In recent years, retail theft has become a much more serious and costly issue for stores of all sizes – from small local shops to national “big box” chains and everything in between. It has also become considerably more organized, destructive and violent.
Many states, including Virginia, have amended and strengthened their theft laws to address organized retail theft. That can mean serious consequences for anyone who gets involved in one of these robberies – even if they were just responding to a social media post calling people to gather at a particular site.
Who can be charged with organized retail theft?
There are a lot of people involved in one stage or another of organized retail theft – from the planning to the thefts themselves to knowingly purchasing stolen goods. Virginia’s law seeks to penalize those involved in organized retail thefts by focusing not on individual thefts but on multiple thefts involving the same people.
The law states that any person “who conspires or acts in concert with another person to commit simple larceny of retail property from one or more retail mercantile establishments, with a value exceeding $5,000 aggregated over a 90-day period” is committing organized retail theft. This includes anyone who is an “organizer, supervisor, financier, leader, or manager” of retail theft as well as anyone who receives items taken in one of these thefts “while knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe the property was unlawfully obtained.”
These thefts can lead to other charges as well
Organized retail theft in Virginia is a Class 3 felony. That doesn’t include the charges a person could face for property damage that occurs during a theft or any injuries or fatalities that may occur.
It’s not always obvious to law enforcement just who played what role in a destructive, violent retail theft where multiple people descend upon a store. That’s why it’s critical if you are facing charges related to one or more of these thefts to get experienced legal guidance to protect your rights and make your case to authorities.