two suspects the same store a nearly identical legal outcome the question is not whether they stole the question is what the law defines as the moment of no return and whether anything either of them said or did after that moment had any legal weight at all please say that again hello officer hello sorry hi um I didn't mean to do this I can pay this OK so um she has on her purse around $300 worth of unpaid merchandise so you just take everything out OK yeah I'll pay for it yeah just take it out alright no I was gonna give it to my somebody OK I'll pay for it I promise well right now it's too late right to pay for it you already tried stealing it no but I can always pay right sir no you cannot huh but I'll pay for it have a seat please have a seat do you have any ID on you no I don't have you don't have any identification it's in my car it's in your car okay what kind of car do you have paper what kind of car do you have just don't ruin my name huh just don't ruin my name don't ruin your name yeah okay I promise you ruined your own name so I'm gonna need your name have a seat do you have anything on your person that may uh hurt anyone like needles knives no I don't have anything don't don't listen put everything down I didn't ask you to do that take off that jacket for me put it over here don't go in your pockets listen to my instructions okay okay stand up take that jacket off place it right over here right over here place the jacket over here right there turn put your hands up turn around OK have a seat have a seat alright is this your jacket no I'm sorry yes it's mine too is this yours yeah no that's mine it's brand new yeah lying man why are you lying no bro I put it over there in the bag I'll pay for it those are Ray Bans on you I don't think so yeah here's a picture of you just for my records but they're always just like you can pay for it no not at target only only at Walmart not at target okay Target's really serious about theft and all that stuff I know but there's always saying you can pay for it at Walmart not in here no you cannot pay for it no more okay well can can I resolve it New Year so please I know give me two minutes um so why are you filming me like that why because no I'm not I don't speak Spanish you speak Spanish where are you from Philippines Philippines oh okay but sir listen I can I can pay for this I'm professional so late I'm professional too and I gotta do my job Sumaya Sumaya is your middle name yeah opo huh opo yes sir okay and your last name is uh I know this stuff I know that when you do that you can always pay so don't go through too much it's New Year I don't care please I don't care please sir no this is you're staying $300 I'll pay for it I'll pay for it no you cannot what is your address ma'am do me a favor don't argue with him right right this is his job is to catch people who steal right if the company has an ordinance that they're not gonna let anybody go past a certain amount then that's his job to continue and follow that ordinance okay it's not yours to dictate whether or not he could let you go or now you wanna pay for all the shit that you took okay can I pay for it cause I have to give it to somebody tonight please it's a birthday I still have a patient to go so if I can pay for it I know what what what do you do for a living I'm a nurse you're a nurse a registered nurse or I'm a registered nurse registered nurse okay what brings you over here no I have a patient nearby here in um Lat North Latrobe so I go past a North Latrobe yeah okay I didn't mean to like what I said I'll pay for it it's New Year I know Walmart does that but I know how many times have you been arrested for your uh retail theft never what about theft in general no never it's just first time cause I'm rushing okay let's try this again how does the name on your license appear because you're not coming back with no record okay we can go to my car but I wanna pay this cause I wanna hold on a minute what Marife star Marife Sumaya star okay is the name Sumaya middle name is that spelled out in your license s U m a y a that's Filipino can you give me a copy of the video and stuff yes sir you have a you have a USB uh yeah I do yeah I can put it in there and also uh do you have any complaint forms yes I do are they the new ones ah yes sir turn around I'm not running huh what did you say very sorry for me you're very sorry for you yeah OK I'm married to a cop you're married to a cop no you're not New Hampshire Starkey look it up New Hampshire yeah where's that in the state of New Hampshire oh so he's not a cop anymore no I used to be US Air Force huh used to be US Air Force he used to be reserve yeah my son too it wasn't my fault I mean you just said you weren't calling the cops yeah but you said that three different times so you have to sign right here I'm not signing a blank piece of paper alright well I mean you still gotta deal with them yeah clearly like thanks for lying to me dude do you have your ID or driver's license no I just gave him the information I had I don't have an ID I'm trying to catch the bus this is crazy I didn't know that he Thomas he wasn't calling the cops but I wasn't stealing just steal sir OK sir but you were stealing it right right am I going to jail right now am I going to jail right now I don't know are you guys arresting me I don't know what do you mean you don't know how do you not know cause I don't know what happened yet I haven't talked to them I'm just asking for your information I just want to know if I'm going to jail yeah I know you're in a huge rush I'm not in a rush that I don't know if you're going to jail I haven't talked to him yet OK have you heard me talk to anybody but you since I walked in here so slow down OK you're not going anywhere till we're done yeah clearly clearly she was shocked coming in had a huge bag she started putting merchandise in her bag as she was walking the floor found her bag and after that she came to the front passed all the check lanes went downstairs without paying for it and that's when we got her OK how much stuff has been taken 664 OK are you arrested yeah OK really wow that's crazy OK can you take your first off you have to stand up after all this means to probably be good check the bag I'm gonna check my stuff no no put the bag down in your bag okay okay I have a book and napkins right put this out just drop it out of the car do I have to spend the night in jail tonight too huh do I have to spend the night in jail we'll explain everything later oh my God yeah I want my bag and my purse you'll get it thank you nothing illegal in there right no that we have to worry about guys we're gonna search you have anything on your person there's no female officer that searches you and lock up good I'm not signing that piece of paper cause there's nothing on that piece of paper okay so got you I don't like how that boy is like that OK cause he lied to me obviously not that it matters I did something wrong you know what I mean like I get it but that's not cool having a play doll other house right no we're gonna have a female search that's fine oh my God that was so rude he's fucking dude fuck target sucks first of many offenses I'll probably throw out my almost experience in career to God I'm sorry but I didn't do the crime so I guess I gotta do I hope they don't fucking The Fourth Amendment does not apply to private actors prevention employees are not government agents constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure attach only when sworn law enforcement officers assume direct control of the detention before that moment the merchant privilege doctrine governs exclusively California Penal Code Section 4905 authorizes a merchant to detain a person reasonably believed to have committed shoplifting provided three conditions are satisfied reasonable time reasonable manner and reasonable cause to believe the theft occurred all three were present in both cases the detention itself was legally valid from the first second under California theft law the offence is legally complete the moment a suspect passes the final point of purchase with concealed merchandise and the intent to permanently deprive an offer to pay after that moment is not a defence it does not undo what the statute considers already done this is the most consequential misunderstanding in retail theft cases and both suspects made it proposition 47 2014 reduces theft under $950 to a misdemeanor under Penal Code Section 488 both amounts here fall below that threshold however Penal Code Section 666 allows petty theft to be charged as a felony when the defendant carries a prior theft conviction Section 666 survives Proposition 47 a confirmed prior record is the most probable statutory basis for the felony charges in both cases Graham versus Conner 490 US 386 1,989 reasonableness of any forces judged from the perspective reasonable of Adrian's officer at the moment of decision not with hindsight Kimel versus California 395 US 752 1,969 a search of the person incident to a lawful arrest is constitutionally authorized standard handcuffing and a same sex officer for physical search satisfy both standards in these encounters under the Fifth Amendment no person can be compelled to sign a document during a detention or arrest refusing to execute loss prevention acknowledgement forms is a constitutionally protected choice it has no bearing on the validity of the arrest or the charges that follow this right exists it was exercised correctly in Case B most people in this situation do not know it applies Terry versus Ohio 392 US 1 1,968 direct observation of merchandise concealment and bypass of the checkout area constitutes probable cause exceeding the reasonable suspicion threshold and independently supports a warrantless arrest by responding officers voluntary statements made after arrest are admissible and may be introduced at sentencing as evidence of a pattern of conduct future criminal intent or absence of remorse what happens when a loss prevention employee promises not to call police and then does what legal consequences follow when a 300 dollar theft becomes a felony through a prior record the suspect denied having and what happens to a statement made voluntarily on camera after the handcuffs go on the answers are already in the law and they are not what most people expect