You were arrested for petit larceny in Nassau County, probably shoplifting, and you are terrified, because you are not a criminal and this is not who you are. Maybe it was a genuine mistake at a self-checkout. Maybe an item was in the bottom of the cart or in your child’s stroller and you never meant to walk out with it. Maybe you got a knock weeks after you were in the store, arrested off a video you barely remember. Whatever happened, you are a working person with a job, a family, and a reputation, and now you have a criminal charge hanging over all of it.

Here is what I want you to know first: for the right attorney, these cases are very often made to go away.

Petit larceny is a real criminal charge under the Penal Law, and a conviction is a permanent criminal record. But it is also one of the most resolvable charges there is, and my goal in these cases is dismissal. I have handled hundreds of petit larceny cases over 31+ years, and in the large majority I have been able to get the charge reduced or dismissed and sealed. This is exactly the kind of case where experience and a good working relationship with the District Attorney’s office make the difference between a record that follows you and a clean slate. For the countywide picture, see my Nassau County criminal defense page.

These Cases Happen to Good People

I have represented enough of these cases to know that the person across from me is usually not a thief. The self-checkout era has made honest mistakes easier than ever, a screen missed, an item that did not scan, a moment of distraction with kids in tow. I hear it constantly: the item went in the stroller or the bottom of the cart because there was no room or no cart, and it was simply forgotten. Or a client walked out of a store weeks ago and is now arrested based on security video that allegedly shows unpaid items.

Whether it was a genuine mistake or a lapse in judgment, the point is the same: these are ordinary, otherwise law-abiding people, and the criminal justice system is a terrifying, unfamiliar place for them. My job is to get them out of it with their record and their dignity intact.

A missed scan or forgotten item at self-checkout can quickly turn into a petit larceny accusation, even when there was no intent to steal.

What Petit Larceny Actually Is, and What You’re Facing

Petit larceny, under Penal Law § 155.25, is the theft of property valued at $1,000 or less. It is a class A misdemeanor, which on paper carries up to one year in jail. That statutory maximum is what makes people panic, so let me be direct about the reality: for a first-time offender, jail is almost never the outcome. The real stakes are not incarceration; they are the criminal record.

A petit larceny conviction is permanent, and it shows up in background checks, employment screening, professional licensing, and immigration review. That is the thing worth fighting, and it is exactly why the label the case ends with, a conviction versus a dismissal, matters far more than any sentence. Getting to the right label is the entire game.

How These Cases Start: Arrest or a Desk Appearance Ticket

In Nassau County, a petit larceny case begins one of two ways. Some people are arrested and held for arraignment, but more commonly, a first-time shoplifting arrest results in a Desk Appearance Ticket, a DAT, which releases you with a future date to appear in court. Either way, the case is prosecuted in the District Court in Hempstead, where Nassau’s misdemeanor cases are heard.

If you were given a Desk Appearance Ticket, do not treat it as minor because you were not held. It is a criminal case, and what you do before that first court date matters. The window before your appearance is when an experienced attorney can begin working toward the best outcome, which is why you should not wait until the court date to get a lawyer involved.

What the District Attorney Looks At

Two things drive how the Nassau District Attorney’s office views a petit larceny case, and understanding them shapes the defense.

The first is the dollar amount. A low-value alleged theft is viewed very differently from one approaching the felony line, and the amount influences what the office is willing to offer. The second is your history, specifically whether you have any prior theft-related record. A true first-time offender with no theft history is in the strongest possible position, and that is exactly where the best resolutions live. Where there is a prior, the case takes more work, but good outcomes are still very achievable with the right approach.

The Goal Is Dismissal, and Here Is How I Get There

My objective in a petit larceny case is dismissal, so that the charge disappears and leaves no criminal record. The most common path to that in Nassau is an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal.

An adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, or ACOD, under Criminal Procedure Law § 170.55, is one of the best outcomes available in the criminal justice system, and it is frequently achievable in these cases. With an ACOD, you plead guilty to nothing and admit nothing. The case is adjourned, typically for six months, and as long as you stay out of trouble, it is then automatically dismissed and sealed, treated as if the arrest never happened, with no criminal record. It requires the District Attorney’s consent, which is precisely why the negotiation, and having an attorney the office knows and trusts, is everything.

In a representative Nassau County petit larceny case I handled, after reviewing the evidence and conferencing with the District Attorney, I was able to convince the office to offer my client an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. After six months, the case was dismissed and sealed. That is a common result when I handle these cases in Nassau County, though every case turns on its own facts and prior results do not guarantee a future outcome.

The best outcome in a petit larceny case is one where, six months later, it is as if the arrest never happened, no plea, no conviction, dismissed and sealed. That result is very often achievable, and it is what I aim for.

Edward R. Palermo, Esq.Long Island Criminal & DWI Defense

The Conditions, and Getting Them Done Early

An ACOD sometimes comes with conditions, and in shoplifting cases these are usually modest: an online anti-theft course such as the Stoplift program, a number of community service hours, or both. These are far from onerous, and they are part of the negotiation.

One thing I frequently do is arrange for the client to complete the required class or community service upfront, during the adjournment period, so that everything is done and the dismissal proceeds cleanly. In some cases I am also able to negotiate a shorter adjournment period than the full six months. Handling these details well is part of making the whole experience as short and painless as possible, which is what these clients want and deserve.

When the Case Should Be Fought Instead

Not every case should be resolved by agreement. Sometimes the evidence is genuinely weak, the video does not show what the store claims, the identification is questionable, the intent is not there, or the property was never actually taken from the premises. In those cases, an ACOD may not even be necessary, and an outright dismissal or a favorable trial result is the right goal.

Trials in these cases are rare, in decades of practice I have tried very few petit larceny cases, and I won the one that comes to mind, but the willingness and ability to try a case is part of what gives a negotiation its weight. When I tell a prosecutor the evidence has a problem, it carries more force because they know I will take a case to trial if I have to. Most of the time, that credibility is what produces the favorable resolution without ever needing a trial.

Why This Charge Is Worth Taking Seriously

It would be easy to assume that because jail is unlikely, a petit larceny charge can be handled casually, or even without a lawyer. That is a mistake. The difference between a conviction and a dismissal on your record is enormous, and it is not automatic, it depends on what happens with the District Attorney, and that depends heavily on who is representing you.

A conviction for a crime of theft is a mark of dishonesty that employers, licensing boards, and immigration authorities treat seriously, sometimes more seriously than they would treat a more serious-sounding charge, because it goes to trustworthiness. Protecting against that outcome, on what feels like a small case, is exactly where experienced representation earns its value.

Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s Make This Go Away

A shoplifting arrest is frightening, and it feels like it threatens everything you have built. In the large majority of these cases, it does not have to. My goal is to resolve your case in a way that leaves no criminal record, and after 31+ years and hundreds of these cases, I know how to work toward that in Nassau County.

I have represented more than 2,000 clients across Nassau and Suffolk, and I have never worked for the other side. For the full picture of how I defend criminal cases here, see my Nassau County criminal defense page, or look through my case results.