Is this considered a crime ?

[Amelia21 1]

Hello  this situation is not related to myself however a friend of mine that is stressed I’m hoping someone that has knowledge of US laws could help me out .

So she migrated to the US , both her and her husband were shopping in Walmart and they had a few items at the bottom of the Trolley they had a lot of items so a few items were missed they were stopped at the door and instantly realize they didn’t pay for the stuff at the bottom the items  weren’t bagged or anything . The young man escorted them to a self check out aisle and checked all the bags and allowed them to pay for the items then allowed them to leave . No police or any other employee were involved they paid and left . Will this come back to haunt them in the sense of immigration ? As in is it possible that although they paid for the items Walmart could decide to press charges later on ? They cooperated and was nice towards the worker and they said the worker was pleasant as well 

[TBoneTX 43,058]

7 minutes ago, Amelia21 said:

No police or any other employee were involved they paid and left .

Sounds like the situation was resolved in mature fashion without any possible future repercussions.

[Loren Y 2,732]

My friend works security, actually loss prevention at many walmarts, superstores, grocery stores, and this happens all the time. They were honest and fixed it without any issues. My friend has seen people come in the next day to pay for stuff that was left on the bottom of the cart, they made it out the door, and all the way home until they realized it. went back to the store the next day and paid for it, and walmart didn't do anything to them. I can almost say with 100% certainty that this will not come back to haunt them. If you knew the amount of stuff that "Walks" out of walmart without being paid for, you would be shocked. Employee theft, along with actual shady people doing it on purpose, and the honest ones that forget. I have heard dollar figures from him as he does reports and they track losses all day, and it is in the high 5 figure, at some stores over 100,000 dollars in loss is reported every month, it's insane. Your friend should be fine.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

Not an issue.  Happens to everybody from

time to time - you realize it just make sure you pay up.

[Amelia21 1]

57 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

Sounds like the situation was resolved in mature fashion without any possible future repercussions.

That’s exactly what I said too because the employee didn’t raise any alarm or cause a scene and they didn’t either . They complied went back had all the grocery bags search and receipt thoroughly checked then they went ahead scaned and paid for the other items . The employee packed their trolley back up then handed it back to them so they could leave . Sounds like the issue was resolved. But they overthinking that loss prevention is going to watch the video and see that they almost left with the goods and take them to court . 

[Amelia21 1]

44 minutes ago, Loren Y said:

My friend works security, actually loss prevention at many walmarts, superstores, grocery stores, and this happens all the time. They were honest and fixed it without any issues. My friend has seen people come in the next day to pay for stuff that was left on the bottom of the cart, they made it out the door, and all the way home until they realized it. went back to the store the next day and paid for it, and walmart didn't do anything to them. I can almost say with 100% certainty that this will not come back to haunt them. If you knew the amount of stuff that "Walks" out of walmart without being paid for, you would be shocked. Employee theft, along with actual shady people doing it on purpose, and the honest ones that forget. I have heard dollar figures from him as he does reports and they track losses all day, and it is in the high 5 figure, at some stores over 100,000 dollars in loss is reported every month, it's insane. Your friend should be fine.

That’s what I said , her husband isn’t even worried really but she is because she just got her green card and she’s worried about having a criminal record such as petty theft . I’m not familiar with US laws but the fact that they paid for everything and the employee check the bags and they left I don’t see a crime there to be charged for . 

[P0907 127]

This happens more often than you think, people make mistakes and simply forget things, and most places are completely happy to resolve it amicably. In order for this to be an issue, they would need to press charges which is an unnecessary hassle, seeing that everything was sorted out there and then.

Edited June 7, 2021 by Peter0907

[P0907 127]

6 hours ago, Loren Y said:

My friend works security, actually loss prevention at many walmarts, superstores, grocery stores, and this happens all the time. They were honest and fixed it without any issues. My friend has seen people come in the next day to pay for stuff that was left on the bottom of the cart, they made it out the door, and all the way home until they realized it. went back to the store the next day and paid for it, and walmart didn't do anything to them. I can almost say with 100% certainty that this will not come back to haunt them. If you knew the amount of stuff that "Walks" out of walmart without being paid for, you would be shocked. Employee theft, along with actual shady people doing it on purpose, and the honest ones that forget. I have heard dollar figures from him as he does reports and they track losses all day, and it is in the high 5 figure, at some stores over 100,000 dollars in loss is reported every month, it's insane. Your friend should be fine.

Most stores actually include losses due to "walk outs" in their financial forecasts (along with malfunction/defectivity and expiration). It happens and is budgeted for.

Edited June 7, 2021 by Peter0907

[Dashinka 23,243]

8 hours ago, Amelia21 said:

That’s exactly what I said too because the employee didn’t raise any alarm or cause a scene and they didn’t either . They complied went back had all the grocery bags search and receipt thoroughly checked then they went ahead scaned and paid for the other items . The employee packed their trolley back up then handed it back to them so they could leave . Sounds like the issue was resolved. But they overthinking that loss prevention is going to watch the video and see that they almost left with the goods and take them to court . 

Not really sure how they could be charged with anything since they paid for everything.  I really doubt loss prevention employees would worry about pursuing anything.

[retheem 553]

10 hours ago, Amelia21 said:

Hello  this situation is not related to myself however a friend of mine that is stressed I’m hoping someone that has knowledge of US laws could help me out .

So she migrated to the US , both her and her husband were shopping in Walmart and they had a few items at the bottom of the Trolley they had a lot of items so a few items were missed they were stopped at the door and instantly realize they didn’t pay for the stuff at the bottom the items  weren’t bagged or anything . The young man escorted them to a self check out aisle and checked all the bags and allowed them to pay for the items then allowed them to leave . No police or any other employee were involved they paid and left . Will this come back to haunt them in the sense of immigration ? As in is it possible that although they paid for the items Walmart could decide to press charges later on ? They cooperated and was nice towards the worker and they said the worker was pleasant as well 

Nothing will happen. Relax.

[Crazy Cat 39,227]

10 hours ago, Amelia21 said:

Hello  this situation is not related to myself however a friend of mine that is stressed I’m hoping someone that has knowledge of US laws could help me out .

So she migrated to the US , both her and her husband were shopping in Walmart and they had a few items at the bottom of the Trolley they had a lot of items so a few items were missed they were stopped at the door and instantly realize they didn’t pay for the stuff at the bottom the items  weren’t bagged or anything . The young man escorted them to a self check out aisle and checked all the bags and allowed them to pay for the items then allowed them to leave . No police or any other employee were involved they paid and left . Will this come back to haunt them in the sense of immigration ? As in is it possible that although they paid for the items Walmart could decide to press charges later on ? They cooperated and was nice towards the worker and they said the worker was pleasant as well 

Not an issue......Tell them to relax.  Life is too short to be worried and unhappy......

[Thunderbolt 162]

It has happened to me last year at the local grocery store! I've used self check out station, packed everything (or so I thought) and went to the car.

When I was packing stuff to the trunk I saw chocolate bar that was at the back end of the cart. It was something like $2 candy, but I felt so bad and went back to the store to pay for it.

The person who was working on all 6 self check out stations was surprised that I've returned to pay for it.

But I felt better paying for it

So it happens to the best of us

[DSB27 13]

10 hours ago, Amelia21 said:

Hello  this situation is not related to myself however a friend of mine that is stressed I’m hoping someone that has knowledge of US laws could help me out .

So she migrated to the US , both her and her husband were shopping in Walmart and they had a few items at the bottom of the Trolley they had a lot of items so a few items were missed they were stopped at the door and instantly realize they didn’t pay for the stuff at the bottom the items  weren’t bagged or anything . The young man escorted them to a self check out aisle and checked all the bags and allowed them to pay for the items then allowed them to leave . No police or any other employee were involved they paid and left . Will this come back to haunt them in the sense of immigration ? As in is it possible that although they paid for the items Walmart could decide to press charges later on ? They cooperated and was nice towards the worker and they said the worker was pleasant as well 

This sounds like an honest mistake, I don't believe it could be considered a crime.

 

I don't think that any U.S. immigration agency would even be aware of it, since it was simply resolved in the store.

[Mike E 11,723]

10 hours ago, Amelia21 said:

The young man escorted them to a self check out aisle and checked all the bags and allowed them to pay for the items then allowed them to leave . No police or any other employee were involved they paid and left . Will this come back to haunt them in the sense of immigration ? As in is it possible that although they paid for the items Walmart could decide to press charges later on ? 

Walmart is free to report this to the police and the police are free to investigate, drop the investigations, arrest and/or refer to the district attorney. The DA is free dismiss  the case, or prosecute.  

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/5gd9s8/accidentally_shoplifted_got_busted_they_seemed_to is a link to typical case.  
 

As to question in the title, it is a crime if the prosecution can make its case to the jury, which includes establishing beyond a readable doubt that there was intent to steal.  
 

I think it is probable there is going be NO repercussions for this.  Especially if no identifying information was provided.  
 

Decades ago, most self serve  gas stations in the USA did not require prepay before dispensing fuel. As an F-1 status student I zoned out and drove off without paying.  Hours later I realized what I did and returned to the station. The cashier was actually able to correlate my story with a logged drive off and accepted my payment and gave me a receipt.  I did not provide identifying information.  
 

Nothing ever happened and on both my I-485 and N-400 and my fiancée’s I-129F I answered no to the questions about crimes committed.  I believe these to be truthful answers.  

 

[Carpe Vinum 2,310]

My wife and I just did this at CVS the other day with some 2-liters of soda. Babbling with the cashier and forgot to take them out of the cart. Got to the car and realized the mistake. Went back in and paid. It happens.