If you shoplift in Illinois, you need to contact a criminal attorney about this type of charge. Unlike some other states in the US, Illinois has enacted specific laws that targets and defines shoplifting as stealing items or products from merchant retailers or depriving a retailer of an item’s total retail worth.
Reviewing the Legal Guidelines Established for this Type of Theft
When you speak to a criminal lawyer in Mattoon, IL about a shoplifting charge, you first should review the guidelines that have been established for this type of theft. For instance, shoplifting in Illinois is considered taking, carrying, holding, or transferring a retail product without buying it.
You will also need to talk to a criminal lawyer about shoplifting if you were caught transferring, removing, or changing price labels or tags. In addition, shoplifting is defined is under-ringing merchandise or being in possession of a theft detection protection device. If you misrepresent your ownership of a product to a retailer, you can be charged with shoplifting as well.
Paying for Your Crime
As you can see, you will need to find out more about your rights along these lines by speaking to a criminal lawyer about your theft charge. What you receive as a sentence and what penalties are imposed depends on the worth of the items that were lifted and the presence of certain factors. For instance, you can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor for shoplifting items worth up to $300. You can also spend one year in jail and pay fines up to $2500.
Your shoplifting charge becomes a felony if you shoplift up to $300 in property but have a prior conviction. The charge also becomes a felony crime if you leave a building through an emergency exit. In this case, you can receive a prison sentence of one to three years and pay fines as high as $2500. You can also like them on Facebook for more information.
