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Accused of stealing at work and under investigation by Loss Prevention. What should I do and what are my rights?
Anonymous2 views3 answers
I am the prime suspect at work for a non-union office supply store for stealing items worth up to $3k. I am preparing myself and anticipating a interrogation with Loss Prevention the next time I go to work. If anyone can please explain my rights to when I can ask for an attorney, how to not self-incriminate myself, what I should and should not say, and if I should look for false imprisonment, slander or any false accusations. I am anticipating that LP will be persistent of accusing me of stealing with probable video evidence in which I will deny. If anything they have video of me holding the item but never or not enough to show me concealing it or walking out of the store with it. Should I have an criminal defense attorney represent me right away?
Any statement you make can only hurt you at this point. If they have a case against you, there is nothing you can say to talk them outbid firing you or reporting this to the police. If they don't have a case or only have a weak one, why help them build a case against you?
Yes - consulting with a criminal defense attorney is an excellent idea.
Curtis Lamar Harrington JrTax LawyerLong Beach, CA ·
As you said, they may be about to fire you in any event. However. they can take any admissions you make and turn them directly over to the police. They may dangle your jobe in front of you to get you to speak more freely ----> DON'T DO IT. $3K is well beyond the limit for a felony.
It is better to lose a job than to lose your freedom. Further, any sort of conviction would be on your record FOREVER and it will not expunge from the record.
If you are minimum wage, your job may not be as important as would be the case for others, and this may help you to have the resolve not to speak and not to incriminate yourself..
I know a fellow who helps stores in high dollar losses. He identifies the employees or partners or officers who stole and grills them all day until he gets them to break down.
On many complex cases (where law enforcement would not be successful nor willing to prosecute), he is able to hand law enforcement a complete package of evidence which makes both prosecution and conviction HIGHLY likely.
Your employer (and his LP agent) can threaten you in ways that law enforcement cannot.
They can pay you your hourly wage to sit in a room and undergo questioning day after day.
I know of few people who will not "break down" after several days of this.
Talk to and HIRE a criminal attorney now. You may not even ever want to enter the work facility again.
Please remember to designate your question's BEST ANSWER.
Curt Harrington
(562) 594-9784
http://patentax.com/curt/index.html
It is not realistic to pose these specific questions here on this site and to expect that you can elicit full and sound answers and that you can safely utilize those answers in your own behalf. You are WAY out of your depth. Get an attorney and follow your attorney's advice before you put yourself in any position to be responding to any questions by LP. The job is a lost cause, so it doesn't really matter if you "look" guilty. What matters is if you make statements that can be used as evidence against you -- as virtually ANY statement you make can and will. Get an attorney before there is ANY further communication on this matter.
