Men Break Into "Free" Store to Steal Items
You either like living on the edge or simply didn't do a good job of picking your target when you break into a store that gives its entire inventory away for free on a daily basis in order to steal from the store. While this may not seem like the wisest course of action, that is exactly what two Canadian men did early this week, when they broke into a store called "The Free Store" where individuals can pay a fee to drop off unwanted items and customers can come in and take as much of the store's inventory as they want for free every day. The owner said that he was surprised to arrive at the store and see the men inside stealing the same stuff they could have walked in and taken for free any time they wanted. The men were apprehended, but there is no word yet as to whether they have been charged.
Not only is it slightly illogical to break into a store that gives all of its items away for free, it is also illegal in Canada, Tennessee, and everywhere else. In Tennessee, a person could be charged with burglary for breaking into a retail store, even one that gives its items away for free, and would be looking at a Class D or E felony charge that could net that individual a prison sentence of a few years.
The more interesting question in this scenario would be whether or not the men would face a felony theft charge in Tennessee and how the theft would be classified. It seems odd that a person could be charged with theft for taking free items, but the Tennessee definition of theft would allow such a charge because it defines the crime of theft as taking or depriving someone of property without the owner's effective consent. In this situation, even though the owner of the store gave his items away for free, he only did it during store hours and he probably preferred someone didn't bust out his store windows in the middle of the night when they came to pick up their goods.
How the theft would be classified would be an interesting question as well. Theft can only be charged as a felony offense if the amount taken is greater than $500.00, but how do you value items that would literally have been given away for free the next day and could have been taken for free by the very individuals that were charged with theft in the first place. More than likely the prosecuting agency would try to place some sort of retail value on the goods and charge theft according to that valuation, but the value of the items is an element of the crime and a skilled criminal defense attorney would be able to put up a valiant defense by making the prosecution prove the value of those items beyond a reasonable doubt.
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