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Shoplifting at target
Anonymous3 views3 answers
Was caught shoplifting $85 worth of merchandise at target. They took my license and info, ha me sign a paper which stated the damages and I was then let go. They told me it was my lucky day and that I would receive a restitution letter in the mail. What are the chances of them filing future criminal complaints? I am a teacher and fear this will affect me. Should I call the store to check the status of my incident? What about contacting the local court?
Unfortunately you would not have had to pay the store anything if you had not signed the restitution letter. That is actually a civil demand for damages which would have required them to file a lawsuit (non-criminal) to collect. In signing it you made it a contract and will probably have to pay it.
If the cops were not called and you were not arrested the chances of the store reporting the incident later are very slim. A petty theft conviction would endanger your certificate to teach so maybe it was after all your lucky day.
You don't owe them anything unless they sue you and win (even if you signed the paper). They won't pursue it because it would cost them more to sue you than they can actually recover. They send them out hoping that you don't know better and simply send them money. I generally advise clients to ignore these letters.
You most likely will not be prosecuted, considering law enforcement was not called. Generally, a police officer would have arrested and booked you or cited and released you. In any event, they would have given you a court date. Since none of this happened, it looks like Target gave you a break. The civil demand letter from Target is not a form of prosecution. This is Target basically saying pay us this fine and we will accept it in lieu of suing you. I agree, it would cost Target much more to sue you for this fine than just let it go if you did not pay it.
