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Shoplifting from Home Depot, Judicial Diversion, Inglewood
With the historic rainfall that drenched Los Angeles County and the surrounding areas in early 2024, many homes were inundated with mud and other water damage.
Our client, age 48, experienced this to a much lesser degree, but nonetheless suffered damage to some walkway lighting that suffered water damage and no longer worked.
Our client therefore went to Home Depot in Hawthorne in early February 2024 to try to buy some waterproof wiring and other items to replace the damaged items. He went into the store and spoke with several Home Depot employees about what items he needed to buy.
He quickly calculated the cost of all such items and realized he did not have enough money to pay for everything. He then realized he could obtain everything if he opened up some big boxes of electrical wiring and stuffed in another fifteen or so smaller items in the boxes, closed the boxes and paid for just the wiring at the self-check-out areas.
The plan took some time to execute. He first wandered around Home Depot and assembled the items he needed to replace the damaged items at his house. He then walked to areas of the store where no one was able to see him and placed all the items in the two large boxes.
According to the client, this took over two hours and employees of the store seemed to know what he was doing, but he did it anyways because he was desperate to replace the walkway lighting at his home.
He then went to the self-check-out area of the Home Depot and clumsily tried to pass through the check out area with the two boxes of wiring stuffed with about fifteen other small items.
He was immediately stopped by the store’s loss prevention employees and escorted to an office in the back of the store where the two boxes of wiring were emptied and the other items were laid out on a table, listed in a report and then the Hawthorne Police Department was notified.
The value of the items our client tried to shoplift was $288.03.
The Hawthorne Police Department took our client into custody, handcuffed him and took him to the Hawthorne Police Department, where he was fingerprinted, photographed for his “mug shot” and booked.
After about three hours, the client was released on his own recognizance after signing a promise to appear in the Inglewood Courthouse in about two months.
After being released and returning home, the client called up Greg Hill & Associates and spoke with Greg. The client described what had happened and stated he was very embarrassed and ashamed of himself. During his phone conversation, he cried several times and berated himself for being so stupid. He had no prior criminal history and was a naturalized U.S. citizen.
The client also explained that he had been struggling under enormous stress recently, beginning with losing his job at a homecare nurse / warehouse worker in late September / early October, 2023, followed by the diagnosis of his father with cancer and his mom experiencing a serious stroke.
The client asked what would happen in court, whether he would go to jail, and Greg explained his experience in handling prior similar cases in answering this question. Greg recommended that the client enroll in and complete an online shoplifting prevention course and Greg suggested several providers (The National Association of Shoplifting Prevention, Logan Social Services, Tom Wilson Counseling and Third Millennium).
The client then retained Greg Hill & Associates and immediately completed the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention Course. He then emailed Greg the certificate of completion of the course.
Greg then went to the Inglewood Courthouse for the client’s arraignment. Greg looked over the police report and saw that it largely described exactly what the client had explained took place.
Greg then discussed the case with the Hawthorne City Attorney there and showed him the client’s proof of completing the online shoplifting prevention program. The prosecutor was impressed with this and made an offer of City Attorney diversion, wherein the client would “earn a dismissal” after three months if he stayed out of the Hawthorne Home Depot during that time, obeyed all laws and performed eight hours of community service.
Greg accepted this offer and calendared a return date for a further hearing at the courthouse in three months.
Our client, age 48, experienced this to a much lesser degree, but nonetheless suffered damage to some walkway lighting that suffered water damage and no longer worked.
Our client therefore went to Home Depot in Hawthorne in early February 2024 to try to buy some waterproof wiring and other items to replace the damaged items. He went into the store and spoke with several Home Depot employees about what items he needed to buy.
He quickly calculated the cost of all such items and realized he did not have enough money to pay for everything. He then realized he could obtain everything if he opened up some big boxes of electrical wiring and stuffed in another fifteen or so smaller items in the boxes, closed the boxes and paid for just the wiring at the self-check-out areas.
The plan took some time to execute. He first wandered around Home Depot and assembled the items he needed to replace the damaged items at his house. He then walked to areas of the store where no one was able to see him and placed all the items in the two large boxes.
According to the client, this took over two hours and employees of the store seemed to know what he was doing, but he did it anyways because he was desperate to replace the walkway lighting at his home.
He then went to the self-check-out area of the Home Depot and clumsily tried to pass through the check out area with the two boxes of wiring stuffed with about fifteen other small items.
He was immediately stopped by the store’s loss prevention employees and escorted to an office in the back of the store where the two boxes of wiring were emptied and the other items were laid out on a table, listed in a report and then the Hawthorne Police Department was notified.
The value of the items our client tried to shoplift was $288.03.
The Hawthorne Police Department took our client into custody, handcuffed him and took him to the Hawthorne Police Department, where he was fingerprinted, photographed for his “mug shot” and booked.
After about three hours, the client was released on his own recognizance after signing a promise to appear in the Inglewood Courthouse in about two months.
After being released and returning home, the client called up Greg Hill & Associates and spoke with Greg. The client described what had happened and stated he was very embarrassed and ashamed of himself. During his phone conversation, he cried several times and berated himself for being so stupid. He had no prior criminal history and was a naturalized U.S. citizen.
The client also explained that he had been struggling under enormous stress recently, beginning with losing his job at a homecare nurse / warehouse worker in late September / early October, 2023, followed by the diagnosis of his father with cancer and his mom experiencing a serious stroke.
The client asked what would happen in court, whether he would go to jail, and Greg explained his experience in handling prior similar cases in answering this question. Greg recommended that the client enroll in and complete an online shoplifting prevention course and Greg suggested several providers (The National Association of Shoplifting Prevention, Logan Social Services, Tom Wilson Counseling and Third Millennium).
The client then retained Greg Hill & Associates and immediately completed the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention Course. He then emailed Greg the certificate of completion of the course.
Greg then went to the Inglewood Courthouse for the client’s arraignment. Greg looked over the police report and saw that it largely described exactly what the client had explained took place.
Greg then discussed the case with the Hawthorne City Attorney there and showed him the client’s proof of completing the online shoplifting prevention program. The prosecutor was impressed with this and made an offer of City Attorney diversion, wherein the client would “earn a dismissal” after three months if he stayed out of the Hawthorne Home Depot during that time, obeyed all laws and performed eight hours of community service.
Greg accepted this offer and calendared a return date for a further hearing at the courthouse in three months.
Greg then relayed the offer to the client, who was greatly relieved at the offer and happy he would finally reach some closure on the case – and avoid a conviction.
