Marina Del Rey, Shoplifting, Costco, Diversion, Dismissal

Our client, age fifty-five and an unemployed actor, was going through a tough patch in life. One of his best friends had recently committed suicide and his wife was suffering from a tenacious and rare form of cancer. He was not thinking straight, as he was often overcome with anxiety and depression.

In a Nutshell: Marina Del Rey, client steals $59 ink cartridge from Costco, case dismissed after diversion successfully completed, Airport Courthouse, client not a U.S. citizen.

Our client went to a nearby Costco in Culver City and grabbed a printer ink cartridge that he needed at home. Without paying for it, he walked out of the store. Within twenty feet of exiting the store, a loss prevention officer from Costco stopped our client.

Costco uses “secret shoppers” to monitor shoplifting at its stores, rather than video surveillance, so such shoppers walking the floor had apparently observed our client walking out of the store without paying for the cartridge.

Our client was then escorted to an upstairs office, where he was asked about his conduct. Our client was confused and decided not to say anything. He had only a minor past criminal record. He was scared about being arrested and being unable to care for this wife, or worse yet, being deported, as he was not a U.S. citizen.


The Culver City Police Department reported to the store and cited our client for violating Penal Code § 484(a) (“Petty Theft”). The police did not arrest our client and take him to the station to be booked. Instead, they had him sign a promise to appear in the Airport Superior Court at a later date specified on the ticket.

The District Attorney’s office at the Airport Courthouse then filed a criminal complaint against our client, alleging a single count for a violation of Penal Code § 484(a), petty theft (nowadays, with Proposition 47, such conduct falls under it own code section, Penal Code § 459.5, shoplifting).

The client then retained Greg Hill & Associates. Greg Hill met with the client and discussed the facts. The client was extremely worried about serving jail time, as he could then not care for his sick wife, and being deported, as he was not a U.S. citizen and shoplifting was certainly a crime of moral turpitude. The client commented that he did not know what came over him when he was in Costco, explaining that his personal life had been in chaos recently.

Greg Hill had the client complete an online shoplifting prevention program offered by Tom Wilson Counseling Center. The client then provided Greg with the certificate of completion of this prior to the arraignment.

Airport Courthouse

---