N'western Student charged with theft after eating $0.41 of candy

hoosier · #1 05-07-2004, 03:22 PM

Student charged with theft after eating $0.41 of candy

A Northwestern student was charged Sunday with retail theft after she ate two to three pieces of candy from a bulk bin at an Evanston convenience store before paying for it, police said.

Alison Baenen, 21, was arrested Sunday at 12:04 a.m. at White Hen Pantry, 817 Emerson St., said Cmdr. Joe Bellino of Evanston Police Department.

The consumed candy was valued at 41 cents.

Baenen, a Weinberg senior, said she intended to pay for the candy but did not get the chance.

According to Baenen, when she was buying candy, she took a peach ring and ate it. One of the workers behind the counter saw her and told her to stop eating the candy.

She said she apologized and continued to fill her bag with the intent to pay for the candy, but the worker had already called the police.

"I ate the candy and it was wrong and I apologize for that," she said. "And I would have paid whatever he thought necessary to pay but I was never given that option. It was scary."

An officer spoke with the employee and offered to have Baenen pay for the candy and never return to the store.

The employee refused and insisted that he wanted to file a complaint and have Baenen arrested, Bellino said.

Baenen said the experience left a bad taste in her mouth.

"I was really humiliated," she said. "I was handcuffed. I'm a good kid. I'm not what you really call reckless or a danger to society."

Baenen is scheduled to appear in Cook County Circuit Court in Skokie on May 1

33girl · #2 05-07-2004, 03:23 PM

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH GREEK LIFE??????

HederaNaturale · #3 05-07-2004, 03:27 PM

my question, exactly 33girl. however..

I habitually eat food in the grocery store before I pay for it.. I just keep the wrappers and and ring it up when I get to the counter. I've bought chicken nuggets from the deli and paid for an empty box, I always grab a soda when I go to walmart and have them ring the empty bottle several hours later when I'm done shopping, or ring another one if i've lost the bottle. My mom does the same, and I the honor system has always worked for us. I want someone to try to arrest me in a store... holla at me once I attempt to walk through those doors, but until then, I have NOT done anything illegal!

XOMichelle · #4 05-07-2004, 03:43 PM

That is so silly!! I hope the judge asks the girl to give 41 cents to the grocer, and dismisses the case.

valkyrie · #5 05-07-2004, 03:47 PM

LOL, I'd like to be her attorney for this one. She didn't even try to leave the store without paying.

queequek · #6 05-07-2004, 04:25 PM

... and which house does she belong to?

cherrycola · #7 05-07-2004, 04:26 PM

what state is northwestern in? In most states you say theft has taken place until you have exited the store theshold.
maybe she could be charged with conselment of store goods, but theft honestly.
She should sue that guy for being a dumb a$$!!

TheEpitome1920 · #8 05-07-2004, 04:31 PM

Northwestern is in Illinois.

angelove · #9 05-07-2004, 05:08 PM

Okay, when I first saw this I thought it was pretty cut-and-dried ridiculous, and I still agree that it's ridiculous to tie up already overburdened court systems with such a minor deal. But ... she was filling up a bag from a bulk bin and ate a couple of pieces of the candy. Maybe it's different in some grocery stores, but typically when you're buying from the bulk bin, the cashier weighs the bag and charges you according to what's in the bag. It's completely different than drinking a Coke and giving the cashier the empty bottle, because it's a constant price. Same with the deli items - the price has usually been marked on the wrapper by the deli clerk. But in this case, only what's in the bag will get weighed and charged - not what's in the tummy. If the employee had not caught her, does anyone really believe that she would have told the cashier "Oh, by the way, I ate a couple of pieces back there - just weigh two pieces and tack those charges onto by bill." And yes, I realize that it's a risk that grocers take with bulk bins and that they build the price of the occasional nibble into the overall price, but that doesn't mean it's right to nibble. Still, the store grossly overreacted, even though the student should have known better. I've got visions of a "Blues Brothers"-style swarm of armed officers next time there's a shoplifter in that store.

It's like the kid who went on a rampage in a grocery store, eating everything in the produce aisle. His mom told the manager to weigh the kid and she'd pay for everything over forty pounds.

Ditto to 33, HN, and qq re: why is this here? It's an interesting issue but it should be in chitchat. If she is Greek, I hope her chapter/nationals doesn't overreact like the employees.

Tom Earp · #10 05-07-2004, 06:34 PM

Weigh the kid, hell just shoot it (The Kid), better yet shoot the parent!

Another idiot who grows up, maybe and feels they can do it all of the time!

Kevin · #11 05-07-2004, 07:50 PM

The student learned a lesson the hard way. Petty shoplifting like that probably won't even go on her record.

James · #12 05-07-2004, 08:46 PM

Post 9/11 Everything goes on your record.

valkyrie · #13 05-07-2004, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by James
Post 9/11 Everything goes on your record.

That's not necessarily true, my little legal scholar.

CatStarESP4 · #14 05-07-2004, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by HederaNaturale
I habitually eat food in the grocery store before I pay for it.. I just keep the wrappers and and ring it up when I get to the counter. I've bought chicken nuggets from the deli and paid for an empty box, I always grab a soda when I go to walmart and have them ring the empty bottle several hours later when I'm done shopping, or ring another one if i've lost the bottle. My mom does the same, and I the honor system has always worked for us. I want someone to try to arrest me in a store... holla at me once I attempt to walk through those doors, but until then, I have NOT done anything illegal!

My dad does that whenever we go to the supermarket. He pays for whatever he eats or drinks in the store whether he finished it or not.

In some supermarkets, I have noticed that you could get a few samples of candy (Brach's mix and match bulk) for a small cost.

sherbertlemons · #15 05-08-2004, 01:00 AM

I wonder if this will end up hurting the store's business. I'd be scared to go in there if I thought I might get arrested for something so small I wouldn't even think twice about.

I confess i've done the whole have one or two pieces of the bulk bin candy I'm planning to buy, but it's certainly never with the intention of stealing- it's more a nonthinking "I'm hungry now, I'll eat a peice while I'm standing in line" thing.

I really have to wonder what on earth the store clerk was thinking.