Police in Sandy Springs are looking for a man who has been accused of shoplifting more than $500 in merchandise from a local Home Depot location.
As a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer, I will outline the crime of shoplifting in the state of Georgia. Similar to other crimes the offense can count as either a misdemeanor or a felony.
Shoplifting in Georgia
Shoplifting in Georgia is defined in the Georgia Code in O.C.G.A. §16-8-14 as:
(a) A person commits the offense of theft by shoplifting when he alone or in concert with another person, with the intent of appropriating merchandise to his own use without paying for the same or to deprive the owner of possession thereof or of the value thereof, in whole or in part, does any of the following:
(1) Conceals or takes possession of the goods or merchandise of any store or retail establishment;
(2) Alters the price tag or other price marking on goods or merchandise of any store or retail establishment;
(3) Transfers the goods or merchandise of any store or retail establishment from one container to another;
(4) Interchanges the label or price tag from one item of merchandise with a label or price tag for another item of merchandise; or
(5) Wrongfully causes the amount paid to be less than the merchant's stated price for the merchandise.
The classification of shoplifting as well as the corresponding penalty can be found in the table below.
|
Charge |
Penalty |
|
Shoplifting property with a total value of $500 or less |
Classified as a misdemeanor and a fine up to $1,000.00 and/or up to one year in jail |
|
A 2nd conviction for Shoplifting property with a total value of $500 or less. (The first conviction could either be a felony or misdemeanor) |
Classified as a misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum fine of $500 and possibly a prison sentence |
|
Shoplifting property with two prior convictions of shoplifting (either misdemeanor or felony) with a value of $500 or less |
Classified as a misdemeanor. The Court will impose a fine and the accused will be punished by a prison term for no less than 30 days or confinement in a probation detention center, diversion program, or another program for a period of 120 days or shall be sentenced to monitored house arrest for a period of 120 days, and could be required to undergo psychological evaluation |
|
Shoplifting property valued at less than $500 with three prior convictions of shoplifting (either misdemeanor or felony) |
Classified as a felony with fines at the court discretion. Jail time between one and ten years with the first year mandatory |
|
Shoplifting property with a total value of more than $500 |
Classified as a felony with fines at the court's discretion and between one to ten years in jail |
|
Shoplifting property from three separate stores within one county during a period of seven days or less, and property from each store exceeds $100 in value |
Classified as a felony with fines at the court's discretion and between one to ten years in jail. |
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