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Bergen County Theft Crime Lawyer
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Bergen County Theft Crime Lawyer
You got arrested for theft in Bergen County. Maybe it was shoplifting at Garden State Plaza in Paramus – store security stopped you walking out with merchandise you didn’t pay for. Maybe it was theft by deception, accused of writing bad checks or stealing from your employer. Maybe it was burglary charges after police say you broke into a home in Fort Lee. Now you’re holding paperwork that says Municipal Court or Superior Court depending on the value of what was taken, and you’re trying to understand the difference between disorderly persons shoplifting and felony theft charges.
Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 50 years combined experience defending theft cases in New Jersey and New York. We handle shoplifting charges in Bergen County Municipal Courts and theft offenses in Superior Court. This article explains New Jersey’s shoplifting law N.J.S.A. 2C:20-11 and other theft statutes, why the value of merchandise determines which court hears your case, and how Bergen County malls like Garden State Plaza and Paramus Park prosecute retail theft aggressively.
Value Determines the Charge – Under $200 vs Over $200
Shoplifting charges are graded by merchandise value. Under $200 is a disorderly persons offense heard in Municipal Court – maximum penalty six months county jail and $1,000 fine, plus mandatory community service 10 to 25 days. $200 to $500 is fourth-degree crime – up to 18 months state prison. $500 to $75,000 is third-degree – three to five years state prison. Over $75,000 is second-degree – five to ten years state prison.
Bergen County retail stores calculate value by retail price, not wholesale cost or what the item is actually worth. If you steal a designer handbag with $800 price tag, that’s third-degree shoplifting even if the handbag’s wholesale value is $200 and you could sell it used for $300. The retail price controls the charge level, and Bergen County stores mark up luxury items significantly – one theft from Nordstrom or Bloomingdale’s at Garden State Plaza can become a felony based solely on the sticker price.
Multiple items add up. Taking five shirts worth $45 each totals $225 – that’s fourth-degree, Superior Court, potential prison exposure even though each individual shirt is under the felony threshold. Garden State Plaza security watches for people accumulating merchandise across multiple stores – you take items from three different stores, leave the mall without paying, they add up all the merchandise from all stores and charge you with one count of shoplifting for the combined value.
Garden State Plaza and Paramus Park – High-Volume Prosecution
Garden State Plaza in Paramus is one of the largest malls in New Jersey – hundreds of stores, millions of shoppers annually, sophisticated loss prevention operations. Every major retailer has security staff who monitor cameras, walk the sales floor in plain clothes, coordinate with Paramus Police who have dedicated officers assigned to the mall. We defend multiple Garden State Plaza shoplifting cases monthly – the volume is substantial because the mall is massive and security is aggressive.
Store security at Garden State Plaza detains you in a back office, calls Paramus Police, police arrive and arrest you, transport you to Paramus Police headquarters for processing. They photograph you, fingerprint you, issue a summons for Paramus Municipal Court if under $200, or a complaint for Bergen County Superior Court if over $200. The merchandise gets logged as evidence, receipts showing retail value get documented, surveillance footage gets preserved. By the time you leave the station, prosecutors already have substantial evidence against you.
Paramus Park Mall prosecutes similarly. Smaller than Garden State Plaza but still significant retail presence, still has loss prevention operations that work closely with police. Other Bergen County shopping areas – Riverside Square in Hackensack, Route 4 retail corridor in Elmwood Park, downtown Ridgewood boutiques – all prosecute shoplifting, but Garden State Plaza generates the most cases simply because of its size and the value of merchandise available for theft.
Municipal Court vs Superior Court – Strategic Differences
If your shoplifting charge is disorderly persons (under $200), Paramus Municipal Court hears the case. Municipal Court judges in Bergen County handle hundreds of shoplifting cases annually – they’ve heard every excuse, every explanation, every defense. Most result in plea agreements: conditional discharge if first offense (dismiss charges after probationary period), or plea to shoplifting with reduced fine and community service. Going to trial in Municipal Court over shoplifting under $200 is possible but rare – most defendants accept plea offers to avoid trial preparation and risk of conviction.
Superior Court cases (over $200) get handled by Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. These prosecutors take felony shoplifting more seriously because of the presumption that organized retail theft rings are involved when merchandise value exceeds $500. They look for patterns – same defendant arrested multiple times, multiple defendants working together, theft from multiple stores suggesting coordination. If you’re charged with third-degree shoplifting over $500, prosecutor may offer pretrial intervention (PTI) if you’re a first-time offender, allowing you to complete probation and get charges dismissed without conviction.
Third-offense shoplifting carries mandatory 90-day jail sentence – doesn’t matter if all three offenses are disorderly persons under $200, the third conviction requires jail time. We’ve defended cases where someone had two prior shoplifting convictions from years ago, got caught stealing $50 of groceries from Stop & Shop, faced mandatory 90 days in county jail. The prior convictions eliminate the judge’s discretion to impose lesser punishment.
Theft by Deception and Employee Theft
Theft by deception under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-4 covers obtaining property by false promises, check fraud, credit card fraud, identity theft to make unauthorized purchases. Bergen County prosecutes these cases more seriously than shoplifting because they involve planning and deception rather than impulsive theft. If you write bad checks knowing your account has insufficient funds, that’s theft by deception graded by the amount of the checks – over $500 becomes third-degree crime.
Employee theft cases in Bergen County often involve embezzlement from employers, theft of merchandise by retail workers, theft of credit card information by restaurant servers. These cases trigger both criminal prosecution and civil liability – employer files police report leading to criminal charges, then sues you civilly for the stolen amount plus treble damages under New Jersey’s civil theft statute. We’ve defended cases where someone stole $5,000 from their employer over several months, faced third-degree criminal charges plus civil lawsuit seeking $15,000 in damages.
Burglary – Not the Same as Theft
Burglary under N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2 is entering a structure without permission with intent to commit an offense inside. Third-degree burglary carries three to five years prison. Second-degree burglary – entering a dwelling or causing bodily injury during a burglary – carries five to ten years with presumption of imprisonment. Bergen County prosecutors distinguish between burglary and trespass based on intent: if you entered intending to steal, that’s burglary even if you didn’t actually take anything. If you entered without intent to commit a crime, that’s just criminal trespass.
Residential burglary cases in Bergen County get prosecuted aggressively because of the threat to homeowner safety. Commercial burglary – breaking into a store after hours, breaking into storage units – also serious but judges are more willing to consider probation for first offenders when no weapons were involved and no one was present. We’ve defended commercial burglary cases where defendant broke into a closed business to steal copper pipes or electronics – prosecutor offered PTI because it was property crime without violence, defendant completed the program and charges were dismissed.
At Spodek Law Group – we’ve defended hundreds of theft cases in Bergen County courts, from shoplifting at Garden State Plaza to complex embezzlement prosecutions in Superior Court. Todd Spodek has negotiated PTI admissions for first-time offenders and tried theft cases before Bergen County juries. If you’re facing theft charges in Bergen County, call us at 212-300-5196. The value of what was taken determines the court, the charges, the penalties – and early legal intervention affects whether you get diversion programs or face trial and potential conviction.