When our son Chad drives home from college over school breaks, within minutes of his arrival my wife and I go to work sorting and then washing what seems like an entire trunk load of soiled clothing. It is part of a family ritual that we all look forward to when our children return home for the holidays.

But this December things were different, and that is why I am writing. As my wife and I sorted the clothing, something was very much out of place. He had a lot of new, expensive, designer shirts, sweaters and slacks, things he could never afford to buy as they are well beyond his budget.

Chad said that a friend in his fraternity works at a department store and gets a huge discount. Even assuming a 50 percent discount our son could only afford to buy one or two shirts, not 15 shirts and 10 pairs of slacks. When he told us that just about everyone in the frat house buys clothes from the same “bro,” something did not seem right.

The day after our son came home, a detective with the University’s Police Department phoned and wanted to interview him. He assured me that if Chad cooperated, no criminal charges would be filed. What should we do? Thanks.
— Kings County readers.

Lifelong consequences

When that e-mail came in, I immediately phoned my readers. While new and disturbing to them, this is a fairly common situation, and extremely serious. The mechanics are simple: a college student gets a part-time job at a department store and then rings up sales at greatly reduced prices, or just puts items in a bag and hands them to friends.

“It is all very exciting, and to college students who want to look sharp but haven’t got the money, it’s like your birthday and the holidays rolled into one,” is the way one of my clients — then in college and a fraternity — described the feeling. “Suddenly, I felt cool. It was an amazing rush, but so stupid, as you fail to realize that this is stealing, and that you have become a thief,” he admitted.

Cooperation with the police and restitution to a Southern California department store kept him out of jail, and today, years later, he is a successful — and honest — building contractor. “It was the scare of my life, and had a lasting, positive effect,” he told me when we talked recently. “Suddenly words such as morality and ethics took on a personal meaning. I wish I had not done it, but the experience changed me,” he said.

The consequences of what Chad has apparently done can be well beyond what he ever would have thought possible. “It could easily lead to the loss of a college scholarship, criminal prosecution, a felony record, loss of the right to vote, ineligibility to work for the government or law enforcement, to list only a few. Most college students who get involved in these activities do not realize that what they are doing is so serious, and that’s part of the frustration in dealing with kids who are legally adults, yet lacking in real-world maturity,” Hanford Criminal Defense Attorney Bill Parry told me when I ran these facts by him.

“If you fast forward three or four years, given the same opportunity, they would never even consider taking the clothing. But when you are 20 and in a fraternity, there is a group- think mentality that can interfere with clear reasoning and understanding consequences,” Mr. Parry added.

A little boy once again

I asked my readers to put their son on an extension phone. If ever you wanted
evidence that the human brain can still be immature at age 20, this was it.

“Chad,” I began, “I need you to level with me. “Did you honestly think that your bro could outfit his friends for cents on the dollar? Or did the notion that maybe he was stealing from the department store cross your mind — or was it possibly discussed on Friday night over a keg of beer?”

“Well, uh, I guess, but it was cool having such great stuff to wear,” he replied, with a tone of voice that made me wonder if he thought this was a joke. “Have you heard of Penal Code Sections 496 or 459?” I asked.

He had not.

“It is Receiving Stolen Property and Burglary — entering a commercial building with the intent of stealing, and, depending upon the value involved, and who is doing what you could be looking at felony prosecution and possible time in custody. The campus police obviously have reason to believe that you are involved in something. How much they know is unclear. So now, you have some very tough ethical and moral questions to deal with,” I said.

Long silence

Chad said nothing at first. But then, instead of a know-it-all 20-year-old, college student, frat brother, I could almost see the tears running down the face of a frightened little boy. “Are you saying that I could go to jail, and that I might have to tell the police who gave me the clothing? Are you saying that? I can’t, I won’t do that!” he yelled, crying.

“Right now, all we know is that the police have reason to suspect your involvement and they want to talk with you. In my opinion, if you ignore the detective’s request, you are playing with fire. Personally, while lawyers may differ, I would never recommend ignoring the officer’s request.

Advice from a criminal attorney

“Chad needs a lawyer, and he needs to cooperate — under the strict advice of his attorney. I am encouraged by the detective saying that he does not want to arrest or charge Chad — and this might lead to a formal agreement to not prosecute. At this stage not enough is known, but the worst thing he could do would be to ignore the request for an interview. The family needs to retain an attorney who practices law in that town, someone who has worked with the police and who knows who can be trusted,” Hanford Attorney Parry concluded, and that is the exact same advise that I gave to my readers.

When I discussed the facts of this case with one of the most articulate Probation Officers I have ever spoken with — Humboldt County Chief Probation Officer Doug Rasines — he eloquently summed up the crossroads this young man stood before:

Involvement in criminal activity — especially at this age — can by itself cast a dark cloud over the way others see your basic character and morality. These issues have a lasting impact on future employment opportunities, especially with positions of trust. Chad probably never asked himself the question, “What does this say about my honesty and trustworthiness?”

We know the answer today. But, in addition to parents who have a strong sense of right and wrong, Chad has something else on his side: his youth and the chance to make things right. I believe he will.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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On Saturday, Sept. 13, at around 10 in the morning, June was purchasing gasoline at a Brookside Market service station close to her home in Bakersfield. Walking back into the store for change, she found a customer’s wallet right outside the door.

“I took it immediately to the clerk, and told him that we needed to locate the owner. I was worried that someone either did not know he had lost a wallet, or was madly trying to find out where he could have lost it,” she told me.

“We looked for a phone number, but found none. But what we did find could easily become the basis of identity theft: Social Security number, auto and health insurance cards, credit cards, driver’s license and cash. The clerk told me not to worry, that he would take care of the matter, and do what he could to return the wallet to its owner,” June said.

“I checked back several hours later as I wondered if they were doing anything at all to locate David. I just had a bad feeling, and felt both an obligation and desire to help get that wallet returned,” she added.

June is a retired elementary school teacher and reads You and the Law online. She reached me on my cell phone at about 3 p.m.

We would soon both learn that her fears were completely justified. Without knowing it, she had become legally responsible for whatever happened to David’s wallet, and possibly for expenses incurred in preventing identity theft.

A duty to find the owner

If you rent a car and find a ten dollar bill in the glove box, no one would seriously deny your right to keep it. But, find a bag inside the trunk containing thousands of dollars, while tempting, few people would seriously believe the money was theirs to keep without first notifying law enforcement.

The old saying, “Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers,” makes sense occasionally, but not in that circumstance.

Funny thing is, at one time, “Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers” really was the law! Where it was felt something was unowned or abandoned, whoever found it could claim ownership. However, in the mid 1800’s courts no longer felt this was a valid legal theory.

Judges began to ask common sense questions:

How do we know if the item was abandoned — just thrown away — or lost? Misplaced? Does the “owner” want it back, or given up all rights to possession? And, if its return is desired, can ownership be demonstrated? Today, all states have laws which require finders of “lost” property take certain steps before being allowed to keep what they’ve found.

If you have Internet access, it worth looking at California Civil Code Section 2080, which describes our legal duties when finding lost property.

It’s important to understand there is no legal obligation “to take charge,” of what you have found. So, June did not have to pick up that wallet and give it to a clerk at the Brookside Market. But since they both “took charge” of the wallet, then Civil Code Section 2080 created a legal obligation of attempting to inform the owner that his wallet had been found and to do this within a reasonable time.

In this situation “reasonable” required prompt action. Not in a few hours, not tomorrow, but making an attempt as rapidly as possible.

“Today, with the risk of identify theft so great, I can easily imagine that poor guy going crazy, trying to find his wallet, and probably canceling credit cards, ATM cards, making reports all over the place, to prevent becoming an identify theft victim,” I was told by “Eric,” a security manager for Chevron mini markets in California.

Eric told me that, in his opinion, any service station employee, in that situation, should at once try to find a phone number, through Google, the phone book, anyway possible, just as soon as they could, to help their customer. “And if not immediately successful, to call the police and give them the wallet,” he stressed.

As logical as that seems, as considerate as that would be for Brookside’s customer, that’s not what happened. As I would soon learn, no one at that Brookside Market and Deli did a thing to find the owner of that wallet.

It’s Confidential

Setting up a conference call between myself, June and the market, I explained why I was calling and asked what they had done by that time, roughly 3 p.m.

“Nothing beyond looking in his wallet,” a “Vicky” told me. I asked if they would give me name and address information from the driver’s license, and I would use my data bases to locate him. Vicky refused, stating, “That’s confidential.” She was as wrong as wrong could be, and then told us something which was both maddening and said something about the intellectual capacity of Brookside’s employees:

“Well, the guy did come in looking for his wallet earlier today, but the clerk who took it from June wasn’t there at the time and put in the wrong place. He also didn’t tell anyone else working here that we had this lost wallet.”

I again said, “Look, there is a legal duty to return it to the poor guy. He’s probably sick with worry about all of his personal information and credit cards. It will take me 5 minutes to locate him, and if not, you can call the police and give it to them.” Vicky again refused. She also refused to put me in touch with management.

I phoned another Brookside Market in the Bakersfield area, explained the situation, asked to be put in touch with someone in management, and was refused.

Finally-still with June on the line — I called Brookside back, and was told by a now sarcastic, short-tempered, Vicky, they had just “given it to a police officer.”

I confirmed that statement with an extremely polite and professional Bakersfield Police Officer Hernandez who told me the owner had been notified his wallet was at the police station.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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December 8, 2025  • By Dennis Beaver

“I got hurt on the job — in my first few minutes, actually — and can’t find a lawyer anywhere to take my case.” That was how my conversation began with 17-year-old “Beau,” who was calling from Charleston, S.C.

“Well, Beau, what kind of job do you have, and how were you injured?”

“Mr. Beaver, you will figure it out sooner or later, so I might as well be upfront. This was to be a weekend job as a porch pirate, working for a guy who runs a crew. A box I picked up exploded, spraying pink glitter everywhere — like what would happen in a gender reveal — and then a loud alarm sounded.

“In my hurry to get away, I tripped over a sprinkler head on the front lawn, fell and fractured my right wrist.

“I want to file a workers’ compensation claim and also sue the homeowner who rigged this booby-trapped package, but when I try to speak with an attorney, everyone laughs at me.”

I thought, “Yeah, I would, too!” But why would a porch pirate, also known as a thief, from the South be calling me?

Morally satisfying, entertaining videos

We’ve all seen — on the news and other websites — videos of a porch pirate swiping a package and walking away with a look of great satisfaction on their face, and then BOOM! The package explodes, covering the thief in brightly colored powdered dye or glitter. Next, we hear the creep swearing loudly.

There are hundreds of these videos that are morally satisfying, especially to anyone who has been the victim of a porch pirate.

Unfortunately, many are AI-generated, but everyone I’ve spoken to enjoys watching the instant karma that’s delivered.

Now, going into business as a porch pirate requires only two things: a vehicle and being morally bankrupt. But what if you don’t have reliable transportation that enables a quick getaway and still have dreams of financial independence through theft?

You go to work for someone who has both.

As Beau explained, “I met a guy who hires people to steal packages. The process was very smooth, very professional.” This is how Beau described it:
The “employer” had one vehicle follow actual delivery drivers and report the addresses where parcels were delivered.

Wearing high-visibility safety vests, Beau and his cohorts were driven to those addresses, where they placed a business card for a tree trimming company on the porch near the recently delivered package, took a photo of it to make the process appear legit, then they would grab the package and leave. (The boss wanted a photo to keep all the Beaus from ripping him off.)

Not only did Beau share a photo of this event, he had an actual video — from walking up to the porch to when he fell.

“This was my first house,” he said. “I was nervous, and instead of selecting the photo option on my phone, I accidentally pushed the button for video.” (He also mistakenly picked up a package that had already been sitting on the porch, not the one that had just been delivered.)

He played it for me. I almost fell out of my chair, laughing.

Why was this South Carolina teen reaching out to a lawyer in California?

Beau explained that he did not tell his father what “the job” was, only that he fell and needed to speak with an attorney.

“My dad reads your Kiplinger column, and you interviewed a lawyer there some time ago, so we thought you might be able to put us in touch with someone.”

Even if I could, I would not.

Could a homeowner actually be held liable in this case?

Every law student in America can tell you about the 1971 Iowa Supreme Court case Katko v. Briney.

The Brineys owned an unoccupied farmhouse that had been repeatedly vandalized and burglarized. They set up a loaded shotgun trap in a bedroom, set to fire when the door was opened, aimed to hit an intruder in the legs. No warning signs were posted.

Katko broke into the house to steal antique bottles and jars and was severely injured when he triggered the trap.

After pleading guilty, he sued the Brineys for actual and punitive damages and was awarded $30,000. The Brineys had to sell much of their farm to satisfy the judgment.

I remember to this day the outrage of students in Professor Ogren’s torts class at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. How could any lawyer help to reward this thief? How could a state Supreme Court validate the judgment?

This case is still precedent for the proposition that courts do not approve of potentially deadly booby traps, placing human safety over the value of property.

The law generally permits the use of deadly force only when a person is present and faces an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. Booby traps, by definition, operate when the owner is likely not present, removing the possibility of a human judgment call on the necessity of force.

Clearly, our genius Beau tripped over a sprinkler head — which was not part of the booby trap — and the glitter did not cause injury. Juries and judges would think, “The kid got what he deserved” — and that is why no lawyer playing with a full deck would take his case.

Has any homeowner been prosecuted or sued for an exploding “bait” package of glitter or dye? I could find no cases, anywhere, over the past several years.

That said, it isn’t recommended that you booby-trap your packages.

My advice to Beau

I thanked Beau for his call, telling him that he was far luckier than he realized.

“You were about to embark on a path that could lead to state prison. Think of the fractured wrist as the luckiest break of your life. Get an education, or a trade, steer clear of creeps who dangle quick-money schemes before your eyes. Also, tell your family the truth and about our conversation.”

He promised to do so. I think he will.

Dennis Beaver Practices law in Bakersfield and welcomes comments and questions from readers,
which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993,
or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1 – at – Gmail.com.

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You’ve just discovered that an employee has been stealing cash and you want every cent back. To recover that money, several options are available, but one could get you in big trouble. We’ll tell you what it is in a moment, but first meet “Jill,” who runs her own resume writing service located in a northern California university town.

“Most of our clients are about to graduate and need a reasonably priced, attention-getting resume. Our $75 ‘Builder’ package lets them complete a questionnaire, select a style, and walk out with a CD Rom or flash drive containing a one-page resume, cover and thank you letters, all that is needed for entry-level job applications,” she explained.

“We are cash only. Seeing hundreds of dollars pass through her hands was too great a temptation for ‘Taylor,’ who worked for us about two years and comes from a prominent family that can trace its roots to the founding of the university.

“CCTV security video shows Taylor repeatedly stuffing customers’ cash into her purse, and our data reveals no accounting entry for dozens of resumes which were created during a one month time frame when she was the only person working. The loss comes to $3,500.

“She lives with her parents and I want to send her and them a letter, along with a CD rom video clip, giving an opportunity to repay the loss or I will go to the police. My fiancée reads your column and felt it best to ask you before doing anything.”

Where common sense collides with the law

We ran our reader’s question by Jane and Riley Parker, both California licensed private investigators. “If Jill sends that letter,” Jane warns, “she opens herself up to being charged with blackmail, or extortion as it is sometimes called, which is a felony.”

“Blackmail?” you are probably thinking, “Isn’t blackmail like threatening to expose someone’s affair unless they pay up? Jill is just giving the girl or her family a chance to make it right before going to the police. That’s fair, it’s the right thing to do, and it’s just plain common sense, so how could it be blackmail?”

“Yes,” Riley agrees, “You would think that it is common sense, and in this instance, common sense and the law collide. It is the first thing private investigators warn clients not to do when employee theft is discovered,” adding, “They are usually frustrated and find this to be counter-intuitive, until we read them the legal definition of blackmail.”

All states define blackmail and extortion just about the same way. In California, Penal Code section 518 makes it illegal to use force or threats to compel someone to give you money or other property. This includes threats to accuse the targeted person of a crime, to reveal a secret or to expose the person to embarrassment.

Go to the police – Just don’t threaten to unless paid

So, Jill can go to the police and request that criminal charges are filed against Taylor, but she cannot use that as leverage to get the embezzler to cough up the $3,000. Think of this another way; you have the legal right to do something, but can’t threaten to do it unless your money or property is returned.

Let’s say that Jill wants to give Taylor a chance to make things right. What could she – or better yet, her lawyer – state in such a letter to Taylor and not get in trouble?

“In our experience, we’ve found that an embezzling employee isn’t going to be motivated by a phone call or letter from the employer. Instead, an attorney’s letter advising of legal consequences should the money not be repaid bring this to a higher level in the crook’s mind and is always worth the small expense,” the Parkers strongly maintain.

Be careful of who you tell

A moment ago you just read the words, “in a letter to Taylor.” We did not say, “To Taylor and her family.” Why?

“Dennis, you do not want to be the victim of embezzlement and then sued by the former employee for defamation, but we have seen this happen far too often. What if the employer is wrong? What if there is a reasonable explanation for what looked like theft?

“Do not contact family, friends and neighbors. Unless instructed by your attorney, you should not discuss your investigation with other employees as you might not know their relationship. And whatever you do, don’t offer special favors to co-workers if they will snitch on the suspected embezzler.

“We have seen employers who sought to crush a former employee be forced to pay fortunes to defend themselves. Some battles are not worth fighting,” Jane and Riley Parker concluded.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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