Having to go to a Court in Pontiac, Michigan (50th District Court or 6th Circuit Court) for a shoplifting charge (also known as retail theft or shoplifting) does not make you a bad person. In fact, shoplifting is a routinely prosecuted offense by both Oakland County and city of Pontiac prosecutors, but it is often only based upon an isolated incident due to a momentary lapse in normally good judgment. However, just because shoplifting accusations are frequently prosecuted in Pontiac, it does not mean that there are not serious consequences or that it will not affect your life in a bad way, because any criminal record for shoplifting theft can have a lasting impact. The outcome of a conviction for shoplifting may include: the loss of your freedom (incarceration in jail or prison, depending upon your circumstances); probation with strict conditions; loss of job opportunities; professional licensing issues (for doctors, lawyers, accountants, nurses, etc.); loss of educational opportunities; steep fines and costs; immigration complications (for persons that are not United States citizens); and personal embarrassment. If you need to go to the 50th District Court or 6th Circuit Court due to a shoplifting charge or arrest, you need a top notch defense attorney who will aggressively fight for the best result.
There are several different ways (legal theories) that Oakland County and city of Pontiac prosecutors accuse people with shoplifting: when store merchandise is stolen or an attempt to steal store merchandise is made by one or more individuals; the price tag of the merchandise is intentionally misrepresented or changed; or merchandise is fraudulently exchanged for money or other store merchandise. There are a few different criminal shoplifting offenses prosecuted in Pontiac, Michigan, including:
First Degree Retail Fraud is a felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence that is prosecuted when the merchandise involved is $1,000 (one thousand dollars) or more, or if the merchandise involved is $200 (two hundred dollars) or more and the person has a prior theft conviction [however, there is no mandatory minimum term of incarceration that a Judge is obligated to impose by law].
Organized Retail Theft is felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence that is also subject to applicable habitual offender sentencing provisions [however, there is no mandatory minimum term of incarceration that a Judge is obligated to impose by law]. The offense of Organized Retail Theft occurs under Michigan law when the alleged intent of the Defendant is to commit a retail fraud and to resell the stolen merchandise to another person or business.
Second Degree Retail Fraud is a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a 1 year maximum county jail sentence that is prosecuted when the merchandise involved is at least $200 (two hundred dollars) but less than $1000 (one thousand dollars), or if the merchandise involved is under $200 (two hundred dollars) and the person has a prior theft conviction [however, there is no mandatory minimum term of incarceration that a Judge is obligated to impose by law].
Third Degree Retail Fraud is a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a 93 day maximum county jail sentence that is prosecuted under either State law or local ordinance, when the merchandise involved in the offense is less than $200 (two hundred dollars) [however, there is no mandatory minimum term of incarceration that a Judge is obligated to impose by law].
Removal of a Theft Detection Device is a misdemeanor charges that carries up to a 365 day maximum county jail sentence that is prosecuted under State law [however, there is no mandatory minimum term of incarceration that a Judge is obligated to impose by law].
Many merchants and businesses have implemented a number of loss prevention related procedures with the goal of reducing retail fraud losses, avoiding contested litigation, and deterring overall in store theft. It is not uncommon for merchants and businesses to use trained and well staffed loss protection personnel and use sophisticated theft detection equipment (sensors, closed circuit television, etc.) to combat the costs and liabilities associated with shoplifting. Even with technology and many hours of asset protection training, mistakes are still made and persons are still sometimes falsely arrested due to errors in judgment (false identification of a suspect, false interpretation of a situation, etc.), cultural issues, and procedural errors.
If you retain the right lawyer to defend your shoplifting case in Pontiac, he or she will obtain all the available discovery materials to fully and properly defend the case, which can include the following: police report(s), loss prevention report(s), witness statement(s), in store video(s), police video(s), photograph(s), statement(s) the police and/or loss prevention claims that you made, etc. Ultimately, you can either go to trial, or accept a plea or plea bargain (resolving your retail fraud accusation without a going through a trial may involve reaching a plea bargain [an agreement with the prosecution to dismiss, expunge, or reduce the charge(s) against you] or reaching a sentence agreement [an agreement with the Judge and/or prosecutor to impose a specific sentence, such as avoiding or limiting any confinement]). Before you do anything further, make the best decision for you and your family and hire an aggressive retail fraud defense attorney to help you obtain a great result for your circumstances. Again, a shoplifting conviction will likely cause you many complicated problems throughout your life, including making it extremely difficult to find a job, because many employers do not want to risk hiring someone convicted of theft. Retain the leading Pontiac area attorney for shoplifting cases – attorney Daniel Hilf – to defend you or your loved one. He is an impassioned, confident, and zealous criminal defense lawyer with over 20 years of experience inside and outside of courtrooms helping clients obtain excellent results for shoplifting accusations in Pontiac courtrooms.
If you have been accused of a shoplifting offense in Pontiac, it’s time to make an impactful and well reasoned decision to contact us right away for your best shoplifting criminal defense.