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Can Someone Be Deported For Stealing A Small $ Amount Of Merchandise?

Was leaving a Walmart super center yesterday afternoon and headed towards the exit. Heard a store worker yell “Hey! You didn’t pay for that stuff!” We turned around and it was an older man with 4 gallons of sweet tea in his basket. He had pushed his cart down past the cash registers and was walking out like he had paid for the stuff. Apparently they were watching him and stopped him. He was acting like he didn’t understand the employee but he stopped, I don’t know how many more were before that employee. He could get arrested for stealing $16 dollars worth of tea. We got the heck out of there and didn’t watch.

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4meAndyou · F

He can't even be prosecuted for stealing $16 worth. When I was a store manager, Security personnel at the Mall told me that there is a set dollar amount, and they won't call the police or try to collar anyone who steals less than that.

"States often set a specific dollar amount as a ceiling for petty larceny charges. For example, in Oklahoma, petty larceny is a theft where the value of property taken is $1,000 or less. Petty larceny is generally a misdemeanor and is punishable by fines or relatively short jail sentence (for example, less than one year).”

In Massachusetts, under $250 is considered petty theft.

Most stores don't press charges, but they ban the perp from the store for life.

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@4meAndyou well a short jail sentence would put him in the spotlight for ICE these days wouldn’t it?

Muthafukajones · 46-50, M

Petty theft may seem inconsequential but our society cannot exist without rules.

Imagine if people just randomly stole from everyone everywhere. Not big things but small things. How would stores function?

Imagine if people damaged things all the time without consequence. A fence, a door, a mailbox, your car, bike, furniture.

There must be rules and consequences for life to have order, security and even to some extent meaning.

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@Muthafukajones yeah businesses will eventually close shop. And I know two people, worked with both of them that got into an accident caused by illegals. This was over a decade ago and the police didn’t arrest either one despite having no liability insurance and one of them was drunk at the time. The drunk one caused another accident one week later at the very same apartment complex and this time the manager called the Sheriff dept. and they came out and arrested him. Both of the men that I worked with had to pay for the damages to their vehicles out of their own pockets.

Muthafukajones · 46-50, M

@cherokeepatti The irresponsibility of society grows by leaps and bounds. People who drink and drive without insurance. Yes if you don’t get in an accident and arrive home it’s not a problem. When you kill someone and injure them for life there is. No one accounts for irresponsible behaviour anymore. Breaking laws. Theft. Ignorance. Everything seems to go.

beermeplease · M

he was an older man...in order for it to be a crime one must prove intent. he probably didn't "intend" on stealing so no crime took place if that was the case. that's how it works in canadian law...

4meAndyou · F

@beermeplease 🙄🙄🙄 I wonder how many criminals say they had no idea what they were doing...🤣🤣🤣

beermeplease · M

@4meAndyou yeah...on a more serious note. locally here some guy got acquitted for sexual assault because he was high on mushrooms and "god told him to do it" now that's messed up

Pretzel · 70-79, M

I think you can in the US if you're here on a visitor's VISA

not a good time to be testing it

View 1 more replies »

Pretzel · 70-79, M

@cherokeepatti not really sure. but if memory serves they were trying to deport a person that had married a US citizen - and I think they can revoke your citizenship for serious offenses.

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@Pretzel When we were getting in my car a family, a woman who looked about his age and some older children were walking that way and none of them looked happy. I think he got caught and they came there to maybe interpret. The teenage girl looked upset.

Pretzel · 70-79, M

@cherokeepatti not a good time to get in trouble with the cops

come2gether · 46-50, M

Stealing is stealing

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@come2gether Was thinking it probably wasn’t the first time either as casually as he was leaving.

Wallflow3r · 31-35, F

Maybe he has dementia and was confused and thought he paid

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@Wallflow3r Well if that was his family walking into the store to go to him they should have went there instead. It is not valid excuse unless he has proof.

MarineBob · 56-60, M

If it isn't fully prosecuted why should the insurance company or store be allowed a tax deduction for the theft3

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@MarineBob That’s not how it works. The stores take inventory every 3 months and whatever is missing is calculated and then the prices rise on those same products to make up for the loss. The corporation doesn’t actually lose money that way. Now if the prices go up so high that enough customers stop shopping there they will end up closing a store due to that. I know some products, for example Tylenol, got so expensive in the store that I worked at that I wouldn’t want to buy it there. My friend also worked there and could get it a lot cheaper at a store in Arkansas when she went to visit. And so many other products as well

Bklynbadboy12 · 36-40, M

Yep a person can be deported for any crime no matter how small

TexChik · F

If he's an illegal, absolutely.

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