Theft - not guilty

[bansrimanek@gmail.com]

Hi I am in a bit of a soup... I was at shoprite buying groceries and by mistake (absent minded or stupid take your pick) grabbed a $3 deo stick n put it in my pocket as my roommate walked ahead with the cart... after finishing up with shopping I paid $30 for all the groceries i was buy with a $ 100 bill ( cash payment), so I had $ 70 in my pocket. Before i walked out of the store one of the employees pulled me on the side to his office and charged me with stealing and got me arrested... my intention in no way was to steal. I offered to pay them for the product then itself but they did not agree. I was not to aware of the way the court system works. I asked the prosecutor to understand my situation to which she said no and offered my a town ordanience - Theft to plead guilt. I refused and pleded not guilty. After this I realised this was a very serious issue and spoke to the owner of SHoprite and to the corporate office. They are willing to drop all charges now, BUT they tell me its up to the prosecutor to drop or not. Is this true? Is there anyway this case can be dropped.

[Eagle]

If Shoprite agrees to drop the charges then the won't (or should not) send their witness to court to testify against you. If there is no witness then the prosecutor has no case. What town did this happen in?

[bansrimanek@gmail.com]

It happened in kearny .. thats the thing the shoprite guy showed up in the first plea hearing ... thats when i pleaded no guilty. Now I am just hoping and praying that this goes away or i am screwed..!!!

[Eagle]

Sometimes towns will let you plead guilty to a disorderly persons ordinance. Based on the information you provided it seems like that is what the Prosecutor offered you. Violation of a town ordinance is usually not a big deal.

However, it would be better if the Shop Rite witness did not show up in court.