Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Missouri

What should I do?

I'm a college student back home for Christmas break. My parents and I were shopping at a wholesale store. We decided to split up and look for items seperately, then meet up and pay with the membership card (which only my mother carries). I had both my hands full so I decided to hold a bottle of vitamins and crab spread in my sack purse. I met up with my folks later at the check-out. At the time I was on the phone and I forgot about the two items in my purse. I was stopped by two employees at the front of the store. I had no intentions of shoplifting and it certainly had no reason to. My court date is in a month, what do you suggest I do?


Asked on 12/23/07, 5:04 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael R. Nack Michael R. Nack, Attorney at Law

Re: What should I do?

I would strongly suggest that you hire an attorney to represent you in this case. In most cases, the attorney will be able to help you avoid taking a conviction which would remain on your record and be sure to cause you many serious problems later in life. You should also be prepared to receive a demand letter from an attorney representing the store asking for a payment of civil penalties usually in the $100 to $300 range no matter what the value of the items in your sack purse was. This is entirely separate from the shoplifting charge itself which might wind up costing you several hundreds of dolars. I have handled many of these cases myself, in the thirty years I have been practicing law. You may feel free to contact me if you do not already have an attorney. Good luck.

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Answered on 12/23/07, 11:16 pm


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