Hugo v. City Of Fairbanks

658 P.2d 155 (1983)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D is an elderly Eskimo woman. D went to a Fairbanks shopping mall to shop for Christmas presents. D carried a purse, a small tote bag, and a paper sack. The paper sack contained a pair of shoes which D apparently had already purchased elsewhere in the mall. D placed two pairs of suede gloves in the paper sack, then go to another aisle and place four pairs of boys' socks in the paper sack. d then went to another aisle and removed a plastic shopping bag. She took it to the pharmacy checkout stand where she paid for it. d then put the paper sack and its contents (shoes, gloves, and socks) in the plastic bag. She did not pay for the gloves and socks when she paid for the plastic shopping bag, although she could have done so. After purchasing the plastic bag, D returned to the aisle where she had been before and removed two more pairs of gloves which she then placed in the tote bag. D then left the store through a closed checkout stand. D entered the mall and stopped by a refreshment stand nearby but outside the store entrance. D was apprehended in front of the stand. D explained that she left the store to get a Coke at the refreshment stand. D testified that she knew she had the unpurchased socks and gloves when she left the store but that she was thirsty and wanted to buy a Coke and then resume shopping. Defense witness Dr. Peter Marshall testified about the shopping habits of those in Anaktuvuk Pass. (Shoppers bring their purchases to the table, carrying them in whatever manner they can manage. Customers frequently carry items to the front, drop them off, and resume shopping.) The court indicated that it could not determine, on the basis of the evidence presented at trial, whether d intended to return to pay for the goods at some future time. D was convicted and appealed.