As a local Torrance Criminal Defense Attorney I am often retained to defend folks for the crime of shoplifting or petty theft. In these cases the store usually presents a video tape of the incident to prosecutors as part of the investigation, but in some cases there is no video evidence so does this mean that the case will be dismissed? The short answer is no, not always. Most petty theft arrests inside retail stores are made by loss prevention people who have some training in cases involving theft of merchandise and they will make observations such as seeing the individual place items inside a handbag or a pocket, this alone may be enough to prosecute if it is credible. Obviously, there are many factors in consideration and not all cases are winnable for the D.A. The bottom line is that a picture (or in this case a video) is worth a thousand words but words alone may be enough!

Matthew Ruff is a shoplifting and petty theft defense attorney in Torrance California