Imagine a trip to your local grocery store that starts like any other, except this time it goes horribly wrong and you end up wrongfully arrested for shoplifting. On an accident you forget that there is something that slipped from the buggy front to under your baby's diaper bag, it looks as if maybe you put it under there so that you could just walk out of the store without having to pay. You are taken "hostage" by store security and held against your will, being embarrassed in front of everyone, all stemming from a simple misunderstanding.
Store security misconduct can have a severe impact upon the victims' daily life in many ways. The above scenario not only affects the one person, but also the others involved such as the victim's children. Imagine how embarrassing it would be to have to continue to shop there with everyone thinking that you are a thief because of store security misconduct. If they would have just listened to you before overreacting and had some understanding of the accidental nature of the action they are claiming that you did, things would not have gotten so out of hand. You are lucky if you are just publicly humiliated in front of your family and neighbors, more than likely you may be handcuffed, put in a police car and booked into the county jail with the next thing to happen being to go to criminal court and face a South Carolina Shoplifting Charge.
In America we have the right to be judged in a manner that is in accordance with the law; this includes compliance with both the South Carolina and United States Constitutions. When someone in a position of authority who takes that authority to an extreme and makes a wrongful shoplifting arrest may find themselves open to civil liability once the criminal case is favorably resolved. Not only can store security misconduct affect someone in the immediate timeframe, but in the future as well, especially if the situation caused mental or physical trauma to a great degree.
Someone needs to be held accountable for the actions that cause such a life disruption and make the simple, everyday things a most miserable thought. Store security misconduct needs to be taken for what it is, just because they think they know the situation doesn't give them the right to wrongfully infringe upon your rights. There have been cases such as the above and others where there has even been a note of violence in the actions of the security causing actual bodily injury to the supposed shoplifter. The "shoplifter" may not even have realized that something happened to make suspicion fall upon them.
Shoplifting is a serious crime in South Carolina. A conviction can have . At theLaw Office of James R. Snell, Jr., LLC, we represent clients charged with shoplifting and other crimes. If you have been arrested contact South Carolina Criminal Defense Attorney James Snell at 1-888-301-6004. There is no cost for your first meeting with an attorney.