Shoplifting is most often a crime of petty theft. A person may steal an item or two of clothing. It is more serious when items taken are more valuable. But shoplifting adds up and shopkeepers have to continually battle against it. As such, shopkeepers have a statutory privilege to detain a person suspected of attempting to steal merchandise under certain conditions. Oklahoma law treats both shoplifting and the shopkeeper’s privilege seriously. Here is what you need to know about both.
Shoplifting is a Crime in Oklahoma
Shoplifting is basically considered to be larceny from a retailer or wholesaler. Larceny involves taking an item belonging to another using fraud or stealth with the intent to deprive the owner. In Oklahoma, shoplifting penalties depend on both the value of the articles taken and the number of prior convictions. On a first or second conviction, if the value of the property is less than $1000, the crime is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail, and a fine between $10 and $500. If more than one item is taken, the fine increases to at least $50. A third or more conviction of shoplifting property valued under $1000, can mean up to 1 year in jail and a fine of up to $1000.
Penalties escalate with the value of the property stolen. If the amount taken is valued from $1000 to $2499, then the matter is a felony punishable by up to 2 years in prison and a fine of up to $1000. If the property taken is valued at $15,000 or more, the penalty is up to 8 years in prison. The prosecution is allowed to add up the value of each item taken when 2 or more offenses are committed within a 90-day period of time. This allows the prosecution to seek a more severe penalty. A defendant may also be ordered to pay restitution to the retailer to compensate them for any damage or loss. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1731.
False Imprisonment and the Shopkeeper’s Privilege
When a person is suspected of shoplifting, the shopkeeper may want to detain that person while the shopkeeper investigates and until the police arrive at the scene. This can mean that a person is held against their will for some period of time until the police arrive. In Oklahoma, storeowners may detain a suspect in certain circumstances. The shopkeeper’s privilege is not absolute and when a person is held not in accord with the privilege, that detention can give rise to an action of false imprisonment. Therefore, it is important that a shopkeeper and their employees understand the circumstances in which detention is allowed and when it is prohibited.
The gravamen of false imprisonment lies in the unlawful detention of a person against their will. If the detention is lawful, then there is no false imprisonment. This issue was dealt with in Walters v. J.C. Penney Co., 82 P.3d 578, 583 (Okla. 2003) and codified in Okla. Stat. tit. 22 §§ 1343, 1344.
In Walters, Walters was detained by JC Penney employees on suspicion that he had shoplifted a sweater that he was wearing. Walters had bought the sweater earlier in the week and offered to show the employees his recipe. Instead, the employees called the police and continued to detain him.
Citing §1343, the Walters court stated that the legislature protects a merchant from a claim of false imprisonment when the detention arises from reasonable grounds or probable cause that property has been shoplifted. In addition, the detention must be done in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable length of time. The court further stated that Section 1344 creates a presumption of probable cause to believe that concealed unpurchased merchandise was shoplifted. Thus, the merchandise in question must be both “unpurchased” and “concealed.” Walters v. J.C. Penney Co., 82 P.3d 578, 583 (Okla. 2003). Since the merchandise was not concealed, JC Penney was not entitled to the presumption allowed in Sec. 1344.
The Shopkeeper’s Privilege Statutes
Section 1343 allows a merchant or an agent of the merchant with reasonable grounds or probable cause to believe that a person has committed or is committing a wrongful taking of merchandise or money, to detain that person in a reasonable manner for a reasonable length of time for any of the following purposes:
- Conducting an investigation regarding the taking, including reasonable interrogation of the detained person;
- Informing law enforcement officials of the facts relevant to such detention;
- Performing a reasonable search of the detained person and his belongings; and
- Recovering the goods or money believed to have been taken wrongfully. When reasonable, the detention is not unlawful.
Section 1344 creates a presumption enabling detention for persons with unpurchased and concealed merchandise in their possession. It provides that any person concealing unpurchased merchandise in the shop or outside the shop is presumed to have concealed the goods with the intention of wrongfully taking them. Finding concealed, unpurchased goods is conclusive evidence of reasonable grounds and probable cause for detention in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable length of time.
Absent these conditions, detention may open the door to a false imprisonment claim against the shopkeeper. For both the accused shoplifter and the shopkeeper, it is important to understand how the law treats shoplifting and detention. Facts are very important in these cases. Each case is unique and an experienced Okmulgee criminal defense attorney can help you understand your case.
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