Is it considered theft if you go into a store to check out your items and you find a wallet sitting on the store counter and you get the wallet go outside off of the store property and open the wallet and discover no id only grocery cards and medicare cards and also cash, but then you are approached by an officer and questioned about whats in my bag and he then takes my bag and searches and discovers the wallet and pulls his taser out tells me to get on my knees then im under arrest! then they return all the belongings in that wallet back to the owner which was back at the store! Then as im being questioned he reads me my rights asks me about my ssn and at the time i mistakingly gave him a incorrect number so he charged me with obstruction of justice is that proper?

Fr_Chuck

Yes that is theft, it was not your wallet, you stole it, you should have turned it into the store manager inside the store.

And I am surprised he read you your rights, often they wait to the station house to do that, but then some officers still do that.

Yes, giving them false info about your ID is obstruction of justice, most likely if you do a plea agreement you can get that droped.

JudyKayTee

Yes, you took a wallet which was not yours out of the store - that's called stealing.

And, yes, if you gave him the wrong SS number (as opposed to saying you didn't know your number) you gave false info and impeded justice.

excon

Hello:

I don't have a problem with your arrest. I DO have a problem with the cop telling you to get on your knees and who was about to taser you.

They don't have to do that... It was a wallet for crying out loud. The only reason they would do that is to compensate for their little weenies.

excon

KeepItSimpleStupid

You acted improperly. We don't learn how in school for these incidents.

Any smart crook would have not looked at the wallet in a visible place unless your featured on "stupid criminals". Concientious crooks drop the empty wallet in the nearest mailbox, but those are in very short supply these days.

In hindsight, the best solution may have been to have the wallet totally visible in your hands and head toward the courtesy counter.

However, I heard of an incident that someone walked out of a Sears store wirh a canoe and they nabbed the criminal when he came back for the paddles.