Whether you were arrested for misdemeanor shoplifting or felony shoplifting or retail theft, contact a Tampa criminal defense attorney to discuss fighting for a dismissal of the charge and to expunge your criminal record.
When the accusations are false, your attorney should issue a subpoena to obtain any records of the surveillance video. The prosecutor might also issue such a subpoena which often provides:
After an arrest for petit theft (sometimes called petty theft, retail theft, or shoplifting) in the Tampa Bay Area, including Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Pasco County, or Hernando County, then contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at the Sammis Law Firm.
The common offense of shoplifting involves the theft of merchandise offered for sale by a retail establishment. The term shoplifting is defined as the theft of merchandise from a retail establishment by simply concealing the items and walking out of the store or towards the exits. ...
In order to prove the offense of shoplifting, the prosecutor must prove that you intended to take something that didn’t belong to you from a store without paying for it and that you did take the item or attempted to take the item out of the store.
Read more at Big Retail Chains Dun Mere Suspects in Theft Demands for Money Can Leave Targets With Little Defense punished by the Wall Street Journal on February 20, 2008.
The person accused of shoplifting took the items into his possession; The person accused of shoplifting concealed the items or attempted to conceal the items; The person accused of shoplifting exited the store or attempted to exit the store without paying for the items.