State v. Komok

Sixteen-year-old Joseph Komok (defendant) and his fourteen-year-old sister went to a department store with no money; Komok handed her a baseball cap in the men's department, she picked up leggings in the girls' section and returned, and after both looked around as if checking for observers, she concealed the cap, leggings, and a t-shirt under her sweatshirt while Komok watched, then tried to leave without paying and was stopped by security. At the juvenile hearing, both siblings testified the sister acted alone and that Komok had told her not to take the items, but the trial judge found Komok intended to deprive the store of the property and convicted him of aiding and abetting shoplifting. Komok appealed, arguing the state's theft statute doesn't include the common-law requirement of intent to permanently deprive the owner.