Did Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi show intent to steal?

From Oakland Tribune:

Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi’s claim that she was distracted while carrying $2,445 worth of unpaid clothing items from San Francisco’s Neiman Marcus store will be a tough sell to the district attorney’s office, one criminal law expert says.

The Castro Valley Democrat has asserted, through her spokesman, that she was texting on her cellphone as she carried leather pants, a black leather skirt and a white blouse that she had placed in a Neiman Marcus shopping bag that she brought into the store Oct. 24. After she was confronted outside the store by an employee, she claimed she had intended to pay for the items.

The credibility of her explanation — and how it plays out in the judicial system — could go a long way in determining the 45-year-old Hayashi’s future in politics. About to enter her sixth and final year in the Assembly, Hayashi has amassed nearly $800,000 in campaign contributions with an eye on a state Senate run in 2014.