§ 13A-8-222 — Actions Constituting Retail Theft

A person commits the crime of retail theft if, with the intent to obtain or exert unauthorized control over retail merchandise from a retail merchant, retail establishment, or premises of a retail establishment, or with the intent to deprive the owner or retail merchant of his or her retail merchandise of all or some part of the value thereof or without paying for the retail merchandise, he or she knowingly does any of the following:
(1) Conceals upon his or her person or in another manner and takes possession of two or more items of retail merchandise of the retail establishment.
(2) Alters, transfers, or removes the label, price tag, marking, indicia of value, or any other markings that aid in determining the value affixed to retail merchandise in a retail establishment, and purchases, or attempts to purchase, the merchandise at less than its value.
(3) Transfers retail merchandise in a retail establishment from one container to another with the intent to purchase the merchandise at less than its retail value.
(4) Causes the cash register or other sales recording device to reflect less than the retail value of the retail merchandise of a retail establishment.
(5) Fails to scan the barcode and pay for retail merchandise at a cash register or self-checkout register.
(6) Causes the amount paid to be less than the retail merchant’s stated price for the retail merchandise.
(7) Alters, bypasses, disables, shields, or removes any security or alarm device attached to or housing retail merchandise prior to the purchase of the merchandise.
(8) Removes or causes the removal of retail merchandise from the premises of a retail establishment.
(9) Collaborates with an employee of the retail establishment to commit any form of retail theft described in this section.

Legislative History

(Act 2023-531, §1.)