San Diego Petty Theft Charges

Theft Crime Attorney in San Diego

In California, the crime of petty theft, commonly known as "shoplifting," is punished by California Penal Codes §484, 488, 490.1, and 666.

California Penal Code §484(a) defines the crime of theft:

(a) Every person who shall feloniously take the personal property of another, or who shall fraudulently appropriate property which has been entrusted to him or her, or who shall knowingly and designedly, by any false or fraudulent representation, defraud any other person of money, labor or real or personal property, or who causes or procures others to report falsely of his or her wealth or mercantile character and by thus imposing upon any person, obtains credit and thereby fraudulently gets or obtains possession of money, or property or obtains the labor or service of another, is guilty of theft.

A theft crime is considered to be petty theft when the items or value of the property alleged to have been taken is less than four hundred dollars ($400). Petty theft is a misdemeanor and punishable by up to 6 months in jail, probation, fines, community service and theft education classes.

The offense of petty theft may, under certain circumstances, be charged or plead to as an "infraction" - which is technically a violation of the law but not a criminal offense and not punishable by jail or probation. According to California Penal Code §490.1, theft as an infraction involves property valued at less than $50:

(a) Petty theft, where the value of the money, labor, real or personal property taken is of a value which does not exceed fifty dollars ($50), may be charged as a misdemeanor or an infraction, at the discretion of the prosecutor, provided that the person charged with the offense has no other theft or theft-related conviction.

(b) Any offense charged as an infraction under this section shall be subject to the provisions of subdivision (d) of Section 17 and Sections 19.6 and 19.7 which limit both your rights to a public defender and jury trial, as well as the prosecution's right to request incarceration for any term.

A violation which is an infraction under this section is punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250).

Since the crime of theft is "priorable," meaning it can be charged as a felony when charged against a defendant with a prior theft conviction, it is important that your case is thoroughly reviewed by an attorney with experience defending theft crimes. If your petty theft case is pled as an infraction, rather than a misdemeanor, the offense will not be priorable for purposes of a future offense, and you will not be faced with jail or probation.

If you have previously been convicted of petty theft as a misdemeanor, and are charged with petty theft once again, you are facing the possibility of being charged with the crime of petty theft with a prior, and suffering a felony conviction. California Penal Code §666 governs petty theft with priors and states in relevant part:

Every person who, having been convicted of petty theft, grand theft, auto theft under Section 10851 of the Vehicle Code, burglary, carjacking, robbery, or a felony violation of receipt of stolen property, and having served a term in any penal institution or having been imprisoned therein as a condition of probation for that offense, is subsequently convicted of petty theft, then the person convicted of that subsequent offense is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison.

Prior theft offenses may greatly increase the punishment for petty theft crimes.  With a prior theft crime on your record, even for the smallest offense that would otherwise be eligible for an infraction rather than a misdemeanor, you may be facing up to one year in jail or up to 3 years in state prison.

Penalties for Petty Theft

An individual commits petty theft when they intentionally steal property valued at less than $400.00. If it is an isolated offense committed by an individual with no prior criminal history, punishment could range from simply court ordered restitution to the victim in the amount of the fair market value of the property, or the defendant could receive up to 6 months in jail and/or a fine of no more than $1000. Depending on the circumstances of your case, it may also be possible to achieve a civil compromise, wherein the victim is paid restitution by the defendant - and if the court is satisfied by the amount of restitution and the victim no longer desires prosecution the court has the discretion to dismiss the criminal case.

If the stolen property in question is valued at $50 or less, and the individual has no prior theft-related offenses, the prosecution may treat the offense as a mere infraction that carries only a fine of up to $250.  If the crime is in fact charged as an infraction, you will not be entitled to a court appointed public defender.  Therefore, if you feel you have been wrongfully accused of petty theft of property worth less than $50, it is critical that you speak with an experienced San Diego criminal defense attorney about the matter.

The world isn't a perfect place, and sometime overzealous store loss-prevention officers wrongfully accuse honest people of shoplifting or petty theft. In order to be convicted, the individual must intend to permanently deprive the owner of the value of the item.  This requires a specific intent to steal.  If you simply forgot to pay for the item, intended to return it , or felt that the item belonged to you, you may not be properly convicted of this offense as you did not have the proper mental state necessary to support the crime.  If you feel you have been wrongly accused of theft, the sooner you consult criminal defense attorney, the sooner they may begin negotiating with the alleged victim and the prosecution in an effort to have the charges dropped or reduced.  Attorney Marc S. Kohnen will gladly meet with you for a free consultation to explore your options and all available defenses that apply to the facts of your case.

For help with your petty theft charges, contact a San Diego theft crime lawyer for immediate legal assistance.