Shoplifting is one of the more common kinds of cases we deal with. And when you think about it, this seems odd – why would someone steal if they have enough income to hire a private attorney? In fact, shoplifting isn’t limited only to poor people. We’ve represented people from all walks of life in shoplifting cases – nurses, engineers, college students, and more. Typically, when these individuals get caught, the realization of how serious their mistake was hits them hard. Suddenly their future is at risk. Jobs, housing, professional licenses, and so much more can be impacted by a shoplifting conviction. The experience is overwhelming and terrifying. Luckily, we’ve had great success in defending these cases and protecting our clients’ future. A Minneapolis, MN shoplifting lawyer can help protect your rights, work to minimize the consequences, and fight to preserve your future.
Anatomy of a Shoplifting Case – How Does This Happen?
Most of our clients are regular, everyday normal people. They didn’t get out of bed intending to commit a crime. They’ve never (or rarely) been in any sort of trouble before. So how does this happen? Our former client Alice (not her real name, of course) provides a good example.
Alice had a good job and made a good income. She had a solid marriage and family life, with two young kids. Life was hectic, but good. Living a suburban lifestyle, she often stopped at Target on her way home from work. To save time, she usually used the self-checkout lines.
One day, Alice got home and realized she had forgotten to scan an item. It wasn’t an expensive item, and she didn’t do it on purpose. But it had happened, and no one had noticed. The incident stuck with her, and Alice thought about it a lot.
On her next trip, she did it again. On purpose this time. And again, no one noticed. No alarms went off and security didn’t stop her. Nothing happened. Not only was she saving some money, but it was kind of exciting in a way. Alice didn’t know that this is a common form of shoplifting, known as “skip scanning”, and stores definitely know about it.
This went on for some time, and Alice became increasingly bold. At first, it was only cheap items, but that started to change. And then one day, several months after this all started, things didn’t go as planned. A Target employee stopped her as she exited the store. The cops were called. Things changed pretty quickly for Alice.
Most self-checkout lanes are closely monitored by video. There are multiple cameras on each lane, showing what’s being scanned and the person doing the scanning. These videos are saved (and, these days, probably processed by AI). And every time you pay with a credit card, you’re telling the store who you are. n many stores, the transaction information is tied to the video system, meaning it’s simple to go back and review all transactions made by a certain person over time. Once Alice was caught, Target was able to easily go back and review the video of all her previous transactions, because she always paid with the same credit card. So now she was in trouble for not only the theft she got caught committing, but all the ones before that where she thought she had gotten away with it!
Under Minnesota law, a theft of merchandise valued at less than $500 is a misdemeanor. Values of $500-$999 are gross misdemeanors. And a theft of more than $1,000 is a felony. But Minnesota law also allows prosecutors to “aggregate” all thefts occurring over a 6 month period. This means that, where multiple theft cases occur during 6 months’ time, the value of all of those cases can be combined to determine the theft level.
Alice had never stolen more than $50 in any one single incident. But she had done it quite a few times. So many times, in fact, that the total aggregated value was just over $1,000. What had started as a dumb thrill and a way to save a few bucks suddenly had Alice facing felony charges, and her life was turned upside down.
After hiring us to represent her, Alice ultimately walked away from this case without a criminal record. But the stress, anxiety, and embarrassment she dealt with along the way were very, very real. Alice’s case is not as unusual as you might think. We represent many people every year who find themselves in situations just like she did.
Other Things To Know
Theft is what lawyers call a “specific intent crime.” This means that, in order to be convicted of theft, the prosecution must prove that you intended to steal. If you place a 12 pack of Coke on the bottom of your cart and forget to show it to the cashier, you have not committed a crime. But if you place merchandise on the bottom of your cart and deliberately hide it from the cashier in order to avoid paying for it, then you’ve committed a theft. This is one of the things that makes cases such as Alice’s tricky to defend – it’s easy to explain away a single item that didn’t get scanned as an innocent mistake. But when it happens repeatedly, the intent to steal is much more obvious and it’s much harder to explain as a simple mistake. For these cases, a skilled and experienced criminal defense attorney is crucial.
Alice’s “skip scanning” case is one example, but there’s another form of shoplifting that also makes intent easy for the prosecutor to prove. It’s called “tag switching” and involves taking a price tag from cheaper merchandise and putting it over the price tag of a more expensive item. The person takes the expensive item through self-checkout, scans it, and pays the price of the lower-value tag that’s now on the more expensive item. To some people, it seems like a great way to steal, because it looks perfectly innocent. But like skip scanning, stores are away of this tactic, and they’re watching for it.
Shoplifting in Minnesota is legally known as “theft”; there is no such thing as a “shoplifting” charge. But they are a special type of theft case that require specific knowledge and skills to defend properly. Earlier in my career, I prosecuted thousands of shoplifting cases. I know the ins and outs of how these cases are investigated and prosecuted, and I know how to properly defend them as well. If you or a loved one are facing shoplifting charges, reach out to me for a free consultation so we can discuss how I can help. If you or a loved one are facing theft or shoplifting charges, contact Archambault Criminal Defense for a free consultation to discuss your case and learn how your rights and future can be protected.
