Shoplifting Attorney San Jose

Shoplifting charges are serious, and anyone picked up for stealing needs an experienced criminal defense attorney. Under California Penal Code § 459.5, shoplifting is defined as entering a commercial business during business hours with the intent to steal $950 or less in merchandise. Although this is a misdemeanor offense, any conviction can have downstream effects. You might find yourself explaining away a shoplifting conviction for decades any time you search for a job. Call Knight Law to speak with our San Jose shoplifting lawyer about your case. It makes sense to fight the charge if the evidence is inconclusive or you are innocent.

Shoplifting Consequences

If convicted of shoplifting, you can face:

Up to six months in jail
A maximum $1,000 fine
1-2 years of summary probation
Restitution (paying back what you stole)

Any criminal arrest or conviction will also create a criminal record which shows up in a standard background check. When you go to apply for a job or to rent an apartment, you’ll need to disclose the conviction—and you can expect the person on the other side to ask you about it.

Young people who steal a small item aren’t aware that they are creating headaches for themselves for years. Call an experienced lawyer at Knight Justice to discuss your case.

Defending Against Shoplifting Charges

Our legal team avoids cookie cutter defense strategies. Instead, we want to know what evidence exists that you were shoplifting:

Did a staff member see you?
Were you caught on a security camera stealing an item?
Did the police or store staff find the item in your purse or pocket?
Had you swapped price tags between items?

This evidence might not be rock solid. For example, the security video might be blurry, which is often the case, or the camera isn’t really pointed in your direction. If the item was found on you, then you could have accidentally stored it in your pocket while you continued to shop and walked out of the store accidentally.

These cases require showing you had the intent to steal. That is hard, especially if you don’t confess that you had the intent.

We can resolve your case with:

Defense at trial. We might even go to trial, if that is what you want, to argue you aren’t guilty. The state must prove every element of the offense, including an intent to steal when you entered the store.
Civil compromise. You agree to repay the business for the stolen merchandise, and in exchange they agree not to press charges.
Informal diversion. You can plead guilty but have the guilty plea stayed. If you complete the requirements of diversion (such as community service and restitution), then the judge dismisses the case.
Dismissed charges. We might argue that there isn’t sufficient evidence to prosecute you and ask the prosecution to drop the charges. Or we might prove sufficient violations of your legal rights in the arrest or investigation and ask a judge to toss the charges.

Call Us to Schedule Your Case Evaluation

Nana Knight is an experienced criminal defense lawyer who has defended people of countless property-related crimes. She can review the facts and your criminal history. If hired, our office will fight to get the best resolution possible.