PETIT THEFT AND SHOPLIFTING

 A conviction of shoplifting can have significant repercussions for you and your family. For this reason, if you're facing shoplifting charges, it's important to understand your state's laws and criminal penalties.  

As a Sarasota criminal defense lawyer, I have seen several recent cases where people either get arrested or get a notice to appear in Court for not scanning all of their items.  This is often an impulse crime.  Sometimes, it is an actual mistake innocently made.  A petit theft charge, even though it is only a misdemeanor, can come back to haunt you later in life.  

An employer, checking your record will find it and move on to someone else who does not have a record.  People on dating sites, now often check a person’s record, before going on a date or beginning a relationship.  For sure, potential employers will check public arrest records.  If you were an employer and had two candidates for a job, and one of them had an arrest for theft, which one would you choose. You would never get a job handling money.  

As a Sarasota criminal defense attorney. I handle cases like this all the time.   There are ways to avoid having a record.  Many times I have been able to get cases dropped and expunged by getting a client enrolled in a “diversion program”.  Many times I have been able to get what is known as a “withheld adjudication” which means no “conviction” and no record.  

The little bit of money you spend on a defense attorney or defense lawyer may save you tons in the future.   Life’s mistakes, whether intentional or unintentional sometimes have consequences. If you need a local attorney, Aiken and O’Halloran of Sarasota Manatee and Charlotte counties are here to discuss your particular options based on your specific case in order to understand your legal rights, we are here for you.