I'll go out on a limb here and be honest and admit that during a period of time when my husband was out of work for 8 months I actually shop lifted quite a few times. It wasn't sandwiches but things like buying a pack of chicken and then putting a few produce items in another shopping bag from another store. I was desperate and am horribly embarrassed and won't ever do it again.
However I always bought items (I never just went in and stole items and walked out) and I never did it unless I had the money in my pocket to pay for the item if they caught me. I too was banking on pleading forgetfulness.
That's why this seems really obvious to me as a con. If you added up the number of items I must have stolen over the course of four months it would have amounted to about $300. Karma got me in the end though, I wound up having $330 in overdraft charges because I used the wrong card when I paid.
So I got busted in the end by "some one" even if I never actually got caught by the store.
I would of course never have done it with my kids present. But I don't believe this couple. Like I said, I could imagine that the mother may have forgotten but if you DO eat something walking around the store, which I have also done in my more honest days :crazy: I always made sure it was the FIRST thing I scanned. Even if mom was frazzled and forgot dad should have remembered. It should be number one on your mind when you get to the counter. Chicken sammiches are tasty and unless they were in the store for a few hours it is ridiculous to suggest they "forgot."
I agree that the security guard probably saw them both conceal the wrappers. Like a plastic wrap with a sticker on it that dad rolled up and stuck in his pocket.
WOW, you're an extremely honest person! That's a rarity these days, but I respect what you went through...and it makes sense that this family may have been doing something along those lines.