Pasadena, Shoplifting at Target, Plea to Trespassing, $100

Our client, age 47, went to the Target on Colorado Boulevard just west of the intersection with Lake Avenue. It was early in the morning, right after Target opened for business. Later that day, she was headed to Santa Monica beach with her kids and their friends and wanted to buy a few things.

She walked up and down aisles, picking up a package with ten pairs of panties for herself (not for the beach), some colorful straws for the beach, a men’s size swimsuit for her son, some temporary tattoos, a pair of sweatpants, a sweater and a shirt.

In 50 Words or Less: Pasadena, Client with no criminal history and age 47 shoplifts $145 worth of items from Target, case negotiated to trespassing (Penal Code § 602(m)) and $100 fine.

She then proceeded toward the checkout, but just walked right by it and out the front door. Within ten feet of exiting the store, she was stopped by Target’s loss prevention personnel.

Our client immediately began crying because she had no criminal record and realized her poor judgment was about to change that. She worried about being locked in jail. She worried about what her teenage son would think of her, as she was a single mom. She feared she would lose her job as an executive assistant at a public relations firm.
Instead, the Pasadena Police were summoned to the store and transported our client to the police station, where she was booked and spent several hours, eventually being released about 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon. It was a day from hell. She was panicked about what her friends, who she had plans to meet later that day, and her son would think.

Once released, she called her son, her friends and then Greg Hill & Associates. She talked to Greg Hill, explaining what had happened and asking what a judge might do with her. Greg explained how such cases generally are prosecuted and what she could do to help herself. He recommended that she immediately take an online shoplifting prevention course offered by the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention, Tom Wilson Counseling or Logan Social Services and that she send Greg her resume, along with any letters of recommendation and awards she had (a “Good Gal Packet”).

The client immediately did all of this. Greg then wrote Target, requesting the store security video, as well as the Pasadena Police Department and the Pasadena City Attorney’s Office, requesting the police report, the store security video and any statements of witnesses and our client.

Pasadena Courthouse

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