Q: I was accused of shoplifting I didn't take anything out of the store. I have never been in a situation like this. Help
I was initially doordashing my app glitched I had to uninstall and reinstall during that time a store employee accused me of shoplifting. I gave them the door dash bag. They asked for my id I had to go to my car to get it. Came back in the took me to a security office and said they were waiting for the manager. When I went to the car I did call door dash and spoke with someone. They said they weren't seeing the order to just go on to the next one once done. After about a half hour two cops showed up and issued me a summons. I have never been in a situation like this before. I have a completely clean record. It's for theft by shoplifting $500 or less. I believe the total of the groceries was $180. I have no proof that I was working since it closed out. I have no idea what to expect or what to do.
A:
If your defense against the shoplifting charge is that you were picking up the items due to being assigned to do so for someone via an app, such as Door Dash, then you need to get the records from Door Dash to show that there was an order for the items assigned to you. Even if you no longer have access to the order due to a glitch, you should still be able to get records from the company to show the order or they could alternatively provide a statement showing that they can't provide that proof due to a glitch. There should be some way to show that the request existed. The way to obtain such records depends on what Door Dash can provide to you. For example, a simple request may not be enough, especially if there was a glitch in the app. For example, you may need to issue a subpoena if they can't provide the records via a simple request.
Whether this is your best option or what other options you may have depends on the specifics of your case. You should consult a criminal defense attorney asap. The type of theft where someone picks up an order that they did not pay for is becoming increasingly common. You are going to have a hard time getting the Court to believe that you were picking up due to an App request unless you can get some proof of the work order to do so.
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