Arizona Laws 13-1805. Shoplifting; detaining suspect; defense to wrongful detention; civil action by merchant; public services; classification
A. A person commits shoplifting if, while in an establishment in which merchandise is displayed for sale, the person knowingly obtains such goods of another with the intent to deprive that person of such goods by:
Attorney's Note
Under the Arizona Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class 4 felony | up to 3 years | up to $150,000 |
| Class 6 felony | up to 1 1/2 years | up to $150,000 |
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 13-1805
- Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Adult: means a person who has attained eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying culpable mental state. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Criminal street gang: means an ongoing formal or informal association of persons in which members or associates individually or collectively engage in the commission, attempted commission, facilitation or solicitation of any felony act and that has at least one individual who is a criminal street gang member. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Culpable mental state: means intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence as those terms are defined in this paragraph:
(a) "Intentionally" or "with the intent to" means, with respect to a result or to conduct described by a statute defining an offense, that a person's objective is to cause that result or to engage in that conduct. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Deprive: means to withhold the property interest of another either permanently or for so long a time period that a substantial portion of its economic value or usefulness or enjoyment is lost, to withhold with the intent to restore it only on payment of any reward or other compensation or to transfer or dispose of it so that it is unlikely to be recovered. See Arizona Laws 13-1801
- Felony: means an offense for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment in the custody of the state department of corrections is authorized by any law of this state. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Firearm: means any loaded or unloaded handgun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun or other weapon that will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of expanding gases, except that it does not include a firearm in permanently inoperable condition. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Knowingly: means , with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a person is aware or believes that the person's conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Minor: means a person under eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Misdemeanor: means an offense for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment other than to the custody of the state department of corrections is authorized by any law of this state. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Peace officer: means any person vested by law with a duty to maintain public order and make arrests and includes a constable. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Person: means a human being and, as the context requires, an enterprise, a public or private corporation, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a firm, a society, a government, a governmental authority or an individual or entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial interest in property. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Property: means any thing of value, tangible or intangible, including trade secrets. See Arizona Laws 13-1801
- Services: includes labor, professional services, transportation, cable service and video service, computer or communication services, gas or electricity services, accommodation in hotels, restaurants or leased premises or elsewhere, admission to exhibitions and use of vehicles or other movable property. See Arizona Laws 13-1801
- Unlawful: means contrary to law or, where the context so requires, not allowed by law. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Value: means the fair market value of the property or services at the time of the theft. See Arizona Laws 13-1801
1. Removing any of the goods from the immediate display or from any other place within the establishment without paying the purchase price; or
2. Charging the purchase price of the goods to a fictitious person or any person without that person’s authority; or
3. Paying less than the purchase price of the goods by some trick or artifice such as altering, removing, substituting or otherwise disfiguring any label, price tag or marking; or
4. Transferring the goods from one container to another; or
5. Concealment.
B. A person is presumed to have the necessary culpable mental state pursuant to subsection A of this section if the person does either of the following:
1. Knowingly conceals on himself or another person unpurchased merchandise of any mercantile establishment while within the mercantile establishment.
2. Uses an artifice, instrument, container, device or other article to facilitate the shoplifting.
C. A merchant, or a merchant’s agent or employee, with reasonable cause, may detain on the premises in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable time any person who is suspected of shoplifting as prescribed in subsection A of this section for questioning or summoning a law enforcement officer.
D. Reasonable cause is a defense to a civil or criminal action against a peace officer, a merchant or an agent or employee of the merchant for false arrest, false or unlawful imprisonment or wrongful detention.
E. If a minor engages in conduct that violates subsection A of this section, notwithstanding the fact that the minor may not be held responsible because of the person’s minority, any merchant who is injured by the shoplifting of the minor may bring a civil action against the parent or legal guardian of the minor under either section 12-661 or 12-692.
F. Any merchant who is injured by the shoplifting of an adult or emancipated minor in violation of subsection A of this section may bring a civil action against the adult or emancipated minor pursuant to section 12-691.
G. In imposing sentence on a person who is convicted of violating this section, the court may require any person to perform public services designated by the court in addition to or in lieu of any fine that the court might impose.
H. Shoplifting property with a value of two thousand dollars or more, shoplifting property during any continuing criminal episode or shoplifting property if done to promote, further or assist any criminal street gang or criminal syndicate is a class 5 felony. Shoplifting property with a value of one thousand dollars or more but less than two thousand dollars is a class 6 felony. Shoplifting property valued at less than one thousand dollars is a class 1 misdemeanor, unless the property is a firearm in which case the shoplifting is a class 6 felony. For the purposes of this subsection, "continuing criminal episode" means theft of property with a value of one thousand five hundred dollars or more if committed during at least three separate incidences within a period of ninety consecutive days.
I. A person who in the course of shoplifting uses an artifice, instrument, container, device or other article with the intent to facilitate shoplifting or who commits shoplifting and who has previously committed or been convicted within the past five years of two or more offenses involving burglary, shoplifting, robbery, organized retail theft or theft is guilty of a class 4 felony.