Petty theft

Petty theft is the criminal act of taking something that’s valued is equal to or less than a specific dollar amount, where the item’s value is less than the threshold amount. To be convicted for petty theft, the prosecutor must first convince a jury or a judge of these following reasons:

– The victim did not agree to the taking.

– The defendant intended to claim ownership of the victim’s property permanently.

– The property was taken away from the victim.

– The victim of the crime had a possessory interest in the item taken.

If charged with petty theft, the accused can be facing up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. The sentence is relative to your previous record, as repeat offenders will be handled more extremely than a first time offender.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Grand Theft

A general rule of thumb is if you steal property that is over $950 in value. This is a more severe offense of stealing property. The prosecution can charge it as a misdemeanor or a felony. As a felony, the accused can face up to 3 years in state prison.

Shoplifting

Shoplifting is similar to petty theft; however, it refers to store merchandise. This implies all previous requirements to convince the court if the accused is charged with shoplifting along with:

– The accused exited the store without paying for the merchandise. No matter what the intention, moving the merchandise outside the store is enough to be considered shoplifting.

– Another form of shoplifting is altering or removing price tags. This intent to take money from the merchant by attempting to pay less is also theft.

– Bringing items outside of security parameters like into a private bathroom, could also be considered shoplifting as you move products outside of the store.

Shoplifting can lead to a sentence of up to one year in jail and a relatively small fine of about $500. As stated with the previous theft charges, the sentence will depend on the misdemeanor class and the existence of prior convictions.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]