Petty theft??

Question

My friend stole something from a store worth $2.58. It would be her first offense in anything if she even gets caught it happened 4 days ago. She's 19. Will the store even bother pressing charges for that little of amount or will they just tell her not to come into the store.

Answer 1

If the store for some reason doesn't know it was your friend who stole the item,then nothing will happen. If they now know that something has been taken and they have security cameras in the store..they could play the videos back to try and find out who it was that took the item. If they find it was your friend,they could press charges if they choose to do so. Or they may demand that she pay them the 2.58 for the item along with telling her she is never allowed in the store again. If they do decide to press charges..she may get off easy since it's her first offense. I think it depends on how the owner chooses to handle it.  If you care about your friend very much you should tell her to never ever steal anything again, because if she gets lucky this one time..she may not be so lucky the next time. Anyone should know that stealing is a terrible thing. When you steal from a store and the store has a problem with recovering the money for the item the person stole..they must try to recover that loss somehow. So therefore they may increase their prices on certain items to make up for the cost of the stolen item. I think if a person steals something once they will most likely do it again,and eventually they will get caught. It's just not worth it.

Answer 2

In many places, it is up to the store owner's discretion as to whether charges will be pressed or not.

I have responded to calls where the owner informs me they "prosecute all shoplifters" and I've had to arrest 15 year olds for stealing less than $5 worth of stuff.

Unfortunately for her, she's not a juvenile so...if she does get caught (say by security cameras), it's staying on her record.

Your best bet is to just spend the $3.00 as opposed to the couple hundred you risk in court costs and fines!! If you want a rush, find it legally.