[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Council of the Village of
New Haven 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 397. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and cited as the "New Haven Retail
Fraud Ordinance."
The purpose of this chapter is to protect the public health,
peace and welfare of property and persons in the Village of New Haven
from persons committing retail fraud.
This chapter is adopted in accordance with and pursuant to the
General Law Village Act, Public Act 3 of 1895, MCL 61.1 et seq., and,
in particular, MCL 67.1.
For the purpose of construction and application of this chapter,
the following definitions shall apply:
To make merchandise, or cause merchandise to be made, not
visible through ordinary observation, regardless of whether there
may be some notice of its presence.
The merchant's stated or advertised price of the merchandise.
Any item of tangible personal property offered for sale to
the public.
An owner or operator of any retail mercantile establishment
or any agent, employee, lessee, consignee, officer, director, franchisee,
or independent contractor of such operator or owner.
A person who is less than 18 years of age, is unemancipated,
and resides with his parents or legal guardian.
A member of the Macomb County Sheriff's Department or
the Village Police Department.
Includes, but is not limited to, the retail store, common
use areas in shopping centers, and all parking areas set aside by
or on behalf of a merchant for the parking of vehicles for the convenience
of the patrons of such retail store.
Any of the following acts or conduct:
Alter, transfer, remove and replace, conceal, or otherwise misrepresent
the price at which merchandise is offered for sale with the intent
not to pay for the merchandise or to pay less than the full retail
value.
Steal merchandise of the store that is offered for sale.
Obtain or attempt to obtain money or property from a retail
store as a refund or exchange for merchandise which was not paid for
and belongs to the retail store with the intent to defaud.
Remove a shopping cart from the premises of a retail store without
the consent of the merchant at the time of such removal with the intention
of depriving the merchant permanently of the possession, use, or benefit
of such cart.
Under-ring merchandise with the intention of depriving the merchant
of the full retail value of the merchandise.
Any place where merchandise is displayed, held, stored, or
offered for sale to the public.
Those push carts of the type or types which are commonly
provided by grocery stores, drug stores, or other retail stores for
the use of the public for transporting commodities in stores and markets
and, incidentally, from the stores to a place outside the store.
Steal, and the past participle "stolen," shall mean the unlawful
taking and carrying away of the property of another with the intent
to permanently deprive that person of that property, whether that
intent exists at the time of the taking and carrying away or is developed
after the unlawful taking and carrying away while still in unlawful
possession of the property.
To cause a cash register or other sales recording device
to reflect less than the full retail value of the merchandise.
If any person conceals upon his person or among his belongings,
unpurchased merchandise displayed, held, stored, or offered for sale
in a retail store and removes that merchandise beyond the last known
station for receiving payments for merchandise in that retail store
without paying the full retail value of such merchandise, such person
shall be presumed to have stolen such merchandise.
It shall be unlawful for any person to commit retail fraud with
respect to property with a value of less than $200 within the Village
of New Haven.
Any person who violates the provisions of this chapter shall,
upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a misdemeanor and be subject
to a penalty not to exceed a fine of $500 and/or imprisonment in the
Macomb County Jail for a period not to exceed 93 days.
The various sections and provisions of this chapter shall be
deemed to be severable, and should any section or provision of this
chapter be declared by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional
or invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of this chapter
as a whole or any section or provision of this chapter, other than
the section or provision so declared to be unconstitutional or invalid.
All existing ordinances and/or resolutions are repealed to the
extent they conflict with this chapter.
This chapter shall not take effect before the twentieth day
after its passage or before the date of its publication, whichever
occurs first, pursuant to MCL 66.1.
