Theft crimes are the most common crimes in Los Angeles and throughout California. Theft is the unlawful taking of another person’s property. There are numerous theft crimes in California. Theft crimes fall under two main categories: petty theft and grand theft. Under California law, a theft crime can be either a felony or a misdemeanor. Several factors could make a theft crime a felony:
1. Property Value
When you commit a theft crime, you deprive a person of their property temporarily or permanently. The value of the stolen property will determine whether the crime qualifies as a felony or misdemeanor. Under California law, a theft crime can be petty theft or grand theft, depending on the property value. A petty theft crime is a misdemeanor offense, but grand theft is a wobbler, meaning that the prosecutor may charge the crime as a felony or misdemeanor. You will face grand theft charges if you steal property whose value exceeds $950. When determining the property value, the court determines the property's present market value when you took it rather than the property's original purchase price.
If the property value is below $950, you will face petty theft charges. Any theft crime that does not qualify as grand theft is likely to attract petty theft charges. You are also expected to face petty theft misdemeanor charges if the character of the property you steal doesn't qualify it as grand theft.
After the passage of Proposition 47 on November 4, 2014, you can only face misdemeanor charges if the value of the property you steal does not exceed $950, irrespective of the prevailing circumstances. You are also likely to face felony charges if you steal a firearm.
2. The Character Of Property You Steal
The character of the property you steal will also determine whether you face felony or misdemeanor theft charges. Under certain circumstances, you could face grand theft charges even if the value of the property you steal does not exceed $950. For instance, you are likely to face felony theft charges if you steal a car, even if the car’s value is below $950. Likewise, you are likely to face felony charges if you steal a motorboat or a firearm, irrespective of the property value.
You could face felony theft charges even if the value of the stolen property is less than $950 if any of the following applies:
- The property you steal includes a firearm
- The property you stole included a vehicle
- You stole certain types of animals, including sheep, pig, horse
- You took the property off the person of its owner. For instance, you could have taken the property from the owner’s body, clothing, or a container held by him or her.
3. Your Criminal History
Whether you face felony or misdemeanor charges will also depend on your criminal history. For example, a repeat criminal offender is highly likely to face felony theft charges even if the value of property stolen is not more than $950. Therefore, you may face felony charges for committing a petty theft offense, depending on your previous theft crimes convictions.
Regardless of the property type and the property value, grand theft charges may apply if you commit theft and you have any of the following convictions on your record:
- A sex crime conviction requires you to register as a sex offender according to California’s sex offender registration act.
- You have a prior conviction of committing a serious felony, including rape, murder, child molestation, and other sexually violent crimes.
If you continually steal from your employer, taking money, personal property, and labor, you could face felony grand theft charges if the value of property stolen within 12 months exceeds $950.
What happens if you commit multiple grand theft acts against the same person, usually an employer?
Multiple acts of theft will lead to more than one grand theft charge. You will face separate charges for every grand theft offense that you commit. However, you can only face charges for one count of grand theft if the crimes were all part of one common scheme or plan.
4. Petty Theft With A Prior
If you have a prior theft conviction on your record and commit petty theft, the offense becomes a wobbler, with a possibility of facing felony charges. The California PC 666 outlines the crime of petty theft with a prior. For a penalty enhancement under PC 666 to apply, the prosecutor must prove that:
- The defendant has a prior conviction of committing a theft crime
- The defendant served jail time or imprisonment due to that conviction
- The defendant has a previous conviction for a particular sex crime or violent felony
Previous convictions that could lead to enhanced penalties after committing a subsequent petty theft offense include:
- PC 488 — Petty theft
- PC 487 — Grand theft
- PC 459 — Burglary
- PC 215 — Carjacking
- PC 211 — Robbery
- PC496 — Felony receiving of stolen property
Just having a previous theft conviction is not enough to attract enhanced penalties under PC 666. The following need to apply for you to be convicted under PC 666:
- You should have a prior sex crime conviction requiring you to register as a sex offender.
- You have a previous conviction for a serious or violent felony.
Felony Grand Theft Firearm
The California PC 487(d)(2) makes it a crime to commit the grand theft of a firearm. You will face felony charges if the firearm's value is more than $950 or if you have certain previous convictions. Before the passage of Prop 47 in 2014, any theft of a gun was an automatic grand theft, often attracting felony charges. However, after the passage of Prop 47, the theft of a gun is only considered grand theft if any of the following is true:
- The value of the firearm or firearms that the defendant steals exceeds $950
- The defendant has a previous conviction for a serious crime
If any or both of the two factors outlined above do not apply, the theft of a firearm may be petty theft, thus attracting misdemeanor charges. Past convictions that could turn a firearm theft into felony grand theft firearm are;
- Oral copulation with a minor below 14 years, or ten years younger than the defendant
- Violent sexual offenses, which are sexual offenses committed through force, coercion, violence, menace, or fear of immediate physical harm.
- Sodomy with a minor below 14 years or ten years younger than the defendant
- Lewd acts with a minor below 14 years
- Statutory rape of a person below 14 years or ten years younger than the defendant
- Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated
- Attempted murder or murder
- Any serious or violent felony punishable by imprisonment or death under California law
- Possession of a mass destruction weapon
- Any sex offense other than the offenses listed above requires you to register as a sex offender.
There are several ways of committing grand theft firearm:
- Firearm theft by larceny
- Firearm theft by trick
- Firearm theft by false pretense
- Firearm theft by embezzlement
Under California law, the crime of grand theft firearm is a felony offense. The penalties for the violation may include:
- Formal (felony) probation
- Imprisonment in a state prison in California for sixteen months, two years, or three years
- A fine that does not exceed $10,000
California law considers grand theft of a firearm a severe felony. Therefore, committing this crime will earn you a strike on your record according to California's Three Strikes Law. Therefore, if you commit a grand theft firearm crime and commit a subsequent felony, you will face twice the applicable penalties for the offense. If you accumulate three or more strikes on your record, you will be subject to 25 years of life imprisonment.
Felony Grand Theft Auto
According to California PC 487 (d)(1), it is an offense to take another person’s vehicle without their permission. For you to face felony grand theft auto, the car you stole must be worth more than $950. The prosecutor must also prove that you intended to deprive the vehicle owner of the vehicle temporarily or permanently. Finally, the prosecutor will consider how long you intended to keep the car. If you intended to keep the vehicle for a significant period or forever, you are likely to face felony grand theft auto charges.
The crime of grand theft auto is a wobbler, meaning that the prosecutor may charge the offense as a misdemeanor or felony. However, in practice, grand theft auto is often charged as a felony. The penalties for felony grand theft auto include:
- A jail time of sixteen months, two years, or three years in a county jail
- A fine that doesn’t exceed $10,000.
- Both the fine and the imprisonment
The sentencing may increase to two, three, or four years in county jail if the defendant has a previous auto theft conviction. You will receive additional and consecutive imprisonment if you steal a high-value car as follows:
- If the vehicle is worth more than $65,000, you will receive an additional prison sentence of one year.
- If a vehicle is worth more than two hundred thousand dollars, you will be subject to additional imprisonment of two years.
Felony Burglary
You may face burglary charges under PC 459 if you enter a commercial or residential structure or another person’s vehicle with the intent to commit theft or any felony. The prosecutor must prove several elements to charge you with burglary:
- The prosecutor should prove that you entered a building, a structure, or a locked vehicle.
- It should be evident that when you entered the vehicle, you intended to commit a theft or felony.
- One of the following should apply:
- The value of the property you took or intended to steal exceeds $950
- The structure that you entered was not a commercial structure
- The structure that you entered was a commercial structure, but you entered it during non-work hours.
You can face burglary charges as long as you enter a building intending to commit a crime. You don’t need to have succeeded in committing the crime for you to face the charges. You can only face burglary charges if you had the intent to commit theft or burglary when entering a structure or a locked vehicle. If you had no such intention, you could deny burglary charges. There are two main categories of burglary:
- First-degree burglary
- Second-degree burglary
You may face first-degree burglary charges if you commit burglary on a residence. However, if you enter a commercial building that is not a residence, you will face second-degree burglary charges. The alternative name for first-degree burglary is residential burglary, while the alternative name for second-degree burglary is commercial burglary.
The penalties you face for committing a burglary crime will depend on whether you commit a first-degree or second-degree burglary. First-degree burglary is always a felony punishable by:
- A formal or felony probation
- Imprisonment of two, four, or six years in a state prison in California
- A fine that does not exceed $10,000
Second-degree burglary is a wobbler offense, meaning that the prosecutor may charge the offense as a misdemeanor or felony. The consequences for a second-degree burglary are:
- A formal felony probation
- Imprisonment of 16 months, two years, or three years in a county jail
- A fine that does not exceed $10,000
Auto Burglary
You may commit auto burglary if you enter a locked car with the intent of stealing the car, stealing items from inside the car, or committing a felony inside the car. This offense is a wobbler, charged as a felony or misdemeanor. You do not have to open the vehicle door and get your body into the vehicle to be guilty of committing auto burglary. You enter a car if any part of your body, including your hand, goes inside the car. You can also enter a vehicle if any object that is under your control enters the vehicle.
For you to face auto burglary charges, the prosecutor must prove that you entered the vehicle intending to commit a felony or theft. A California felony offense may include:
- Breaking into a vehicle and stealing it, thus committing auto theft
- Committing grand theft by stealing something worth more than $950 after entering a vehicle
- Opening a vehicle and kidnapping someone, like a child who was inside the vehicle
If the prosecutor charges the crime of auto theft as a felony, the charges will include:
- Imprisonment of 16 months, two years, or three years in a county jail
Felony Robbery
According to California PC 211, robbery is the felonious taking of another person’s property against the property owner’s will. For you to face charges under PC 211, you should have taken the property from the owner's immediate person, and you should have done so through force or fear. The prosecutor should prove the following elements to charge you with robbery:
- You took property that did not belong to you
- The property was in another person’s possession
- You took the property from the person’s immediate presence
- You took the property against the owner’s will
- While taking the property, you used force or fear to prevent the victim from resisting.
- When you took the property, you intended to deprive the property owner either permanently or temporarily.
You will face first-degree robbery charges if any of the following applies:
- The victim of the robbery is a driver of a passenger vehicle, cable car, taxi, streetcar, trackless trolley, or any similar vehicle
- You carried out the robbery in an inhabited trailer, house, or boat
- You robbed the victim at the ATM or immediately after the victim used an ATM
A first-degree robbery under California law is always a felony. The penalties for the offense include:
- A formal felony probation
- Imprisonment of three, four, or six years in a state prison in California
- A fine that does not exceed $10,000
Any robbery that does not qualify as a first-degree robbery is a second-degree robbery. The penalties for second-degree robbery under California law are:
- Felony (formal) probation
- Imprisonment of two, three, or five years in a state prison in California
- A fine that does not exceed $10,000
How to Fight Felony Theft Charges
You can employ several legal defenses to fight felony theft charges. The appropriate defense will vary depending on the unique circumstances of your case. Some of the applicable defenses are:
Lack Of Intent
You can only face felony theft charges if you had the intent to steal. Therefore, if you made a mistake or acted while absent-minded, you cannot face felony theft charges. For instance, you may have driven home with your employer's merchandise by mistake. You may also have walked out of a store with a valuable item worth more than $950 while absent-minded. If you did not commit the theft intentionally or on purpose, your attorney might persuade the prosecutor to dismiss your charges for lack of intent.
Other defenses that you can use to fight felony theft charges are:
- You had the owner’s consent to take a particular item
- A claim of right — You had a reasonable belief that the item you took belonged to you
- False accusation — You did not commit the theft crime; you are a victim of false accusation
Find a Criminal Attorney Near Me
Felony theft charges have severe consequences that could impact your life in the long term. Therefore, it is essential to contact an experienced criminal defense attorney soon after an arrest to help you fight theft charges. An attorney will help you develop a solid defense to fight the charges. If you need reliable legal representation and help fighting felony theft charges, the Los Angeles Criminal Attorney can help. Contact us at 424-333-0943 and speak to one of our attorneys.
