Case dismissed? Saks Off 5th shoplifting suspect gets an offer he can't refuse

Third Precinct Police issued a Desk Appearance Ticket to accused shoplifter Faruque Ahmed, 58, at Saks Off Fifth on Old Country Road.Photo byC.J. Teevan

A Petit Larceny case against a 58-year-old Queens man are on track for dismissal after a judge granted an Assistant District Attorney's motion at the man's arraignment.

Saks On Fifth store security accused Faruque Ahmed of shoplifting at the store on Old Country Road in Garden City, Long Island. Saks claimed Ahmed walked off with $500+ worth of merchandise stuffed in a duffel bag and tucked in a baby stroller while he and a companion waslked through the store.

Police wrote Ahmed a Desk Appearance Ticket with a court date to answer a Petit Larceny charge. He arrived in Nassau County Court for his arraignment -- without a lawyer.

Apparently, he didn't need one. After the charges were read, the judge informed Ahmed that his criminal case would be adjourned and be dismissed in six months, if he was not arrested again before then for something else.

The adjournment and any conditions are up to the judge, but is requested by the District Attorney's office.

"Adjourned in Contemplation of Dismissal" -- aka ACD -- is a favor Nassau County Police and prosecutors do for certain defendants. Criminal cases scheduled for ACD are is typically dismissed if the defendant doesn't get arrested again for 6 months.

Nassau County judges are now scheduling cases for automatic dismissal, provided a defendant is not arrested for 6 months.Photo byMarkus SpiskeonUnsplash

Many of those accused defendants were caught red-handed, some on camera like Ahmed, and charged with Petit Larceny. And not all are accused of shoplifting. Court records show ACD motions were granted this summer for defendants accused of possessing fireworks, homeless people sleeping at a train station, and people who were fishing without a state fishing license.

That's what happened last month to Ahmed. He had just pled "Not Guilty" through his court-appointed Legal Aid lawyer. Then he heard those magic words: ACD.

The case against Ahmed sounded strong. In a signed, sworn statement, a witness who works for Saks as Loss Prevention Supervisor told police: On July 10, 2024, at 1:37 p.m., while "conducting routine surveillance on CCTV", he watched a man in the store stuff a large duffel bag with 5 pairs of pants. That shopper was later ID'd as Ahmed, say police.

The sworn statement states: "I then observed the subject select a pair of shoes and put them on. Subject then took his own shoes and placed them in the duffel bag."

The statement says the Saks employee saw that same suspect put on the shoes he'd just taken off the Saks rack; the same man was wearing those new shoes as he browsed through the Men's Department.

According to Saks, the suspect stopped at a belts display, allegedly picked out a new belt and "conceal[ed] it in a stroller that someone he was with had."

Then the suspect got on line at the cashier and bought something, according to the Saks security employee. But before the suspect left, the Saks supervisor "verified" with the cashier "that the items purchased were not the items he concealed in the duffel bag."

Store Security stopped Ahmed at the exit and detained him. Then Saks called the police.

Retail value of the shoes, belts and five pairs of pants, according to Saks Off 5th: $534.99. That qualified for Petit Larceny charge.

3rd Precinct Police arrived at 2:15 p.m. and questioned the suspect -- now identified as Furuque Ahmed -- and handed him a Desk Appearance Ticket for July 25, 2024. It listed a single charge under New York Penal Law 155.25.

When Ahmed's name was called for his arraignment, he stood before before Judge Jaclene Agazarian and pleaded "Not Guilty" to Petit Theft.

But a minute later the District Attorney asked the judge to "adjourn" this criminal matter "in contemplation of dismissal."

Judge Agazarian granted the motion. Then she explained to Ahmed -- who appeared stunned -- that he won't have to come back to court. The dismissal is automatic, she said, if Ahmed is not arrested for the next six months. After that, she said, no one will ever know he had been arrested on July 10.

Not everyone gets ACD treatment. Defendants who resist arrest, or are also arraigned for drug possession or other crimes, must continue to appear as scheduled and may be ordered to retain their own attorney if they can afford one.

So far, Furuque Ahmed's name has not appeared on court records in New York State since Judge Agazarian granted the District Attorney's ACD motion.

Ahmed has just over 5 months to go.

The Men's Department at Saks Off Fifth.Photo byC.J. Teevan