Whole Foods Shoplifting Cases

Whole Foods is an American supermarket chain devoted to organic and specialty foods. Because groceries at Whole Foods are so expensive, you can easily find yourself accused of stealing hundreds of dollars of merchandise if you get arrested for shoplifting there. Whole Foods encourages planet friendly behavior. Using reusable bags is a common choice amongst Whole Foods shoppers because it avoids throwing a grocery bag away when you get home which would otherwise end up in a landfill. This can encourage a shoplifter because, if caught, he or she can claim that they were using a personal bag for environmental reasons which is commonplace at Whole Foods. This can also lead to an innocent person being arrested if store security makes a mistake about their motives for using a personal bag. Sometimes, security will wait until you’ve passed all points of sale. What if you've simply forgot to declare a few things and you weren't trying to steal?

Shoplifting cases at Whole Foods can involve strollers. New Yorkers are often in a hurry and using a stroller as a way to transport your child and also as a shopping cart is efficient. Problems arise when you’ve forgotten to check all of the compartments of the stroller for merchandise and try to walk out without paying for everything. This can lead to an arrest for shoplifting. While a shoplifter might consider the use of a stroller the perfect way to argue that it was an innocent mistake, innocent people can easily end up being arrested and accused for forgetting to check all of the compartments and forgetting some of the items they planned to buy.

Whole Foods security often looks for the following behaviors that cause them to take action

• Placing unpaid groceries in a personal bag, gym bag, or backpack
• Placing unpaid groceries in a shopping bag brought in from outside
• Placing unpaid groceries in a stroller
• Grabbing unusually expensive items and placing them in a personal bag
• Pacing, taking too long to shop (hesitating), or looking around nervously

After Whole Foods security detains and questions a suspected shoplifter, the NYPD is called and formally taken into custody. Later, the suspected shoplifter can be given a desk appearance ticket and charged with petit larceny and possession of stolen property at the arraignment in court. The arraignment is the beginning of the criminal case and depending on how it is handled, you can make or break the entire case.

What if I did it?

• We will fight to get it dismissed
• Don't plan to apologize in court because any conviction is permanent and can have life-altering consequences
• Contact us and alert us to any distractions, medication, emotional stress, or other factors that may have contributed to the situation
• Don't go back to the store to "work it out" because this can actually make it worse

I’m innocent

• We will fight to get it dismissed
• Contact us with any documentation that may help prove innocence

Some of our Whole Foods Case Results

• Client was arrested for placing unpaid food items in a gym bag, paid for other items, and left. Client was working for a major financial institution and any theft conviction would have been catastrophic. Case successfully resolved with a dismissal, no criminal record, arrest photograph and fingerprints destroyed
• Client was shopping with a stroller and very distracted. Client paid for items from top of stroller but forgot items in a different compartment and was arrested when attempting to leave the store. We successfully argued that it was an innocent mistake and negotiated a deal to have the case dismissed and our client's records sealed.
• Client placed several pieces of seafood in client's backpack, paid for other items, and attempted to leave. When client was apprehended, client explained it was a simple error. In court, we were able to negotiate a deal to get client's case dismissed and removed from his record.
• Client was observed placing several cosmetic items in a shopping bag from a different store. Client was approached and admitted trying to steal it. We successfully negotiated a deal to have client's case dismissed and the record sealed. Client's arrest photograph and fingerprints to be sealed.

Shoplifting convictions can lead to permanent and life altering consequences. Before you set foot in a courtroom, you could lose your job, get fined, and suffer from embarrassment, stress, and anxiety. Depending on the outcome of your case, you may face up to a year in jail, a permanent criminal record, employment, and immigration and international travel consequences. Contact us today to discuss the options available to you. The sooner you call, the sooner we can shed light on your situation and what it would take to achieve the best outcome.