Being arrested, ticketed, or otherwise having to go to Court for an Wayne County Michigan retail fraud charge (also known as shoplifting or retail theft) does not make you a bad person. In fact, retail fraud is a frequently prosecuted offense in Wayne County by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and local city/community prosecutors, but it is often only based upon an isolated incident from a momentary lapse in judgment. However, just because shoplifting accusations are frequently prosecuted in Wayne County courtrooms (District Courts, Municipal Courts, the Lincoln Hall of Justice, and the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice), it does not mean that there are not serious consequences or that it will not affect your life in some type of negative manner, because any type of criminal record for a theft offense can have many potential damaging repercussions. The negative consequences of an Wayne County retail fraud conviction may include: the loss of your freedom; probation with inconvenient and strict conditions; loss of employment opportunities; professional licensing issues; loss of educational opportunities; steep fines and costs; immigration complications (for persons that are not United States citizens); embarrassment, etc. If you need to appear in a Wayne County Court for a retail fraud charge, you need experienced legal representation who will fight to protect you and your way of life.
There are several different ways in which both the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and local city/community prosecutors can allege you committed retail fraud: when store merchandise is stolen or an attempt to steal store merchandise is made; 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 felony and misdemeanor retail fraud offenses prosecuted in Wayne County Michigan on a daily basis, including:
First Degree Retail Fraud is a felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence (it is important to know that there is no mandatory minimum term of incarceration that the Court must impose) 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.
Organized Retail Theft is felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence (it is important to know that there is no mandatory minimum term of incarceration that the Court must impose), that is also subject to applicable habitual offender sentencing provisions. The charge is sought by Wayne County Prosecutors 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 (it is important to know that there is no mandatory minimum term of incarceration that the Court must impose), 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.
Third Degree Retail Fraud is a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a 93 day maximum county jail sentence (it is important to know that there is no mandatory minimum term of incarceration that the Court must impose), that is prosecuted under either State law or local ordinance, when the merchandise involved in the offense is less than $200 (two hundred dollars).
Removal of a Theft Detection Device is a misdemeanor charges that carries up to a 365 day maximum county jail sentence under State law (it is important to know that there is no mandatory minimum term of incarceration that the Court must impose).
Many stores and merchants always want retail fraud cases prosecuted because they have implemented loss prevention related procedures that seek, through prosecutions, to reduce retail fraud losses, reduce insurance costs, and to deter store theft. It is not uncommon for many stores and merchants in Wayne County to hire asset protection personnel and to use theft detection devices with up to date technology to combat the costs and liabilities associated with shoplifting. Even with sophisticated employee training methods and the use of advanced surveillance equipment, mistakes are still made and persons are still sometimes falsely arrested due to errors in judgment (such as the false identification of a suspect, false interpretation of a situation), cultural issues, and procedural errors.
If you make the decision to retain attorney Daniel Hilf for your Wayne County retail fraud case, he 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 will have to make a decision (with advice from your lawyer) to either fight your case at trial in front of a Judge or jury, or to resolve the case through a plea or plea bargain (if a plea bargain is offered). In some instances a Defendant can even avoid having a retail fraud conviction through plea bargaining, diversion programs, and pleas under advisement.
Make the best decision for you and your family to hire top tier defense attorney Daniel Hilf to help you obtain the best possible result for your circumstances. Again, a retail theft conviction will likely cause you problems well into your future, including making it extremely difficult to find a well paying job or to establish a desired career, because many employers do not want to risk hiring someone convicted of a theft offense. Retain top tier Wayne County retail fraud defense specialist Daniel Hilf to properly defend you, because he is an impassioned, zealous, and respected criminal defense lawyer with over 20 years of experience inside and outside of courtrooms helping clients obtain great results for retail fraud and other theft related accusations.
If you have been accused of any theft crime anywhere in Wayne County, now is the time to make an impactful decision regarding your legal representation by contacting us right away.
The defense of retail fraud cases in Wayne County Michigan includes (but is not limited to) individuals from following communities:
The cities of Allen Park, Belleville, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Detroit, Ecorse, Flat Rock, Garden City, Gibraltar, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Shores, Grosse Pointe Woods, Hamtramck, Harper Woods, Highland Park, Inkster, Lincoln Park, Livonia, Melvindale, Northville, Plymouth, River Rouge, Riverview, Rockwood, Romulus, Southgate, Taulor, Trenton, Wayne, Westland, Woodhaven, and Wyandotte;
The townships of Brownstown, Canton, Grosse Ile, Huron, Northville, Plymouth, Redford, Sumpter, and Van Buren.
Retail Fraud is prosecuted in Wayne County in the following Courts: 16th District Court (32765 Five Mile Road in Livonia); 17th District Court (15111 Beech Daly Road in Redford); 18th District Court (36675 Ford Road in Westland 48185); 19th District Court (16077 Michigan Avenue in Dearborn 48126); 20th District Court (25637 Michigan Avenue in Dearborn Heights 48125); 21st District Court (6000 Middlebelt Road in Garden City 48135); 22nd District Court (27331 South River Park Drive in Inkster 48141); 23rd District Court (23365 Goddard Road in Taylor 48180); 24th District Court (6515 Roosevelt Road in Allen Park 48101); 25th District Court (1475 Cleophus Parkway in Lincoln Park 48146); 27th District Court (2015 Biddle Avenue in Wyandotte 48192); 28th District Court (14720 Reaume Parkway in Southgate 48195); 29th District Court (34808 Sims Avenue in Wayne 48184); 30th District Court (12050 Woodward Avenue in Highland Park 48203); 31st District Court (3401 Evaline in Hamtramck 48212); 32A District Court (19617 Harper Avenue in Harper Woods 48225); 33rd District Court (19000 Van Horn Road in Woodhaven 48183); 34th District Court (1131 Wayne Road in Romulus 48174); 35th District Court (660 Plymouth Road in Plymouth 48170); 36th District Court (421 Madison in Detroit 48226); Grosse Pointe Municipal Court (17147 Maumee); Grosse Pointe Farms Municipal Court (90 Kerby Road or 795 Lake Shore Drive); Grosse Pointe Park Municipal Court (15115 East Jefferson Avenue); Grosse Pointe Woods Municipal Court (20025 Mack Avenue); Frank Murphy Hall of Justice (1441 St. Antoine, Detroit 48226); Lincoln Hall of Justice (1025 East Forest, Detroit 48207).