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Shoplifting Arrest: Former Miss USA Shannon Marketic

By Laura Strachan, Esq. on August 05, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

It's hard being beautiful. Former Miss USA, Shannon Marketic is adding some new hardware to her collection of pageant crowns -- handcuffs. Marketic was recently arrested in Denton, Texas for shoplifting from a local Target. Released on $500 bail, Marketic unsuccessfully swiped $87 worth of Oil of Olay skin care products and some baby items from the retail chain.

In a statement to the Dallas Morning News, Marketic claimed that the items had rolled beneath her purse in her shopping basket without her knowledge. Although Marketic denies shoplifting, it will not take much to find her guilty of the crime. Shoplifting is a type of theft involving the concealment of merchandise being offered for sale, and claims of innocence or lack of intent can often be disputed by the mere presence of merchandise in a concealed location.

Most states recognize varying degrees of theft, depending on the amount and type of merchandise stolen. In Marketic's case, because the value of the goods was relatively low, her shoplifting will likely be classified as petty theft. Grand theft, a felony, is a classification reserved for higher-value (typically over $500) or more dangerous thefts, such as stealing a car. Under either classification, the presence of a five-finger discount on an individual's criminal record can also serve to make future employment prospects difficult.

This is not the first legal rodeo for Shannon Marketic: she unsuccessfully sued the Sultan of Brunei on charges that he forced her to work as his sex slave in 1997, and was more recently arrested for public intoxication in a Dallas airport in 2007. For smaller shoplifting offenses, fines are the standard punishment, but the presence of additional offenses on her record (even though they are unrelated) may serve to increase her punishment.

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