SHOPLIFTING

In Tennessee, shoplifting is a type of theft that involves knowingly depriving a merchant of the stated price of merchandise by concealing the merchandise, removing the merchandise, altering or transferring any label, transferring the merchandise to another container, or causing the cash register to reflect less than the stated price for the merchandise.  If it is less than $500, it is a misdemeanor.  If it is more than $500, it depends on the value of the merchandise as to the class of felony.

Further, T.C.A. § 40-7-116 allows merchants and their employees or agents to detain persons whom they have probable cause of committing shoplifting.