Name:   GoneFishin - Subject:   Here Come De Judge Date:   2/18/2013 10:02:24 AM

I have done the same thing and never considered it a crime as long as you do not take any unpaid merchandise into the restroom.  It was parked outside the restroom but, obviously, still in the store. How can that be shoplifting????? Case closed.

"Dale Peterson, a former Republican candidate for Alabama agriculture commissioner known for an ad hitting "thugs and criminals" that "don't give a rip," says he will attempt to get a shoplifting charge dismissed.

Peterson was stopped by employees at a Wal-Mart after taking a shopping cart of beer and paper towels past the store's cash registers without paying. He claims he was rushing to the bathroom, not trying to steal beer.

Peterson was arrested Oct. 15 on a charge of third-degree theft of property, the APreports:

Peterson, 67, said he and his wife, Kathy, had friends coming over to watch a football game, and he went to pick up supplies. He said he got ready to check out with less than $40 worth of merchandise, but he had to go to the restroom badly. “I had to go when I went in the store,” he said.

Peterson said he rolled his shopping cart past the cash registers, parked it outside the restroom, and got stopped by store security when he emerged from the restroom. He said he never left the store, and he didn’t know it was considered shoplifting “once you pass the cash registers.”"