Legal Woes Continue for Tennessee Football Team
The hits keep on coming for the University of Tennessee football team, especially off the field. Just last week the team was faced with the distraction of having three players charged with attempted armed robbery which resulted in two of them being dismissed from the team and the third suspended from participating in team activities. Now this week it has been discovered that freshman safety Nyshier Oliver was arrested for shoplifting about five hours before Tennessee kicked off against Memphis on November 7th. Apparently he was spotted putting a shirt that costs about $100 in a shopping bag without paying for it at a department store in West Town Mall which led to the arrest. He has been charged with shoplifting.
Shoplifting is basically punished as theft of property in Tennessee. A person is guilty of shoplifting when, with intent to deprive a merchant of the stated price of the merchandise, that person knowingly does any of the following:
- Conceals the merchandise;
- Removes, takes possession of, or causes the removal of merchandise;
- Alters, transfers or removes any price marking, or any other marking which aids in determining value affixed to the merchandise;
- Transfers the merchandise from one container to another; or
- Causes the cash register or other sales recording device to reflect less than the merchant's stated price for the merchandise.
Since it would be hard to stuff a LCD TV or a dishwasher down your pants or into a shopping bag, shoplifting will generally amount to the taking of property worth less than $500, making it a Class A misdemeanor under Tennessee’s theft grading matrix. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to eleven months and twenty-nine days in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
Shoplifting is done for a variety of reasons. Some people just want something that they cannot afford or do not want to pay for so they decide to take it without paying. Some people do it just for the fun of doing it. There was even an incident some years ago in the East Tennessee area where a fraternity from an unknown college was using shoplifting as a hazing mechanism, forcing aspiring pledges to shoplift from a local store in order to prove their loyalty. Whatever the reason, as skilled East Tennessee criminal defense attorneys, we have seen first-hand that shoplifting is nothing to take lightly, as it can lead to a substantial jail time, the upside of course being that you will get free clothing for the duration of your stay.
Sources: http://www.wbir.com/sports/story.aspx?storyid=105103&catid=5
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