Retail Theft is a common crime in Illinois and occurs everyday in stores and businesses across the state. It is defined in 720 ILCS 5/16A-3 as follows:


A person commits the offense of retail theft when he or she knowingly:
    (a) Takes possession of, carries away, transfers or causes to be carried away or transferred, any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale in a retail mercantile establishment with the intention of retaining such merchandise or with the intention of depriving the merchant permanently of the possession, use or benefit of such merchandise without paying the full retail value of such merchandise; or
    (b) Alters, transfers, or removes any label, price tag, marking, indicia of value or any other markings which aid in determining value affixed to any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale, in a retail mercantile establishment and attempts to purchase such merchandise personally or in consort with another at less than the full retail value with the intention of depriving the merchant of the full retail value of such merchandise; or
    (c) Transfers any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale, in a retail mercantile establishment from the container in or on which such merchandise is displayed to any other container with the intention of depriving the merchant of the full retail value of such merchandise; or
    (d) Under‑rings with the intention of depriving the merchant of the full retail value of the merchandise; or
    (e) Removes a shopping cart from the premises of a retail mercantile establishment without the consent of the merchant given at the time of such removal with the intention of depriving the merchant permanently of the possession, use or benefit of such cart; or
    (f) Represents to a merchant that he or another is the lawful owner of property, knowing that such representation is false, and conveys or attempts to convey that property to a merchant who is the owner of the property in exchange for money, merchandise credit or other property of the merchant; or
    (g) Uses or possesses any theft detection shielding device or theft detection device remover with the intention of using such device to deprive the merchant permanently of the possession, use or benefit of any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale in a retail mercantile establishment without paying the full retail value of such merchandise. A violation of this subsection shall be a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense; or
    (h) Obtains or exerts unauthorized control over property of the owner and thereby intends to deprive the owner permanently of the use or benefit of the property when a lessee of the personal property of another fails to return it to the owner, or if the lessee fails to pay the full retail value of such property to the lessor in satisfaction of any contractual provision requiring such, within 10 days after written demand from the owner for its return. A notice in writing, given after the expiration of the leasing agreement, by registered mail, to the lessee at the address given by the lessee and shown on the leasing agreement shall constitute proper demand.

Theft, Robbery & Burglary Lawyers

In Illinois, theft involves taking something that does not belong to you without authority or without the permission of the owner. Whether this is a result of deception, force or threat does not matter, as all such circumstances constitute theft. Theft cases may be a misdemeanor or a felony depending on many factors, including the value of the item and the criminal history of the defendant. When the item is taken from a retail store, the laws are different than when an item is taken from a person, an auto, a house or a place of business. It is vitally important that an experienced criminal attorney carefully examines the particular facts of your case.

 

When the item is taken from a person by force, the crime may also be charged as a felony robbery, whether is involves a purse snatching, picking a pocket or simply grabbing an item from someone’s possession. Robbery is more than just a stick up with a gun. Just like theft, the specific circumstances of the crime may make the possible punishment more severe. When a weapon is used, the charge will likely be armed robbery. When a motor vehicle or car is taken by force, the charge will likely be vehicular hijacking, also known as car jacking.

 

When someone enters another person’s property or home without permission, the defendant will often be charged with criminal trespass or criminal trespass to vehicle. But when the person enters a building or vehicle with the intent to commit a felony or theft, the much more serious burglary or residential burglary may be charged, which may result in penitentiary time. Despite what many people believe, it does not really matter if the home or car is unlocked, if anything was damaged, or even whether something was actually stolen.

 

The criminal defense attorneys of Mitchell S. Sexner & Associates LLC have handled many hundreds of cases involving crimes such as theft, retail theft, robbery and burglary. Our offices can be reached 24 hours day.

 

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Mitchell S. Sexner & Associates LLC • Attorneys at Law since 1990

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