Theft and Shoplifting Lawyer in Scottsdale, AZ
A shoplifting stop at a Scottsdale store, or a theft accusation from an employer, a landlord or someone you trusted, can feel humiliating out of all proportion to the dollar amount. It is also more serious than it may look, because a theft conviction can follow you into job, license and housing applications for years.
We can help. Nova Law Group was built by a former Maricopa County Attorney's Office felony prosecutor. We prepare every case as if it is going to trial, and we take a meticulous, aggressive approach, fighting from every angle, because the report is only one side of the story.
Talk to us before you talk to anyone else. Call (480) 405-6767. Consultations are free and confidential, and the earlier we are involved, the more we can do.
The charging decision, the prosecutor and the courthouse in a Scottsdale theft case
Scottsdale's city prosecutors list theft by name among the misdemeanors they handle, next to DUI, assault and domestic violence. A taking valued under $1,000 is generally a class 1 misdemeanor, and when Scottsdale Police wrote the report, that case typically lands in Scottsdale City Court on 75th Street. A theft reported by a county or state agency, or from just outside city limits, may land in a Maricopa County justice court instead. Go by the court named on your paperwork.
Value and method can move a case out of the city altogether. At $1,000 a theft or shoplifting charge becomes a felony. A shoplifting charge involving a device, or one with at least two qualifying priors in the past five years, is a class 4 felony whatever the amount, and organized retail theft under A.R.S. 13-1819 is a class 4 felony at any dollar amount, even for a person acting alone. A felony theft from Scottsdale goes to the County Attorney or, in some retail theft cases, the Attorney General's Office, often where the conduct crossed county lines or a state agency investigated. It is heard in Superior Court at the Central Court Building, 201 W. Jefferson St., or the South Court Tower, 175 W. Madison St. Confirm the building on your current notice.
Not every case begins with a citation at the register. Officers can send their report to the city prosecutor with a request for a long-form complaint, and the prosecutor decides afterward whether to charge. The City Attorney's annual report tracks these requests from Scottsdale Police and other agencies, and they end in different ways: some become complaints, some are turned down and some are still pending when the year closes. A report waiting on review is not yet a charge, and that stretch can be a useful time to have a lawyer involved.
After a booking, Scottsdale Police may keep the person at the city jail, part of the Downtown Scottsdale Police Station and at the same address as the court, where the department lists jail court hours of 9 a.m. to noon. For a cite-and-release, the court says the first date and time appear at the bottom of the citation. Anyone who was booked should know the Prosecution Division's jail video rule: the request must be in writing and made inside 30 days of the arrest, or the recording may be destroyed in the normal course of business.
At the arraignment you hear the charges and your rights, and Scottsdale City Court says a public defender can be requested there or at a pretrial conference. Requesting one is not the same as being appointed one.
Do not assume the court will appoint you a lawyer. Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 6.1(b) entitles an indigent defendant to appointed counsel in a proceeding that may result in punishment by loss of liberty. In misdemeanor court, the prosecutor can avow that no jail will be requested and the judge can rule that no jail will be imposed, and once that happens, there is no right to appointed counsel at all. Arizona's Court of Appeals upheld exactly that in Campa v. Fleming, 134 Ariz. 330 (App. 1982), on a class 1 misdemeanor carrying up to six months in jail, for a defendant who was on probation and facing immigration consequences.
Avoiding jail is not the same as avoiding a conviction. Theft is treated as a crime of dishonesty, and employers, licensing boards and landlords tend to read it that way, even on a first misdemeanor with no jail. Theft offenses can also carry consequences under federal immigration law, and a theft or shoplifting conviction can count toward the two prior offenses that make a later shoplifting a class 4 felony.
Money follows most theft convictions. In Scottsdale City Court, unpaid fines and restitution can be sent to the court's Fines/Fees and Restitution Enforcement (FARE) program, and the court lists consequences that include collection referral, interception of tax refunds and lottery winnings, a vehicle registration hold and, in a criminal case, an order to appear. A missed court date adds a fee for each warrant, on top of any bond.
A sentence can also include community restitution, meaning unpaid work hours. The city's Adult Court Office, part of Youth and Family Services and located at the court, says adults may be able to complete those hours at City of Scottsdale work sites, though not while on probation.
From the back office of a store to the courtroom on 75th Street
The stop. A store may hold someone it suspects of shoplifting, but the law limits that power: there must be reasonable cause, and the manner and length of the hold must both be reasonable. Under A.R.S. 13-1805(B), knowingly concealing unpurchased merchandise while still inside the store can support a presumption of the required intent, so the State does not need you to have left the building. Anything signed in a back room, or written on a store form, may later be examined for how it was obtained. Say little and sign nothing until you have advice.
The footage. The clip a loss prevention team saves is often brief and centered on the alleged concealment. Longer footage from more cameras can show a distraction, a payment attempt or an item set down somewhere. Stores overwrite their systems on their own schedules, so we send preservation requests early.
The number. Arizona uses fair market value, measured when the theft happened, under A.R.S. 13-1801(A)(15), and a retail price can be evidence of value but does not prove it. When an alleged total sits close to $1,000, valuation can decide whether the case stays a class 1 misdemeanor at City Court or becomes a class 6 felony downtown. Under A.R.S. 13-1801(B), separate takings can be combined only when the State shows one scheme or course of conduct.
City Court hearings. You enter a plea at the arraignment. The pretrial conferences that follow are where, as the court puts it, you sit down with a City Prosecutor to talk over plea offers and options. A CourtCall video appearance needs a judge's approval for each hearing, so plan to be there in person.
Diversion and reduction. The City Attorney's annual report describes a Diversion Program run by the city prosecutor. Whether diversion or a reduction is realistic in a particular theft case depends on the charge, your record and the prosecutor.
The felony track. A class 6 felony can sometimes be designated a class 1 misdemeanor under A.R.S. 13-604, and an organized retail theft charge can sometimes resolve as shoplifting under 13-1805. On a felony conviction, A.R.S. 13-603(C) requires restitution in the full amount of the economic loss.
The store's letter. Many large retailers send a civil demand letter after a shoplifting stop. A.R.S. 12-691 through 12-694 let a store seek the retail value of the goods, a $250 penalty and actual damages from an adult, and a criminal conviction is not required for the store to sue. A conviction, including one entered on a no-contest plea, bars you from disputing the core allegations in the store's lawsuit. Paying the letter does not end the City Court case.
Where Scottsdale theft reports start
Scottsdale's shopping is concentrated along a handful of corridors. The city's downtown planning materials tie the Fashion Square and Waterfront district to shopping, dining and entertainment, with Scottsdale Fashion Square at its center. Farther north, Kierland Commons and the Scottsdale Quarter combine stores, restaurants and hotels, and grocery, pharmacy and big box stores line Scottsdale Road, Hayden Road, Shea Boulevard and McDowell Road. Resorts, offices and job sites produce accusations too, sometimes reaching police well after the fact.
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community borders southern Scottsdale to the east and has a police department and court of its own. When Salt River Police or the Community's court appears on the citation, this page's City Court information may not fit.
A former prosecutor and a flat fee
Nova Law Group was built by Ryan Tait, a former Maricopa County Attorney's Office felony prosecutor. The practice is criminal defense first. We keep caseloads deliberately low, which means the lawyers on your case have time to actually watch the video and read the reports line by line. We take theft cases to trial when trial is the right pressure. Overcharging happens, and a case that is genuinely prepared for trial changes the conversation with the prosecutor. Most criminal cases are quoted as a flat fee. Consultations are free and confidential.
Office: 4455 E. Camelback Rd., Suite C250, Phoenix, AZ 85018. That is our only office; we meet Scottsdale theft and shoplifting clients there by appointment.
Scottsdale courts and addresses
Courts and facilities: Scottsdale City Court, 3700 N. 75th St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251, 480-312-2442, [email protected]. Scottsdale City Attorney, Prosecution Division, 480-312-2710, [email protected]. City of Scottsdale Jail, Downtown Scottsdale Police Station (District 2), 3700 N. 75th St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251. Youth and Family Services Adult Court Office, 3700 N. 75th St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251, 480-312-7922. Scottsdale Police Property and Evidence, 7601 E. McKellips Road, Building B, Scottsdale, AZ 85257, 480-312-5888. Maricopa County Superior Court, downtown criminal complex: Central Court Building, 201 W. Jefferson St., and South Court Tower, 175 W. Madison St., Phoenix, AZ 85003.
Scottsdale theft and shoplifting questions
It can happen. The store's civil demand letter and a criminal prosecution are separate tracks. A store can report the incident to police, and officers can send their report to the city prosecutor for a charging decision rather than citing anyone on the spot, so a complaint can arrive weeks later. If an officer or detective contacts you about a theft, call a lawyer before you answer questions or agree to meet.
Not before talking to a lawyer. Paying the store does not dismiss the City Court case, and the amount a letter demands is not always the amount owed under A.R.S. 12-691 through 12-694. How you respond can also matter in the criminal case, because a later conviction affects the civil claim. Bring the letter, the citation and any receipts to the consultation so both sides can be handled together.
You can ask. Scottsdale City Court says a public defender can be requested at the arraignment or a pretrial conference. Under Rule 6.1(b) and Campa v. Fleming, 134 Ariz. 330 (App. 1982), though, once the prosecutor avows that no jail will be sought and the judge rules none will be imposed, there is no right to appointed counsel. A theft conviction without jail can still reach your work, a professional license and your immigration status.
The court expects fines and fees to be paid at sentencing, the same day. You can ask for a payment plan in person or with the court's request form; a state-mandated plan fee applies, and a defendant may hold one plan at a time and no more than three per case. The court does not take payments by phone. Unpaid balances can be referred to collections, and a warrant for a missed court date voids the plan.
Evidence stays with Scottsdale's Property and Evidence Unit until the case officer authorizes its release, and your lawyer can request that approval without a conversation about the facts. Pickups are scheduled in advance at the unit's McKellips Road location (7601 E. McKellips Road, Building B), on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Someone picking up on your behalf must bring an original notarized letter or an original power of attorney naming them. The unit's number is 480-312-5888.
Yes, under the shoplifting statute: $1,000 to under $2,000 is a class 6 felony, so the case generally goes to the County Attorney and is heard downtown rather than at City Court. Value is judged at the time of the theft and is not simply the tag price, and a class 6 felony can sometimes be designated a misdemeanor under A.R.S. 13-604.
Hold off on signing, paying or pleading
Phone (480) 405-6767. Custody, a running jail video window or an arraignment this week are all reasons to call instead of writing.
Nova Law Group, PLLC, 4455 E. Camelback Rd., Suite C250, Phoenix, AZ 85018. Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., by appointment.
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Talk to a Maricopa County criminal defense lawyer
If you have been arrested, charged, or contacted by a detective, the decisions you make in the first few days matter. Nova Law Group defends misdemeanor and felony cases in the Superior Court and in municipal and justice courts across Maricopa County.
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