Woman Faces Shoplifting Charges in Cumberland County
A 23-year-old woman has been charged with shoplifting in Cumberland County after she allegedly used her purse to steal items from a store. According to a news report in The Daily Journal, the shoplifting incident occurred at a Wal-Mart in the Cumberland Crossing shopping center on N. 2nd Street in Millville. It is not clear how many items the woman took or how officials determined that she intended to leave the store without paying for the items.
New Jersey Statute 2C:20-11 states that shoplifting consists of “any person purposely to take possession of, carry away, transfer or cause to be carried away or transferred, any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment with the intention of depriving the merchant of the possession, use or benefit of such merchandise or converting the same to the use of such person without paying to the merchant the full retail value thereof.” It is also considered shoplifting to transfer or remove a label, change a price tag, or to switch an items container with the intent of depriving the shop owner of full retail value.
One key element to any shoplifting case is whether or not the defendant actually intended to steal the items. It is common for someone to place an item in a bag or purse with the intention of paying for it as they leave and to then be wrongful accused of a crime they never meant to commit.
The experienced New Jersey criminal defense lawyers at Lependorf & Silverstein understand how easy it is to make a mistake. If you or a loved one has been accused of theft or shoplifting, or another crime, please call our law offices at 609-240-0040 to discuss the specifics of your case so we can start defending your legal rights.
