A Theft or Shoplifting charge can have a very serious, disproportionate effect on your life.  These are serious charges that need to be taken seriously.

Getting convicted of shoplifting or theft means getting convicted of a crime involving your honesty and truthfulness.

In my experience, employers, colleagues and friends hold these types of convictions against a person to a much greater degree than a DUI, traffic or even a domestic violence case.

In Arizona, all criminal records are available to be searched on a website maintained by the Arizona Supreme Court: Public Access to Court Information – Case Search .  If you try to rent an apartment or apply for a job, you may discover that a simple misdemeanor shoplifting case, even something like a “beer run”, will prevent you from getting that job or apartment.  In this economy, with so many qualified applicants for every job, if you have been convicted of shoplifting or theft, an employer is just going to skip over your application entirely.

These cases can be fought and won.  Do not get discouraged and plead guilty without even putting up a fight.  Mistakes are common in these cases: did the store personnel stop you inside the store, or outside of the store?  Did they misinterpret an honest mistake for the intent to shoplift?

I handle these cases on a regular basis; please call to discuss the facts of your case in detail.