SHOPLIFTING

If you have ever been charged with shoplifting, you know that it can be one of the most humiliating experiences of your life. If you are here because you have recently been charged with shoplifting, I hope this page provides you with some information.

Naturally, shoplifting is most prevalent in towns with malls or outlets. For these reasons, courts near malls, such as Edison, Woodbridge, Elizabeth, Millburn, Paramus, Hamilton and Eatontown see a significant amount of shoplifting cases. My firm travels all over NJ to handle shoplifting cases.

THE LAW

The charge of “shoplifting” is a confusing concept. Here is the legal language for shoplifting, or what we lawyers call the statute:

Under NJSA 2C:20-11(b) shoplifting shall consist of any one or more of the following acts:

1.  For any person purposely to take possession of, carry away, transfer or cause to be carried away or transferred, any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment with the intention of depriving the merchant of the possession, use or benefit of such merchandise or converting the same to the use of such person without paying to the merchant the full retail value thereof.

2.  For any person purposely to conceal upon his person or otherwise any merchandise offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment with the intention of depriving the merchant of the processes, use or benefit of such merchandise or converting the same to the use of such person without paying to the merchant the value thereof.

3.  For any person purposely to alter, transfer or remove any label, price tag or marking indicia of value or any other markings which aid in determining value affixed to any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment and to attempt to purchase such merchandise personally or in consort with another at less than the full retail value with the intention of depriving the merchant of all or some part of the value thereof.

4.  For any person purposely to transfer any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale by any store or other retail merchandise establishment from the container in or on which the same shall be displayed to any other container with intent to deprive the merchant of all or some part of the retail value thereof.

5.  For any person purposely to under-ring with the intention of depriving the merchant of the full retail value thereof.

6.  For any person purposely to remove a shopping cart from the premises of a store or other retail mercantile establishment without the consent of the merchant given at the time of such removal with the intention of permanently depriving the merchant of the possession, use or benefit of such cart.

Also, under NJSA 2C:20-11(f), any person who possesses or uses any anti-shoplifting or inventory control device countermeasure within any store or other retail mercantile establishment is guilty of a disorderly persons offense.

POTENTIAL FINES, PENALTIES & JAIL TIME

Under NJSA 2C:20-11c (4), shoplifting is considered a “disorderly person’s offense” if the full retail value of the merchandise was less than $200.00.

A disorderly person’s offense is punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed six months, a fine not to exceed $1,000 or both.

If the value of the merchandise is higher than $200, it could be considered a felony and the following applies:

1. Shoplifting constitutes a crime of the second degree under NJSA 2C:20-11(b) if the full retail value of the merchandise is $ 75,000 or more, or the offense is committed in furtherance of or in conjunction with an organized retail theft enterprise and the full retail value of the merchandise is $ 1,000 or more.

2. Shoplifting constitutes a crime of the third degree under NJSA 2C:20-11(b) if the full retail value of the merchandise exceeds $ 500 but is less than $ 75,000, or the offense is committed in furtherance of or in conjunction with an organized retail theft enterprise and the full retail value of the merchandise is less than $ 1,000.

3. Shoplifting constitutes a crime of the fourth degree under NJSA 2C:20-11(b) if the full retail value of the merchandise is at least $ 200 but does not exceed $ 500.

4. Shoplifting is a disorderly persons offense under NJSA 2C:20-11(b) if the full retail value of the merchandise is less than $ 200.

The shoplifting charge comes with mandatory community service. Under NJSA 2C:20-11c (4), for a first offense, the accused can receive at least ten days of community service; for a second offense, at least 15 days of community service; and for a third or subsequent offense, a maximum of 25 days of community service and any person convicted of a third or subsequent shoplifting offense shall serve a minimum term of imprisonment of not less than 90 days.

IMMIGRATION – DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES

The charge of shoplifting is considered a crime of moral turpitude, which can cause an accused individual with a green card, or work, student or spouse visa, or an accused individual without proper authorization to be legally present in the country to be deported.

THE PROCESS

It is generally up to a store to remain vigilant for shoplifters. This is why all stores have some sort of store security or “loss prevention” professionals. They will routinely monitor the store to determine if there is any shoplifting incident to prevent.

Usually, a store security officer will suspect a person of shoplifting and apprehend the individual in the store, or more likely right outside the store. The individual is usually then placed under “citizen’s arrest” and held in an office in the store until the police are called and a criminal complaint is filed. The accused shoplifter is then transported to the town’s police station where they are processed, fingerprinted and presented with a charge sheet. Click here to see an example of a charge sheet.

The accused shoplifter is then given a court date, usually within two or three days of the incident. This is the “initial hearing date” where the individual is explained what they are charged with by the state and what penalties they might be facing. The individual is then given the chance to get their own lawyer, apply for the public defender if they are deemed eligible by the court, or to represent themselves.

Just so we are clear – the State will prosecute the Complaint against the individual accused of shoplifting, and the store security officer and other employees will most likely be the main (or only) witnesses for the state. The police officer will most likely not be called as a witness because they were there after the shoplifting incident allegedly occurred. Sometimes, however, the accused individual may “admit” their crime to the officer and the officer may be called to testify as to the admission but that is a rare occurrence.

DEFENDING THE ACCUSED SHOPLIFTER

Defending a shoplifting case is hard work. Store surveillance videos that capture the accused near the site of the incident will need to be reviewed, and the store security officer’s report and an inventory of all things allegedly shoplifted will need to be provided by the State. Defenses of chain of custody and mental state of the accused will need to be presented, and the store security officer’s testimony and credibility will need to cross-examined.

If the charge and testimony prove to be insurmountable, working with the prosecutor and the store security officer to resolve the charge in creative ways can be accomplished. A guilty plea to shoplifting, however, should be avoided at all costs if possible, due to the potential immigration consequences as explained above. Contact us today to assist you.