Posted on 01/09/2012 2:40:57 PM PST by SmithL
In her first public comment since pleading no contest to misdemeanor shoplifting, Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi apologized today for "unintentionally" taking clothing out of a San Francisco store but shed little light on what sparked the theft.
"I accept responsibility and I offer apologies, not excuses," Hayashi said in a written statement. She declined an interview request.
Shortly after the Castro Valley Democrat's arrest in October on a felony charge of stealing nearly $2,500 in clothing, Sam Singer, Hayashi's spokesman, said she had been inside a Neiman Marcus store and walked out of the store while talking on her cellular phone.
Following Hayashi's no contest plea -- which means no guilt was admitted -- her attorney Doug Rappaport said the legislator's behavior had been affected by a benign brain tumor that is curable, treatable and no longer is affecting her.
Hayashi, in her written statement today, did not address the severity of her tumor, when she was diagnosed, or what effect it had on her behavior.
"There were a number of personal factors that led to the situation where I made this absent-minded error," she said. "My medical condition may have complicated the situation, however, I want to be clear that I take full personal responsibility for my actions."
Hayashi said she is "taking steps to deal with my health" while continuing to serve as a legislator.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.sacbee.com ...
As lame as it may sound, I think it’s easy to forget you are holding something. I have almost done this myself. Once I was holding an article of clothing and searching for the matching top or bottom (forgot which...been so long ago). Finally got so used to holding the item along with my purse, I no longer realized I HAD it. I then got distracted - easily done in a department store - and then thought I’d go elsewhere. Thank GOD I noticed I had the item hanging on my arm next to my purse. I kept imagining me trying to explain this one. God was looking out for me. People really DO make honest mistakes.
I don't think I've ever held $2,500 in clothes, much less wandered out of a store with them. I guess she's well into the 1% the Democrats hate so much ... oh, wait, she is a Democrat.
I think it would be very hard not to notice over two thousand dollars worth of unpaid for clothing hanging on your arm-—that’s not something like a t-shirt or pair of socks..........
No mistake.
They were watching her because they suspected that she had shoplifted there in the past. They got her dead-to-rights, this time.
Don’t you feel silly whenever you inadvertently steal $ 2,500. worth of merchandise?
Yep, this happened to me once. As a teen, I once absentmindedly walked out of a store holding some candy in my hand (neccos I think) that I had not yet purchased. Luckily, I quickly realized my mistake and walked back into the store and paid for it, but if I had been caught, I’m not sure the clerk would have believed me if I told him that I had no intent to steal.
Demonrats steal millions from the public every day. I doubt very much she “made a mistake.”
Remember this was “Needless Markups” and included a leather pair of pants. This wasn’t a heavy load for anyone but the wallet.
I thought it was called ‘self medication’.
She won’t do a lick of jail time.
Aw, c'mon. She's a Dem. You're spoiling all our fun :)
So, in a nutshell, she has a benign brain tumor which caused her to “forget” that she had $2500 worth of unpaid clothing on her when she left the store, but the tumor immediately became under control and therefore will not affect her performance as a legislator in any way.
Enough sheeple will buy it.
Even Winona Ryder’s “excuse” wasn’t this lame.
Here are the details, she brought in her own Neiman-Marcus bag, and stuffed it while in the dressing room.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california-budget/ci_19273012
Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi’s claim that she was distracted while carrying $2,445 worth of unpaid clothing items from San Francisco’s Neiman Marcus store will be a tough sell to the district attorney’s office, one criminal law expert says.
snip
texting on her cellphone as she carried leather pants, a black leather skirt and a white blouse that she had placed in a Neiman Marcus shopping bag that she brought into the store Oct. 24. After she was confronted outside the store by an employee, she claimed she had intended to pay for the items.
snip
she was in a dressing cubicle at the time she put the items into the bag. It was at that moment that Hayashi may have exhibited an intent to steal
snip
“What seems unusual to me is the value of it,” Hammerschmidt said. “It would be one thing to say you forgot about something of low value, but when you’re talking about $2,400 worth of clothes, you’re talking about a major purchase, one that would be harder to forget about.”
Not only did Hayashi cross the threshold, she walked between 50 and 100 feet away from the high-end Union Square department store before a Neiman Marcus loss prevention officer stopped her,
snip
Hayashi’s spokesman, Sam Singer, called the alleged theft a “misunderstanding,” saying that she had put items in her bag on the fourth floor of Neiman Marcus and had forgotten that she had them after chatting with a second-floor sales clerk, eating at a cafe and then walking outside the store as she texted.
snip
Hayashi’s husband, Dennis Hayashi, is an Alameda County Superior Court judge.
I once walked out of a store with a small piece of merchandise worth about $5 stuck to my pants. The item in question was some sort of toy that had velcro on one side of it, and it apparently liked the fabric I was wearing enough that it latched on as I was walking by the display. I noticed it when I got out to my car and simply returned it to the store, but it could have been embarrassing if someone had "caught" me outside the store and claimed I'd stolen it.
Brain tumors may trigger random acts of shoplifting items worth over $2440.00. Who knew?
Yeah, we believe you, Mary. /s
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