Criminal Defense
If you were stopped leaving a store in Shelby County, the charge on your paperwork probably reads theft of merchandise — not shoplifting. Tennessee charges retail theft under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-146, and it is graded by the same value ladder as any other theft. At $1,000 or less it is a Class A misdemeanor heard in General Sessions. Call or text the criminal line at 901-412-2973 or the office at (901) 324-5000.
What theft of merchandise actually means
The statute reaches more than walking out with something in a bag. It covers concealing merchandise, altering or swapping a price tag, transferring goods from one container to another, and causing the register to show less than the real price. It also lets the State treat concealment itself as evidence of intent — which is why so many of these cases turn on video of what happened in an aisle rather than at the door.
- Concealment. Putting merchandise somewhere it cannot be seen can support the charge even if you never passed the last point of sale.
- Price switching. Altering, removing, or swapping a tag is charged as theft of the difference in value.
- Under-ringing. Self-checkout cases are now a significant share of these charges, and scanning errors and intentional under-ringing look the same on camera.
- Aggregation. A store may allege several visits over time and add them together, which is how a run of small amounts is charged as a felony.
Penalties at a glance
| Value of merchandise | Class | Range |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 or less | Class A misdemeanor | Up to 11 months 29 days, plus fine and restitution |
| $1,000.01 – $2,500 | Class E felony | 1 to 6 years |
| $2,500.01 – $10,000 | Class D felony | 2 to 12 years |
Value is fair market value, which for retail merchandise usually tracks the ticket price but does not have to. Where several items or several alleged visits are added together to clear $1,000, both the arithmetic and the propriety of aggregating them are worth challenging.
The letter from the store’s law firm
Within a few weeks many people get a letter demanding a few hundred dollars, on law-firm letterhead, referencing Tennessee’s civil recovery statute. It is frightening and it is easy to misread. Two things are true: it is a real civil claim that a retailer is allowed to make, and it is entirely separate from the criminal case. Paying it does not dismiss the charge. Ignoring it does not create a warrant. Do not respond to it — or send money — before you have talked to the lawyer handling your criminal case, because what you write can end up in the criminal file.
Being banned from the store
Stores routinely serve a notice barring you from their property. That notice is worth keeping and worth taking seriously: returning after it has been served can support a separate criminal trespass charge, and for a national chain the ban may cover every location, not just the one you were in. People pick up a second charge this way without realising the first one is still pending.
What we look at first
- The loss-prevention report and whether the observation was continuous — gaps in surveillance undercut the claim that concealment was intentional.
- Whether the video shows the whole sequence or only the moment the store chose to keep.
- The stated value, item by item, against the actual price at that store on that day.
- How the stop was conducted, what was said, and whether anything was searched or seized.
- Whether the merchandise was recovered and returned to inventory, which affects restitution and how a prosecutor sees the case.
Keeping it off your record
On a first offense, judicial diversion or a retirement followed by expungement is usually the goal. A retail theft conviction is a dishonesty offense and it is read that way by every employer who runs a background check — particularly in retail, healthcare, banking, and anything requiring a license or bonding. If you are a student, on a visa, or in a licensed profession, say so at the first conversation, because it changes what an acceptable resolution looks like.
Self-checkout cases
A growing share of retail theft charges now come out of self-checkout rather than out of an aisle. The pattern is familiar: items in the bagging area that were never scanned, a produce code entered for a more expensive item, a scan that did not register. Stores increasingly use software that flags the discrepancy automatically and then pulls the video.
These cases are worth looking at closely, because the machine records what was scanned but not what the person believed they had scanned. Failed scans are ordinary. The question is whether the proof establishes intent or only establishes a discrepancy, and those are not the same thing. Where a store has aggregated several visits detected by the same software, the reliability of that aggregation is a fair target.
Students, visa holders, and licensed professionals
Tell us at the first conversation if any of these apply, because they change what counts as an acceptable outcome. A resolution that is perfectly sensible for one person can be the wrong one for a nursing student, a teacher, someone holding a commercial licence, or someone whose immigration status is affected by a plea. Theft is treated as a crime of moral turpitude in several contexts that do not care how small the amount was, and diversion — which is not a conviction under Tennessee law — is not always read the same way by a licensing board or by immigration authorities. See our immigration defense page if that is your situation.
What happens at your first setting
A misdemeanor theft of merchandise in Memphis is set in Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court at 201 Poplar. Cases from Bartlett, Germantown, and Collierville police start in those municipal courts. The first date is usually brief — the case is called, counsel is noted, and it is reset so the file can be obtained and discussed with the prosecutor. Almost nothing is decided that day.
What is decided that day is whether you appeared. A failure to appear produces a capias, and clearing one is more work and more expense than the underlying charge deserved. If you cannot get there, call before the setting rather than after it.
Related pages
- Theft of property under $1,000 — the general theft charge under § 39-14-103.
- What a theft lawyer costs in Memphis — our flat fees, published.
- Theft charges overview.
- Misdemeanor defense — how General Sessions works.
Common questions
Is shoplifting the same as theft of merchandise in Tennessee?
Effectively, yes. Tennessee does not use the word shoplifting in the statute — retail theft is charged as theft of merchandise under § 39-14-146, or as general theft under § 39-14-103. If your paperwork says theft of merchandise, that is the shoplifting charge.
Do I have to pay the civil demand letter?
It is a civil claim, separate from the criminal case, and paying it does not resolve the charge. Talk to your criminal lawyer before responding to it or sending anything in writing.
Will a shoplifting charge show up on a background check?
An arrest can appear even without a conviction, which is why expungement matters. A dismissal, a retirement, or completed diversion can be expunged; a conviction generally cannot.
Can I be charged if I never left the store?
Yes. Concealing merchandise can support the charge before you reach an exit. Whether the proof actually establishes intent is a different question, and it is often the weakest part of the State’s case.
Talk to us before your court date
The consultation is free. Bring your citation or bond paperwork and the store’s letter if you have received one. Call or text the criminal line at 901-412-2973 or the office at (901) 324-5000.