Alleged Retail Theft
Over the last weekend, the accusation of shoplifting was levied against a Florida prosecutor. The 56-year-old prosecutor, Stacey Honowitz, reportedly works with the Attorney office of Broward. Honowitz has in the past served in a supervisory capacity in the child abuse and sex crimes unit of the office. The prosecutor has also reportedly played prominent roles in several popular cases.
She was arrested last week Saturday and was subsequently charged with a misdemeanor, specifically retail theft following when she was caught stealing on surveillance video. The police report revealed that there was a video footage that showed the prosecutor putting cosmetics worth about $42 inside her purse. The footage further showed that the layer made payment for groceries worth nearly $124. The surveillance video showed Honowitz, her daughter and parents shopping last weekend at a grocery store.
The video also showed when she went through the cosmetics section and when she later placed the cosmetics in her purse. Later, she was also seen paying for groceries and getting in a queue to buy a lottery ticket. Later on, one of the store managers confronted Honowitz who handed the cosmetics she allegedly stole to the manager
Reactions To Alleged Theft
A local shopper while expressing displeasure said that the prosecutor was offering help to the law and shoplifting on the other hand, and that action made no sense.
However, the attorney representing Honowitz has tried to explain what took place. Jayne Weintraub, Honowitz attorney referred to the occurrence as an honest mistake, explaining that the prosecutor, her client, only forgot to make payments for the cosmetics.
She added that the video footage confirmed that she had an intention to make payments. She explained that her client placed the mascara and lipstick in her purse with the intention to make payment but she forgot. She further explained that if she had dropped those items in the cart, they would have slipped out of the cracks.
The attorney explained that Honowitz mistakenly forgot to make payment for the cosmetics by the time she left and paid for the groceries she purchased. The prosecutor, according to the attorney, didn’t exit the store subsequent to when she made payments. She reportedly bought lottery tickets and even chatted with a customer. Those actions in the defense attorney’s opinion showed that there was no intention on her part to commit the crime she was accused of.
A spokesperson from the State Attorney’s office, Constance Simmons, stated that the office was aware of the accusations against the prosecutor. Simmons added that the office was carrying out an administrative review and the prosecutor would be on suspension during the course of the investigation. To that effect, Honowitz currently stands suspended from the job where she allegedly earns a yearly sum of $108,000.
Sources report that the prosecutor wasn’t jailed but was rather issued a notice to the effect that she should appear before a court in Miami-Dade County.
Reputable Prosecutor
Honowitz in the course of her practice has reportedly built for herself the reputation of a tenacious prosecutor as well as a victim’s rights advocate.
A one-time prosecutor, David Frankel, stated that Honowitz was held in high regard and respect in the legal field for her professionalism and honesty. Frankel, who claims to have known the accused prosecutor for over thirty years, explained to a media outlet that she had never expressed fear in fighting for children’s rights even in situations when other people would choose to turn a blind eye. According to Frankel, the lives of several children are better and safer because of Honowitz’ contributions.
Honowitz has two children books to her name which she self-published. The books reportedly border on sexual abuse. Honowitz has also appeared on TV shows as a legal analyst to talk about different crime stories. The prosecutor has been in practice for over thirty years and had never been arrested before the events of last week.