rtfworriedinPA
New Member
I am a 42-year old professional male, who no criminal history. My fiance and I were at the mall this weekend and we were stopped for allegedly shoplifting after leaving a major department store. We initially went to the mall to get some minor repair work done on our car, which would take about 1.5 hours to complete. Before leaving the car with the auto store, we looked inside and in the trunk and there were 3 bags of merchandise that we recently purchased from a combination of this deparment store chain, and 2 others - about $400 in total. Most of the items though can be purchased in this department store. We decided rather than leave these items in the car with strangers working on it, we loaded up 2 bags, and just brought them with us. We went to the dept store, and my fiance was looking at some handbags and I was looking at some men's clothes. I went over to see if she was ready to go, and she showed me a couple of bags that she liked. I looked at them, opened up one and inside one of the purse pockets was a security sensor someone had removed from another item and placed inside this handbag. I took it out, and placed it in another bag that was on the rack, not really knowing at the time that my actions here would be detrimental! We continued to shop, went downstairs to another section of the store, where she tried on a couple of items. I told her we should go and get the car, and just leave the new items inside the dressing room entrance on a rack and we would come back and finish the shopping later. As we were leaving, we were approached by 2 security officers who accused me of removing a security sensor from a handbag. I was completely shocked and denied it. We cooperated, and went back to the detaining room because I thought this would be a simple misunderstanding. They frisked me and I had unknowingly placed a small pair of pliers in this particular jacket a couple of weeks back because I needed to remove a gutter that had blown down from a recent thunderstorm, and the screw holding it together was rusted. I must have placed this in my inside pocket when breaking the gutter into pieces. I hadn't used the jacket until this day because of the warmer weather. Needless to say, this didn't look good, and I was suprised when it appeared. So a bad situation all of the sudden just got quickly worse!! They wanted us to sign papers indicating that we would reimburse them for the value of the merchandise plus $150. I said no way. First, we came in with the merchandise, and second, we are not thieves. I knew there was a receipt in the bag, but when the two security staff went through our things, we were behind closed doors and couldn't see anything. Now, the receipt is mysteriously missing from the bag! Also, they tagged items that were already used - a scarf and jacket that she walked into the mall with but placed in one of the bags as she was shopping. I wanted to speak with my attorney while being detained inside the store, and they declined my request to use my cell phone. They took my wallet, cell phone, jacket, and the pliers that were found and brought them outside of the room, along with the other merchandise we had in our possession when entering the store. Now, I have NO receipt, the items were paid in cash, and I have a set of pliers in my possession. I begin to worry. They tell me the police are on their way. The police arrive, we get questioned/interrogated a bit, no Miranda rights, and handcuffed and escorted back to the police station for fingerprinting. We also get a more intense interrogation there, still no Miranda rights, and I repeatedly ask if I could call my lawyer - my requests get declined by the police - "not until you see the judge". I then get put in a holding cell for 2+ hours, until the judge arrives. My fiance and I are being charged with a first degree misdemeanor for shoplifting. They place my value at $350, and hers over $500 - again, I am not sure how they arrived at these figures. If the store surveillance does show me putting the sensor inside another handbag, what can I say? I did do that. However, I did not remove it! It was already cut loose. Secondly, a lot of the merchandise was purchased at this chain - some at this store, and some at another store. They were all cash transactions. Now without a receipt, and the security staff tagging merchandise that she had in her possession when entering the store, I feel like we are gonna get screwed! This just happened a couple of days ago. I did contact a lawyer, and we have a meeting set-up later in the week. What can I expect here? I can't sleep or eat. It really concerns me. Like I said, I have never been arrested - no criminal record ever, a very responsible person, volunteer my time, etc. etc.
I appreciate any advice you can provide.
I appreciate any advice you can provide.
