Mandy was arrested for shoplifting after she had clipped off the tags of several dresses in the dressing room of the clothes store, concealed the dresses in her bag, and attempted to leave the store with the merchandise without paying for them.
shoplifting
Definition
The willful theft of merchandise from a retail establishment without the knowledge or consent of the seller with the intention of converting those goods for one’s personal use and without having paid the purchase price. Shoplifting is considered to be a form of larceny and may be prosecuted as such.
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
The crime of stealing goods from a retail store by a customer or someone posing as a customer.
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:24 pm
“On appeal, the defendant contends that he should have been convicted of shoplifting rather than larceny, on the theory that shoplifting is a specific crime dealing with the theft of goods from a retail establishment, while larceny is the more general crime involving theft. He relies on State v. Safley, 172 Tenn. 385, 390, 112 S.W.2d 831 (1938), and long line of similar Tennessee cases to support the proposition that a special provision will control over a more general statute.
“The state argues in response that shoplifting, as defined by T.C.A. § 39-3-1125, is the willful concealment of unpurchased goods or merchandise of a store, either on or outside the premises, with the intent of converting those goods to personal use without paying the purchase price. The grand larceny statute, on the other hand, prohibits the taking and carrying away of goods over the value of $200, with the intent of depriving the owner of the goods. T.C.A. § 39-3-1103. The state argues that the element of concealing which is essential to a shoplifting charge was missing in this case, because the defendant merely snatched the merchandise from the Super-X clerk’s custody and ran. We agree and hold that under the peculiar circumstance of this case, the defendant was properly convicted under the larceny statute, even though the stolen goods were taken from a retail store. In all other respects, the evidence is factually and legally sufficient to sustain the defendant’s conviction for larceny.”
J. Daughtrey, State v. Badgett, 693 S.W.2d 917, 918-919 (Tenn. 1985).
