Chester County Shoplifting Penalties
In Chester County, shoplifting or retail theft is taken very seriously. Chester County depends on small businesses and even some large businesses for tax revenue and protection for its citizens and gives them amenities they would not otherwise have. Therefore, any sort of threat against an individual that impacts a commercial business often gets much more attention in Chester County than some would expect.
With this attitude in mind, if you are facing penalties associated with a shoplifting charge in Chester County, it is imperative that you contact a shoplifting lawyer as soon as possible to understand exactly what you are facing and begin building a strong defense.
Severity of this Offense
When an individual commits or is alleged to have committed a retail theft or shoplifting, a person is attacking that staple and society that they want to attract. Therefore, prosecutors, police, and judges take retail theft and shoplifting in a very serious manner. Shoplifting becomes much more serious when a person commits it more than once.
For example, if a person committed a shoplifting offense in 1989, 1991 and again in 1995, the ‘95 conviction is otherwise treated as a felony of the third-degree because it is the third and subsequent offense. The penalties for a shoplifting charge in Chester County will often be severe at this level.
Potential Penalties
Retail theft and shoplifting in Chester County, like the rest of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has penalties which involve the number of prior acts that an individual may have committed and been convicted of. Therefore, if it is a first offense, an individual should, with the right attorney by their side, be able to negotiate a sentence or possibly be eligible for a diversionary program which can protect their record. Upon a second arrest, it becomes much more serious and is graded as a misdemeanor. An individual can then face long periods of probation and even jail, though probation sentences are often given.
However, a misdemeanor retail theft or shoplifting charge stays with individual forever. Therefore, it cannot be expunged from a person’s record and their only remedy would be trying to seek a very limited pardon at a later time by the government. Pardons are very costly and very limited. Therefore, it is not a proper remedy in most cases. Should a person be arrested a third time even some years later, the individual faces a felony of the third degree which can carry a penalty of incarceration between three and a half and seven years and a $15,000 fine.
Therefore, in Chester County, retail theft or shoplifting are crimes that the county takes very seriously, and these charges can impact a person’s record significantly.
Benefits of an Attorney
Having an attorney when defending retail theft or shoplifting charges in Chester County is essential in attempting to minimize the charge or moving it through the system in the most expeditious fashion. This would entail resolving the matter in such a way as to not embarrass an individual, not wreak havoc upon their employment or reputation and move the charge through the system in a way that will ultimately protect an individual’s record. With the right lawyer by an individual’s side, a retail theft can often be expedited into a diversionary program such as ARD.
Once in such a program, a short probationary period is usually insisted upon by the Commonwealth, a small fine is imposed and upon successful completion of the program, a clearing of the record or an expungement is typically available. A person should not allow a retail theft or shoplifting crime to affect their future. Thus, all should be done to lessen the penalties associated with a Chester County shoplifting charge, and move a case as quickly as possible for the right resolution so that an individual does not have to face the burden of such a crime on their record.