Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

This is a long story so I'll try to summarize,

I was caught shoplifting at Walmart when I was 19. I went to court, had two years of probation, paid my fines, and am now a 23 year old mother and wife. I have not been in any trouble, and my life has been relatively peaceful since this mistake. One of the rulings was that I am no longer allowed to visit any Walmart's...I was thinking this wasn't a big deal being so long ago, and being in a different state now. This all happened in NC, and I moved to TX 6 months ago. I went to a Walmart with my husband and used my prepaid walmart card to get cash back. I did four transactions to pull out what I needed in 100 dollar increments. The last transaction, I only did for 20 dollars but later realized after I was home the cashier handed me another 100...so 80 extra that was not mine. Yes, I thought about returning it, but being I am technically not even supposed to be in Walmart I was nervous about bringing attention to myself.

Days later, my prepaid walmart card is canceled and I am told by a recording I am not allowed to apply for another one in the future. I call customer service and talk with a supervisor who says she cannot tell me anything about what suspicious activity led to my card being canceled with no reinstatement, but there are other prepaid services from companies I can utilize.

My question is, do you think this is in any way related to the fact that years ago I was convicted for theft of Walmart? Would that come up in their system if they...search me, or something? I am hoping they just cancelled the card for being related to the cash back incident, although in this case I'm not sure why they can't tell me this is why. Unless they are preparing some kind of lawsuit...even then, is this feasible given I did shoplift, but only received more money due to the cashiers mistake? Is this something I can really be prosecuted for within the bounds of the law? Another thought is that they realized I am not allowed to be in any Walmart, and may try to peruse me on this issue? Looking for OBJECTIVE, intelligent opinions. My hope is that my prepaid card being cancelled is the end of it, and I will no longer frequent Walmart as I should have continued doing in the first place. Thanks in advance for any insight and/or advice.


Asked on 11/07/13, 2:22 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Keith Engelke Law Office of S. Keith Engelke

I'm not sure that a court in North Carolina has jurisdiction to prevent you from going into a Walmart store in Texas. Also Walmart tends to have separate companies for each of its stores. It is not clear which stores within the group the order was intended to cover.

If they canceled your prepaid debit card, you have the right to whatever your balance is. I suggest you write them a letter to find out what the balance is on your card.was before they canceled it. They should respond and advise you of the balance. This would be an opportunity for you to respond and pay them the excess.

It is possible that they could contact the district attorney's office and try to charge you with theft. However, it is hard to see how they could transfer their mistake to you. In any event, before you pay them back, you may want to have them release you from any liability related to the incident.

Read more
Answered on 11/07/13, 3:34 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Criminal Law questions and answers in Texas