Shoplifting

Published on: September 15, 2023

Woodbury Commons: Desk Appearance Tickets for foreign citizens accused of shoplifting

Woodbury Commons, located in Woodbury, New York, is a well-known outlet mall with high-end stores including: Adidas, Armani, Balenciaga, Balmain, Burberry, Brioni, Canali, Chloe, Coach, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Ferragamo, Givenchy, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Kate Spade, Kenzo, Lacoste, Lanvin, Longchamp, Lululemon, Maison Margiela, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Moncler, Montblanc, Movado, Nike, Roberto Cavalli, Prada, Polo Ralph Lauren, Theory, Tom Ford, Tory Burch, Tumi, Tag Heuer, North Face, Versace, and Zegna, among many others.

Every year, tourists flock to Woodbury Commons from around the world to shop the discount prices offered at these designer outlet stores. Unfortunately, some are also accused of attempting to steal merchandise from these stores. Those individuals are typically referred to local Woodbury police for arrest processing after being apprehended by store security. People arrested and accused of shoplifting at Woodbury Commons are typically handcuffed by the police, taken to the police station, fingerprinted, and issued a Desk Appearance Ticket directing them to appear in Woodbury Town Court a few weeks later to answer to charges of Petit Larceny (a class A misdemeanor in violation of PL 155.25) or Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree (a class E felony in violation of PL 155.30). The more serious charge – Grand Larceny – can apply where the merchandise allegedly stolen exceeds $1000 in value.

Many of the people arrested and issued Desk Appearance Tickets are tourists visiting from out of state or even out of the country. As such, returning to Woodbury for a court appearance a few weeks or months later is impractical or impossible. Thankfully, in some cases, an attorney can be retained to appear in the place of the arrested person, such that the arrested person does not have to personally return to court. Matthew Galluzzo has represented many foreign and out of state residents in this manner. Using a notarized affidavit drafted by Mr. Galluzzo, in some cases Mr. Galluzzo can go to court on behalf of a person accused of these crimes and negotiate a disposition of the case that does not result in a permanent or public criminal record. This permits the person with the Desk Appearance Ticket to continue with their trip on schedule without having to delay their flight home or booking a return trip for the sole purpose of appearing in court. Of course, that potentially saves the arrested person a significant amount of time, stress and expense.

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Published on: March 28, 2017

Desk Appearance Tickets and Visas / Green Cards

By Matthew J. Galluzzo

New York City owes much of its energy and excellence to the foreign citizens living and working here. Unfortunately, a visa or green card holder’s right to remain in the United States can be seriously jeopardized by a Desk Appearance Ticket, even when the charges are comparatively minor misdemeanors. Many visa holders fail to take these arrests sufficiently seriously because the charges seem minor (like marijuana or subway fare theft) or because the arresting officer tells them “it’s no big deal.” Truthfully, though, career, educational, and family plans can be completely devastated by even a minor case of walking through the subway gate without paying, so it is absolutely critical that a foreign person arrested and issued a Desk Appearance Ticket retain competent counsel immediately.

In many ways, a Desk Appearance Ticket does not feel like such a big deal. The arrested person is usually handcuffed and taken to a police station where they are fingerprinted. They typically wait a few hours in a holding cell until they are given a piece of paper telling them the date and location of their appearance in court. Before Desk Appearance Tickets became routine, criminal defendants could expect to get “sent downtown” and spend the night in jail before seeing a judge. Obviously, Desk Appearance Tickets are preferable for criminal defendants because they spend less time in custody and also have the opportunity to choose counsel for themselves prior to going to court.

Make no mistake, however: the issuance of a Desk Appearance Ticket is in fact an arrest – it is not “just a ticket”. More importantly for visa holders, this event is not going to “fly under the radar” with the immigration agencies. If you were arrested and given a Desk Appearance Ticket, your fingerprints and the arrest charges have been sent to a New York state agency (the Division of Criminal Justice Services) and to the FBI, which maintains a federal nationwide law enforcement database of all arrest events across the United States (the Interstate Identification Index). Visa and green card holders should understand that the immigration agencies, in processing visa renewal requests, access this database to investigate whether the visa applicant has an arrest record. Indeed, some visa holders actually receive emails from Department of Homeland Security (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) agents after their arrests, because the agency was notified of the arrest via the fingerprint database.
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Published on: March 3, 2016

Understanding Desk Appearance Tickets in New York City

By Matthew J. Galluzzo

Published on: February 19, 2016

First Arrest for Shoplifting/Petit Larceny in New York City

By Matthew J. Galluzzo

Arrests for shoplifting are incredibly common in New York City, and many of those individuals arrested for shoplifting are being arrested for the first time. Though arresting police officers typically assure people that the arrests are trivial and will not have any lasting consequences, the truth is that these cases need to be handled carefully because even seemingly small cases like these can have tremendous negative implications for hardworking people.

Most people arrested for shoplifting are held by store security guards until police arrive. During that time, store security guards typically force or trick the people they've detained to sign written confessions (by promising not to call the police if they sign) and trespass notices acknowledging that they are no longer allowed to shop at the store. Store security guards do not have to read people their Miranda rights because they are not police officers, but anything said to them can and will be used against them in courts of law.

Police officers then take these detained people to the local precinct, where the arrest process begins. Fingerprints are taken and paperwork is completed while the arrestees typically wait in a cell for about three to four hours. Then, the alleged shoplifter is usually given a Desk Appearance Ticket, which looks like this, which directs the shoplifter to appear in court at a later date. Failure to appear in court on that date results in a warrant being ordered for that person's arrest.

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