As the holiday season is approaching there will inevitably be a sudden increase in the amount of shoplifting charges issued throughout Bergen County, including towns like Paramus, Hackensack, Midland Park, Dumont, Saddle Brook and Montvale. It is a well known fact that malls like the Westfield Garden State Plaza, Riverside Square and Paramus Park increase security personal this time of year. Shoplifting charges are probably the most common offense issued during this time of year but issuing bad checks, credit card fraud, possession of burglary tools, theft by deception and receiving stolen property are not far behind. All of these offenes can lead to very serious consequences if not handled properly. As you will see below, the applicable penalties can range from a probationary sentence all the way up to ten years in a New Jersey State Prison.

People often think that they cannot be charged with shoplifting unless they actually leave the store with the items in question. N.J.S.A. 2C:20-11 is the governing statute in New Jersey for shoplifting and pursuant to the statute, an individual can be charged with shoplifting if any of the following scenarios occur. First, if the Defendant removes an item from a store without paying for it, or they conceal an item on their persons with the intention of removing the item without paying for it, or lastly they modify the price tag with the intentions to remove the item without paying for it. The range of exposure one faces will depend directly on the degree of the offense in which they are charged with. An individual will be facing a second degree indictable (felony) offense if the value of the items in question is more than $75,000; they will be facing a third degree indictable offense if the value of the items in question is between $500 to $75,000; they will be facing a fourth degree indictable offense if the value of the items in question are between $200 to $500 and lastly the individual will be facing a disorderly persons offense if the value of the items is less than $200.

Depending on the individuals prior criminal record, they may be eligible for the pre trial intervention program (“PTI”). PTI is a diversionary program in New Jersey where in which if the defendant completes the program without violating any of the terms the then pending felony criminal charges will be outright dismissed and the defendant will walk away without a criminal record. In addition, the defendant may petition the courts six months after completion of PTI to have the arrest record expunged, after doing so there will be no record of the incident ever happening.

This time of year can be extremely stressful and adding criminal charges will obviously make your current situation worse. The Law Offices of Marshall, Bonus, Proetta & Oliverhas been successfully defending individuals charged with shoplifting, credit card fraud and issuing bad checks throughout Bergen County for over fifteen years. If you or someone you know has any further questions please feel free to contact any one of our Bergen County offices to speak to an experienced criminal defense attorney about your options.