Timothy Fradenburg appeals his conviction by jury on one count of felony theft by shoplifting. In his sole enumeration of error, he asserts that the trial court erred in refusing to give a curative instruction to the jury regarding the prosecutor’s remarks during closing argument about his race and socioeconomic status. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that a loss prevention officer at a Dekalb County Sam’s Club retail store saw Fradenburg shoplift a home theater system, the value of which exceeded $300, from the store on March 17, 2004. Specifically, Fradenburg entered the store, went to the electronics department, placed a BOSE home theater system valued at $398.72 in a shopping cart, and then purchased the home theater system at the photo department, where he was given a receipt for his purchase. After stopping briefly to look at film, Fradenburg made his way back to the electronics department, where he put the home theater system back on the shelf. Leaving the home theater system on the shelf, Fradenburg next went to the DVD section, where he placed two DVDs in his shopping cart without looking through the DVD selection. Fradenburg then proceeded at a rapid pace through other departments of the store, making seemingly random merchandise selections such as frozen lasagna and tulips, quickly grabbing the items and placing them in his cart. The loss prevention officer noted that Fradenburg appeared to pay no attention to what items he was placing in his cart, a practice that in his experience was atypical of normal shopping. Fradenburg then went to the electronics department for a third time, this time placing a larger BOSE home theater system valued at $1,163.62 —over $700 more than the previous system he had purchased and placed back on the shelf —in his shopping cart. Fradenburg meandered throughout the store, making random turns and avoiding faux security camera domes in the ceiling, until he reached the plant section. Fradenburg picked up a potted palm plant and placed it in his cart on top of the more expensive BOSE system. Fradenburg’s next destination was the pharmacy section, where he selected some over-the-counter medicine and approached the pharmacy cashier to pay for the merchandise he had selected since switching out the BOSE systems. Fradenburg flashed his receipt for the less expensive BOSE system at the pharmacy cashier and told her he had already paid for the more expensive BOSE system in the cart. The cashier did not inspect the receipt, but instead only rang up the remaining items in the cart. After paying for everything in the cart except the BOSE system, Fradenburg went to the store’s cafe and purchased a slurpy, which he sat and drank for a few minutes. The loss prevention officer noted that shoplifters frequently engage in the tactic of stopping briefly near the store’s exit to see if they are being surveilled before exiting the store. Fradenburg finally walked out of the store’s exit doors, carrying with him the more expensive BOSE system for which he had not paid.
The loss prevention officer approached Fradenburg outside the store, identified himself, and asked Fradenburg to accompany him to the loss prevention office. Fradenburg complied, and it was confirmed that he had the more expensive BOSE system in his possession, but that he only had a receipt for the less expensive one he left in the store. The loss prevention officer, in accordance with company policy regarding shoplifters, refunded Fradenburg all the money he spent at the store that day, and a Dekalb County police officer arrived and took Fradenburg into custody.
