Walk It Through: The Jacket
$100 and $750 set the degree, an arrest in fresh pursuit, and a certificate of eligibility first.
A college student walks out of a department store wearing a jacket that was never paid for, and an officer standing by the exit sees it.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One jacket and one charge. Grand theft, expunction after a dismissal, and the offenses that can never be sealed are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Felony of the third degreeThe lowest felony degree, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
- Grand theftTheft of property worth $750 or more, or of a firearm or motor vehicle, a felony whose degree rises with the value.
- Merchant detentionA merchant's or officer's taking into custody, with probable cause to believe a retail theft was committed, and detaining the person in a reasonable manner for a reasonable time to recover the property or for prosecution.
- Petit theftTheft of property worth less than $750: a second degree misdemeanor under $100, and a first degree misdemeanor from $100 up.
- ExpunctionClearing a criminal history record where no charging document was filed, or charges were dismissed, nolle prossed, or ended in acquittal, for a person who meets the other conditions; it begins with a certificate of eligibility from the department.
- Domestic violenceAssault, battery, sexual assault, stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any crime causing injury or death, by one family or household member against another.
- Search warrantAn order that issues only on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched and the person and thing to be seized, and signed by the judge who issues it.