Commonwealth Pennsylvania v. Sharon Rose

[ 263 Pa. Super. Page 350] Appellant was apprehended on the premises of the Lit Brothers Department Store in Plymouth Meeting Mall in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, by store employees who had probable cause to believe that she was attempting to [ 263 Pa. Super. Page 351] engage in shoplifting. Since the value of the goods was less than $100.00, she was charged with retail theft under 18 Pa.C.S.A. 3929(b)(1), a summary offense. Appellant was acquitted at a trial before a District Justice of the Peace. She thereafter filed a petition to expunge her arrest record in the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (No. 198 Misc. of April Term 1976). The Honorable Frederick B. Smillie refused to grant appellant a hearing on the matter and denied the petition. An appeal was taken to the Superior Court, No. 2128 October Term 1976. The case was remanded for a hearing (29 Pa. Commw. 134, 370 A.2d 1223) in accordance with the Superior Court's decision in Commonwealth v. Malone, 244 Pa. Super. 62, 366 A.2d 584 (1976). Judge Smillie again denied appellant the requested relief after a hearing and this appeal followed.