Posted on 07/08/2005 10:32:59 AM PDT by flashbunny
THE HOME DEPOT STORY
Here's the email about the shoplifting arrest at Home Depot:
Charlie,
My local Home Depot store had arrested my son for shoplifting. They claim he stole a $9.90 skill saw blade. Let me give you a little more background. My son is 29 yrs old, he had just purchased my house for his family, and I told him to go to Home Depot and buy whatever he needed to make changes to the house and charge it to my Home Depot credit account. We figured two to five thousand dollars should be enough to get it ready for his wife and kids. This was his third major purchase. This purchase totaled $868.00.
While shopping at this Home Depot store, he was using a large push cart, not the kind with the basket but the kind with the flat bottom, because he was planning on buying kitchen cabinets and related items. When he arrived at the checkout line a clerk came over, and said he could help him at a different register. My son assumed it was because he had such a large order, it would speed up other shoppers checking out. As the clerk began scanning the items he notices a crack in one of the crown moldings and suggested my son get a different crown molding, which my son did. When my son got back the clerk scanned the molding and gave my son the receipt to sign.
As my son was leaving the store, he went through the detectors and the alarm sounded. My son stopped, asked the clerk if everything was checked out. To which the clerk nodded yes and motioned for my son to leave. My son left the store, unloaded the items into a truck, and was returning the push cart to the cart corral when he was grabbed by the shoulder and told he was being arrested for shoplifting. He replied that there must be some mistake, and was told that since he didn't know how to pay for the saw blade he sure knew how to unload it. My son still didn't understand but figured he go back in and get this straightened out. The West Allis police were called and he was arrested for shoplifting a $9.90 saw blade after spending $868.00 on other items. Remember this was all going on my charge account and he wasn't paying for anything, so why would he care about another ten bucks. He would have spent another hundred if he could have fit it on the cart.
What's the big deal about a shoplifting ticket? You pay the $262.00 and forget about. Right? Not in this case. You see my son was medically discharged from the Air Force. He qualifies as a service-disabled veteran and as such also qualifies for certain small business government set-asides. He has started a small business, as a distributor and prime contractor, and had started servicing his first government contract as of 1 July 05. He has at least two dozen current proposals for other contracts in the works. Future contracts will require a Top Secret clearance, which will be impossible to get if his record contains a shoplifting arrest. He is currently negotiating the installation of a video surveillance system for a military installation. What if they check his record and find a shoplifting arrest?
So we decide we have to hire a lawyer to initially try to clear this up. We're a thousand buck into it and we really can't afford more, but it will cost more. If we decide to sue for false arrest our legal bill will be over $20,000(A rough figure given by an attorney). Those hours add up at over $300/Hr. This will not be a high judgement case so it's not very attractive to most attorneys. Any suggestions?
John Gaidosh
incompetence by a highly trained (ha) home depot clerk is kinda hard to imagine, eh?
Thank you.
People often write to the poster of a thread as though they were the author. You seemed to answer some questions, so I wanted to make sure that you were not coincidently also the person in the article.
I would want more information...and I guess that is what the 'publicity' will help accopmlish.
Could be, but there's has got to be more to this story. I can't imagine Home Depot having someone arrested for a $10.00 oversight after having spent well over $800.00.
The story doesn't pass the smell test. I'm not sure why you have an axe to grind with HD, but you are reacting way overboard to this story.
BTW, the number for the home depot in question is (414)329-1366. Just purely for informational purposes
I just called the number and was rudely! spoken to by some
"Customer service" jerk.
Everyone should Call and demand they drop the charges!
Stupid idiots cant even arrest the real thieves and ruin the life of an honest person. if I was that father I would cancel the charges and return every item bought on the credit card. Screw Home Depot.!
Call the number.
For $9.90...normally the cops won't even handle it. The store cop will issue a ticket and a minor crime court will simply take the evidence, and normally make you pay $300 and bar you from shopping at the store. I had two store detectives tell me that its not worth much to the store to turn these minor cases into huge episodes. Something smells funny about this whole thing. The clerk could have fixed the episode...but didn't. The detectives usually attempt to get the guy prior to reaching the car.
"Hmmm.... $300/hr for legal bills? Only large corporate law firms charge this much. Sounds a little fishy."
No, that is average for an attorney.
as others have posted, they apparently agressively try to go after 'shoplifters'...looks like they'll do it even when available evidence indicates it's not a good thing to do.
If he goes to court he'll be found not-guilty. It is the "intention" to steal that will get you found guilty. He had no intent to steal the saw blade.
Fair enough. But based on your screenname, I'm guessing you do patent work. I would be surprised if the average civil litigator at a small or mid-size firm would charge $300/hr.
That is how it appears on the surface.
No, that is average for an attorney.
$300's pretty high. I'm a 5th year associate at a large DC law firm and my billing rate is only $260.
The guy spends over $800.00 and is cleared by the cashier to go ahead and leave after the inventory control alarm sounds. Security follows him out to his vehicle and checks his merchandise against his receipt, but one unpaid item turns up in his cart; the cart that the cashier just cleared him to leave the store with.
Either the cashier is lying, this guy is lying about the cashier clearing him, security planted a saw-blade on this guy, or security was following this guy around and watched him lift the saw-blade. It's hard to tell who is guilty, but we obviously don't have all the facts yet.
When I did Loss Prevention, we were taught that there were five things that had to be witnessed or else charges were sure to be dropped:
1) You have to see them enter this store.
2) You have to see them select an item.
3) You have to see them conceal the item.
4) You have to see them pass the last point of purchase.
5) You have to see them leave the store.
Without ALL five of these, it's more or less impossible for the charges to stand up in court.
Do saw blades usually set off the alarm?
Did Sykese actually read the police report on the air?
The clerk that scanned, bagged and loaded the stuff into the cart is solely responsible for the matter. He is also the one responsible for acknowledging that all the merchandise was paid for and sending the guy on his way with the verbal. Home depot and it's security staff should be sued. Atty's fees don't matter, because HD should be hit hard enough, so there's plenty of cash to go around.
The security guard should be charged with battery for grabbing the guy. The evidense shows the PD made a false arrest and if the PD/DA don't clear this up fast, they are open for malicious prosecution. More cash for the victim.
Nah. I've been in HDs from CA to the Midwest. This sounds like whack job security staff, an introverted pinhead manager and incompetent cops.
It'll be interesting to see how this all turns out....
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