Shoplifting Lawyer Madison Heights

Retain a Top Rated Lawyer for your Madison Heights Michigan Shoplifting Ticket or Arrest

If you need to go to Court for your Madison Heights Michigan misdemeanor or felony shoplifting allegation, you need an aggressive and experienced criminal defense lawyer who will fight for you and your future. No matter if your accusation is from a national franchise (such as Sams Club, Costco, Best Buy, Home Depot, etc.) or a locally based Madison Heights store we can help defend you from this allegation. Get Hilf & Hilf, PLC on your side for immediate and aggressive steps taken on your behalf toward achieving the best results. Shoplifting defense lawyer Daniel Hilf appears at the 43rd District Court (200 West 13 Mile Road, Madison Heights, 48071), the 6th Circuit Court (1200 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac 48341), and throughout Oakland County on a regular basis, zealously defending all shoplifting charges.

Having to appear at the 43rd District Court or the 6th Circuit Court may seem depressing and very overwhelming, but it is important to remember that facing a shoplifting allegation does not make you a bad person. In fact, shoplifting is prosecuted daily by the Madison Heights City Attorney and the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, but it is often based on one single allegation of shoplifting due to a temporary lapse in good judgment. However, just because shoplifting charges are heard daily at the 43rd District Court and elsewhere in Oakland County it does not mean that there are not serious consequences or that it will not affect your life for a long time in a really negative way. Any shoplifting conviction can have a life lasting repercussions, because a sentence from this conviction may include any or or a combination of the following outcomes: the loss of your freedom (being incarcerated); probation with strict supervisory conditions; loss of employment; professional licensing issues (for lawyers, accountants, nurses, stock brokers, and other positions that require State or Federal licensing); loss of educational opportunities; fines and costs; immigration complications (for persons that are not United States citizens); and personal embarrassment/damage to reputation. Without a doubt – you need professional shoplifting defense lawyer who is one hundred percent on your side, and who is dedicated to achieving great results.

A shoplifting charge is predicated upon a variety of behaviors, such as: when merchandise from a store is stolen or an attempt to steal store merchandise is made; when the price tag of the merchandise is intentionally changed to a lower price to defraud the store; or when merchandise is fraudulently exchanged in order to obtain money or other store merchandise. Felony and misdemeanor shoplifting charges that are prosecuted at the 43rd District Court in Madison Heights and other Oakland County courtrooms include the following:

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 [the Court, however, can choose to be merciful and impose a term of probation instead of any form of incarceration].

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 [the Court, however, can choose to be merciful and impose a term of probation instead of any form of incarceration]. The allegation is prosecuted when the prosecution believes it has probable cause that the intent of the Defendant is to commit retail fraud from one or more stores and then resell the stolen merchandise to others.

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 [the Court, however, can choose to be merciful and impose a term of probation instead of any form of incarceration].

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) [the Court, however, can choose to be merciful and impose a term of probation instead of any form of incarceration].

Removal of a Theft Detection Device is a misdemeanor charges that carries up to a 1 year maximum county jail sentence that is prosecuted under State law [the Court, however, can choose to be merciful and impose a term of probation instead of any form of incarceration].

Searching for a Top Rated Madison Heights Lawyer to Defend Your Retail Fraud Arrest?

Many businesses in Madison Heights and throughout Michigan have developed loss prevention policies with the goal of reducing shoplifting losses, avoiding any contested litigation, and deterring other forms of store theft (such as credit card fraud and embezzlement). It is now common for a coordinated team of asset protection employees with loss prevention detection equipment (such as merchandise sensors, cameras, and closed circuit televisions) to be found within a store. Even with technology and thorough training, mistakes are still made and persons are still sometimes falsely arrested due to errors (such as false identification and false interpretation of a situation), cultural related issues, and procedural mistakes.

If you choose to hire lawyer Daniel Hilf to defend your shoplifting case, he will obtain all the available discovery materials to fully and properly defend you, 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. Shoplifting criminal defense attorney Daniel Hilf will provide you with solid and well reasoned advice concerning whether to conduct a trial in front of your assigned Judge or jury, or whether to choose to accept a plea or plea bargain and try and persuade the Judge to sentence you favorably. However, it is completely your choice to elect to try and obtain a plea bargain (an agreement with the prosecution to dismiss or reduce the charge(s) against you) or try to obtain a favorable sentence agreement (an agreement with the Judge and/or prosecutor to impose a specific sentence, such as avoiding or limiting any term of confinement) or proceed to trial to try and obtain an outright acquittal – attorney Hilf will fight for you no matter what your decision is.

You should not delay with your decision to hire zealous shoplifting defense representation to help you with your Madison Heights case. Again, a shoplifting conviction will likely cause you a large number of complicated problems, in addition to criminal penalties, including making it extremely difficult to find a well paying job or your dream career, because many companies do not want to risk hiring someone convicted of theft. Hire a highly rated lawyer for your Madison Heights based shoplifting allegation – lawyer Daniel Hilf – to help you, because attorney Daniel Hilf is highly respected throughout Oakland County due to his his legal acumen, and his over twenty years of experience inside and outside of Michigan courtrooms.

If you have to attend Court due to an alleged Madison Heights shoplifting incident, now is the time to make an impactful and wise decision concerning your in court representation. Contact Hilf & Hilf, PLC to schedule an appointment to obtain the legal representation that you need to help defend your shoplifting ticket or arrest.