If I shoplifted a year ago without getting caught, can anything happen to me now?
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If I shoplifted a year ago without getting caught, can anything happen to me now?
It was way, way under $100 but I’m so scared and paranoid that a camera caught me and they tracked me down via my debit card, or that an associate saw me, later reported me to the police and now there’s a warrant out for my arrest. Is this probable?
Asked on August 22, 2013 under Criminal Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
It's highly unlikely. If action was going to be taked it would have happened by now, especially considering the fairly low amount in question. If you want, you can check about a warrant. You can check on outstanding warrants however, if that will give you piece of mind.
You can go to the courthouse in the area that it might have been issued in. Just go and ask (you are unlikely to get arrested using this method) or you can search public records online. Just go to a web site that maintains a database of public records information; they are huge as they pull data from a multitude of different sources and organize it to make it easy to search (this method will not get you arrested and you have a good chance of finding any warrants that are issued in other states).
If you do find that you have a waarant out for your arrest, consult directly with a criminal law attorney.
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