! I didn’t pick up but I was baffled as to how they got my number. I had nothing in my jacket with any identifying items. I did realize later on though that one of my miscellaneous tablets I’d unfortunately had with me was missing so I figured I mistakenly left it in the basket after I ran and there must have been something in it with my number.

So its been at least a month now, and as I have stolen from their store numerous times before, usually under $100 at a time, I’m just wondering if its still possible for them to build a case against me and find me since they have some information on who I am and what I look like, although I’m sure they don’t know my real name (complicated story involved in that), just my cell number that is under my father’s name because he pays the bill. Anyway, I live in FL and am over 18 and am already currently in legal trouble so I don’t need publix adding to it. I hope you read this and respond, I love your site!

Ask your shoplifting question here.

Hi, Thanks for writing. I’m glad you like the site.

Sure, they could build a case on you if you were worth going after. It all depends on how big a pain in the ass you are to the store and what kind of impact you’re having on their shoplifting problem.

If you were coming into my store and cleaning me out for $100 each time, I would make it my mission to catch you and have you prosecuted. The LP guys (and girls)  have store managers looking over their shoulders for their entire shift who  constantly piss and moan about their shrink (shoplifting losses) and want to know what their LP is going to do about it. I can almost guarantee that the LP department is under tremendous pressure to catch you. Whether they have the resources to do that is another situation entirely.

It’s possible that they’ve called the police and filed a report and you may have a file sitting on some overloaded stack of paperwork on some detective’s desk. It’s also possible that you may see your face on the local news in one of those shoplifting segments that have become popular over the past couple of years.

What concerns me most about your case, is running across the interstate like that could get you seriously injured-or worse and hardly worth it for stealing any amount of merchandise. 

Since you’re already in trouble on another matter, I’d cool it with the shoplifting for awhile.

Good luck!