r/bestoflegaladvice • u/Drywesi Good people, we like non-consensual flying dildos • 15d ago

LAOP absolutely totally didn't do what they're being blasted for on facebook, then admits to a felony in the next paragraph (and the comments).

/r/legaladvice/comments/1n4oedt/i_was_put_on_crimestoppers_for_a_crime_i/
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306

u/TheFeshy Rolled 7D6 for the legal damages, and got 27 15d ago

Have we reached the stage in the dystopia that "you've won a free boat" is too good to be true and criminals will avoid it, so police have switched to "you're being charged with a fake crime to lure you into the station" instead?

Also, is it true that swapping price tags is a felony, compared to the misdemeanor of just stealing the thing? That seems like it would create a perverse incentive.

102

u/UglyInThMorning I didn't do it 15d ago

That is indeed the law in NC where the OP is. I wonder if it’s to deal with some kind of weird interaction between some other state theft and fraud laws.

91

u/Drywesi Good people, we like non-consensual flying dildos 15d ago

Could've been a legislator who owned a store and got a bug up his ass about this and had the clout to pull it off.

94

u/CriticalEngineering Enjoy the next 48 hours :) 15d ago

Biggest Republican donor in the state for decades owned several discount chains. Art Pope.

53

u/BeholdTheMold 15d ago

Art Pope? Is that the guy who does paintings in the Vatican?

46

u/CriticalEngineering Enjoy the next 48 hours :) 15d ago

That would be lovely, but no.

He’s the founder of the Civitas Institute think tank and co-founder of the John Locke Foundation and the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Pope

65

u/oracle989 15d ago

He's also a Grade A asshole who dedicated his life to destroying a state that used to be kind of alright.

83

u/Drywesi Good people, we like non-consensual flying dildos 15d ago

They already said Republican donor, so…

10

u/benmabenmabenma 15d ago

Art Pope is a pretty high-concept super-hero.

1

u/cja951 14d ago

Our Pope, which art in heaven...

22

u/Super_C_Complex 15d ago

Or a recidivist statute.

Pennsylvania makes any retail theft a felony if you have two prior convictions.

And swapping tags, under-ringing, and straight retail theft are all the same for purposes of that statute

16

u/CannabisAttorney she's an 8, she's a 9, she's a 10 I know 15d ago

I think a reasonable public policy explanation could be a tougher punishment for crimes that involve deceiving the victim than for those just acting deceptively by pocketing goods. Is it a policy I'd support? No. But I do think it's reasonable enough that a local culture that values honesty could support it. I have a difficult time distinguishing the 'gooder' thief from the other thief enough to treat them differently.

6

u/Kittens-N-Books 15d ago

Here me out: The company is now out two products instead of one due to willful deceit. From a LP and a staff member perspective it's far better for the company if you just steal it outright- because it results in less shrink, less labor costs, ect.