It is essential to seek counsel from a Criminal Defense Lawyer to protect your rights if you have been indicted for the robbery recently. An offense for theft can lead to large fines and prison terms, especially if you do not have a Criminal Defense Lawyer with you. He may be able to reduce or even drop your costs depending on your situation.


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Find A Defense Lawyer for Theft Charges

Theft (or larceny) crimes cover a broad spectrum of crimes in California, ranging from small burglary to severe offenses such as armed robbery or widespread misappropriation and fraud. They should all be taken seriously, regardless of how big or small. A robbery has a particular capacity to harm the future, as employers frequently refuse to recruit people of the past. If the State has a legal certificate, you will continue to have a fraud conviction – even a conviction which is nothing to do with your work. And robbery under immigration legislation is a "crime of moral turpitude," and a conviction will lead to expulsion if you are not a citizen.

Theft cases can include any number of charges as follows:

1. Embezzlement

Transferring funds from one name to another prohibits access to finances by a legitimate group.

The California Penal Code 503 (PC503) meaning of embezzlement refers to the dishonest appropriation of money by an individual he or she was entrusted with. This includes small amounts of money and cheap land, as you did not want to retain this money/property in question but thought that you temporarily borrowed it. The key misappropriation offense under California Law 503PC happens when you treat this money/property in an unapproved manner that is not yours.

In particular, embezzlement takes place in California when someone, whether it's a person or an entity, entrusts you with their assets and/or liquid cash and expects you to take care of their assets as they have agreed to – but then you decide to have a better picture and want to misuse them, to your own benefit at the same time. This typically means that the individual's assets will be placed at considerable risk or merely transferred on your behalf.

Possible penalties

As described above, a large number of assets and monies, from the nominal sum to trillions of USD, are included in California embezzlement claims. The penalties for such embezzlement under 503PC rely therefore on the particular characteristics of the case in California.

If the property you allegedly misappropriated is under $950, it is deemed to be a small fraud in California and is prosecuted and penalized as a misdemeanor. In this way, you can face up to six (6) months in county prison, fines, and (summary) probation as follows:

Suppose you say that the property that you have mixed is over $950. It will be classified as California Grand Theft (Penal Code 487). The $950 must not arise in a single misappropriation act. If the lump sum of the money embezzled by the same individual is more than $950, you can charge for large theft embezzlement in a 12-month span. Grand robbery is to be charged either as a misdemeanor or as a felony in California according to your criminal background and the particular circumstances of your case.

  • If the property that you claim is a car, it is regarded as a grand theft auto.
  • If the property you allegedly mistreated is a weapon, the firearm is deemed to be a major robbery and is always prosecuted as a crime. You will have to stay in California State Prison for somewhere from 16 months and three years, pay a fine and take (formal) felony.
  • If malicious Grand Theft misconduct is imposed, the following potential sanctions can be imposed upon you: Probation for misdemeanors (summary), fines, and prison for up to 1 year.

You can face the following potential penalties if you are convicted of felony grand theft misappropriation: Felony (formal) probation; fines; and time spent in 16 months to three years imprisonment in California State, according to the particular circumstances and criminal background.

For instance, the identity of your victim is taken into account. For example, if the client is a person deemed to be especially vulnerable, such as an older person or someone with mental disabilities that affect their everyday functioning, the judge will probably impose a harder sentence.

An example of the special conditions in which my penalty for a California embezzlement charge would be reduced is if, as long as your property is returned before the government filing an embezzlement charge against you, it is voluntary that you return the property supposedly imbued with it.

2. Credit Card Fraud

Anybody who possesses a non-fulfill card to complete or in order to defraud, alter, alter, change, or alter card access account information from any portion of the access card, including magnetic stripe information, or any other medium, not directly readable to the human eye, or authorizes or advises a person who has the incomplete card access, without any agreement or intention to defraud.

  • Various acts are involved in which identity fraud occurs in California. Any individual who voluntarily collects and uses that information for any unlawful purposes, including for obtaining, crediting products, services, real estate, or medical information without that person's consent, is liable for identity theft.
  • Furthermore, any effort to get personal information is identity theft in the attempt to defraud an individual. Identity theft is also an attempt to defraud, sell, transmit or transmit personal identification information.

The personal data which may be obtainable includes the name of the individual, address, telephone number, account numbers, driver's license number, maiden name, birthday, PIN number, tax identification number, employee identification number, passport number, and social security numbers. This information is not limited to the name.

Identity robbery includes signing the name of another person on a credit card charge, using a card to purchase items from others, flawed information given to the bank or police officer to prevent arrest, signing a check in the name of someone else, using personal information for someone else for the purpose of committing an offense, and transfer of property on behalf of another person.

In California, what is the penalty for credit card fraud?

  • Broad sentences are punishable by card fraud but are considered a misdemeanor. The penalty includes up to a year in jail, a fine, or both.
  • Since the sentence can be so broad, it is critical that you have a competent legal counsel who can battle for the lowest possible sentence. A penalty reduction is possible, but good legal counsel is required.

3. Identity Theft

The rise of digital technology has facilitated the theft of personal data more than ever before, making identity theft one of America's fastest-growing crimes. California, which is one of the leaders every year in reports, is an especially impactful state.

The ID Theft Laws of California state that the charges must contain three elements:

  1. You have willingly accessed personal identification details from another individual with illegal intent.
  2. For some unlawful reason, you used this information.
  3. You did this without the permission of the person.

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The prosecutor must prove to convict you of identity theft:

  • You have voluntarily collected and used personally identifiable information or PII for illegal purposes without your permission.
  • Without their permission, you took someone's PII in order to commit fraud.
  • without your agreement to commit fraud, you gave, sold, or transferred someone's PII
  • You have provided, sold, or transferred the PII of someone who is aware that it will be used for fraud

In most cases, identity robbery involves accessing the mail or computer data of someone to use personal information in order to open an account and to collect fraudulent funds from the victim. Identity fraud can, in other instances, require a signature on someone's inspection or even offering law enforcement details about a driver's license to escape a quote from another person.

4. Grand Theft

California law defines large robbery as deliberate robbery if this property is worth more than $950 (Penal Code 487 PC). The dollar is the difference between the small robbery and (Penal Code 484). When the property was taken as an automobile, Grand Rapture Auto (Penal Code 487(d)(1) PC) was classified as a separate offense. You may also be sued with grand theft if an individual, his clothing, or anything they carry is taken away directly from you (such as purse-snatching).

What are the Grand Theft Penalties?

When you or someone you know is accused of large-scale fraud, you know that there are repercussions that change life if convicted. These implications can include:

  • Probation for Felony
  • A year's imprisonment
  • State jail for 16 months to three years

5. Petty Theft

Petty theft is still a form of theft, although items are priced below $400.00 (or $950.00 for shopping). You will also be accused of an offense and face a jail term of up to one year.

Most of the small robberies come from stealing from someone else directly, but even other acts like eating and shaking or even swapping the tags on an object to pay lower can bring meager robbery.

Even by mistake, you can arrest yourself on small theft or shoplifting charges if you leave your shop without paying for an item. Any such proceedings will lead to a criminal record.

Petty Theft Charges

In California, fines depending on the amount stolen are imposed by a theft conviction. This division is focused on the dollar value of the object you have supposedly robbed. Depending on the situation, there are other particular types of theft charges.

According to California Penal Code §488, small-scale robbery is essentially robbery of money or objects not of great robbery priced at under $950. Small robbery is a crime that can be penalized in county jail for up to six months and a fine of $1 000. If the crime is worth $50 or less, small robbery can be infringed.

Shoplifting

If a retail store has been entered and the property has been stolen for less than$950, this is a robbery offense punishable up to 1 year in prison. Shoplifting allegations are subject to a variety of possible protections.

For example, if you have been arrested for a crime of shoplifting or charged with the theft of goods, you might be able to defend yourself against the property, which you really believed at the time. All cases are different, however, and the circumstances leading to the charge vary. The best thing is to consult a robber about your condition in order to obtain an optimum result.

Do I need a Criminal Defense Lawyer to combat my charges for petty theft?

It may be misleading to use the word "small robbery." As a crime, many people opt out of hiring a Criminal Defense Lawyer and forget that the legal impact of misdemeanors is not always as small as intended. Many of these defendants receive a harder sentence than they planned without the support of someone who has been trained in legal matters.

A small theft charge may not sound like a large theft charge, but it can have significant consequences for your future to be convicted of small theft.

If the value of the product or the initial crime is minimal, your solicitor may persuade you to cut charges before you go to trial or enter into a diversion program. Even if it isn't your first offense, an experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer has the requisite legal skills to help you achieve the best results.

It is important to remember that you can also be charged with a felony under a "small robbery with a previous statute" in California if you have such priors. You should be conscious, whether you have priors, that in your situation, this could be a possibility or not.

Ultimately, it is up to you to determine whether or not you want to benefit from your right to a Criminal Defense Lawyer; however, good legal advice in certain cases will help.

Understanding the difference between grand theft and petty theft

It is important to know how much you are charged. You must get the best theft defense attorney in California to pay to make sure you read more about the allegations and how the legislation is to say about them if you face any theft charges in California.

For instance, people sometimes assume that stealing happens when the individual steals property without the knowledge of the owner. You should be aware; however, that theft can be prosecuted if you were not returned by the owner of the property who left you responsible for their property for a certain time. In short, it will help you handle things better by understanding that legal theft actually takes place if the person takes anything away that doesn't belong to them with or without its owner's knowledge.

In California law divides crimes of robbery into great robbery and small theft. Different circumstances allow the courts to decide if the crime of larceny is sought as grand theft in California rightly.

6. Larceny

California Penal Code section 484 defines Larceny or Theft, which can include:

  1. Personal Property
  2. Real estate
  3. Monetary Wealth
  4. Work, Services, Labor

Larceny has no single case to submit. For instance, for the steals of money, work, or property from your employer over 12 months, a person may be charged with larceny. Larceny robbery is significantly different from robbery by false pretense or misrepresentation because it is taken without the permission of the victim. The perpetrator still carries the property in addition to throwing it down.

7. Burglary

According to California Penal Code 459, burglary's offense has a series of factors that have no fair doubt to be proved by a prosecutor. The following are the following elements:

  1. You have entered a house, space, locked vehicle, or structure in a building
  2. You intended to commit either a California offense or a California robbery when entering that house, space, vehicle, or structure
  3. The motive of committing a crime or stealing while entering the house, vehicle, or structure is essential for purposes of Section 459 of the Penal Code. You will be accused of robbery, even though you have not committed the fraud or crime you are going to commit after entering the structure.

"Entered"

In accordance with PC 459, "entry" means that any part of the body or an item in the property of the defendant penetrates the region beyond the "outer boundary" of the house. Examples of joining a system are as follows:

  • Removal of a house window panel
  • Shoot your arm in an open window
  • Keeping in the backyard through a fence
  • Burglary of first grade compared to burglar of second grade

Residential burglary is the first graduation or burglary of a home. In comparison, a second-grader burglary or 'industrial' burglaries of a house that is not the home — such as a shop or commercial building.

The following may be a "residence" in:

  • A house with an inhabitant
  • A space within a dwelling
  • A boat that is inhabited
  • An occupied house
  • A trailer coach that's inhabited
  • any other type of building occupied portion
  • The hotel or motel room for residents

"Inhabited" means someone uses the building as a house. This does not mean that at the time of the robbery, the individual who uses the structure as a home must be present.

Penalties for the first-degree burglary:

In California, burglary in the first degree or residential burglary is a crime. First-degree burglary punishment can include:

  • 2 years in California State Prison
  • 4 years or 6 years Probation for a Felony
  • Fines

Burglary is a "strike" also, and as such, punishable by the Three Strikes law of California.

Penalties for Second-degree burglary:

Second-grade / industrial burglary under Penal Code 459, depending on the criminal background of the suspect and on the particular circumstances of the crime, can be prosecuted as a felony or a misdemeanor. Second-degree burglary penalties that are possible:

  • 16 months, 2 years or a three years prison term
  • sixteen (16) months or three (3) years Probation for Felony
  • Fines

Possible second-grade/commercial malicious burglary sanctions are as follows:

  • up to 1 year's imprisonment in the county
  • Probation for misconduct
  • Fines

8. Mislaid Property

Apparently, these objects (moved property) have been left deliberately (such as a cell phone on a counter). The owner and not the locator retain the object until the true owner is visible. The reason is that the owner recalls and returns to the location where the property was left.

A prominent 2012 Arizona Court ruling ruled that money that was found by a remodeling contractor concealed in munitions in a house's cabinet was misled and not abandoned (Grande v. Jennings). It belonged, therefore, to the heirs of the deceased owner. The Tribunal observed that renunciation is not presumed but must be shown. There was no proof of abandonment in this case.

The Law on Abandoned Property

The clearest examples are in the trash, waiting for garbage to be collected. Every finder is entitled to claim ownership. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in 1988 that the police would search without an order (California v. Greenwood). An abandoned vehicle can be rejected by a lienholder, however, on a vehicle title.

There are a variety of curious cases where a non-purchaser has collected lottery tickets from a waste bin. Trial courts also sympathize with the original buyer when they argue that the ticket has wrongly been rejected and has thus not been abandoned. Furthermore, because of a scavenger order or a sign on the trash bin that prohibits entry, the buyer does not have legal rights to access the trash bin.

The Law on Treasure Troves

In the British cases, there were also funeral objects from the Roman period, which seemed to have had to be reclaimed later in comparison to a burial site. The Roman removal took place about 400 AD. The King (Crown), who claimed possession of all the property, owned valuable objects hidden in the land (called treasure trove). In return for services provided to the Crown, land occupancy was also granted. A Crown prize was paid to the treasure trove finder. The modern word "real estate" for the land comes from the old terminology of English, which means royal estate - property owned by the King.

True to the law that landowner owns articles embedded in the earth, it is an exception to the general rule. In the US, finders in compliance with the older law were awarded property early on. Modern American law also grants the landowner possession to prevent infringement. Cultural objects can be subject to antique legislation.

If I am arrested, what are my legal rights?

You may have watched a policing drama, or one of the truth shows where officers follow them on a daily basis. They can apprehend anyone and read them from a card and recite them from their memory. Although this blur is short, it informs the person of his legal rights that he is being arrested. You could not recognize those rights if you did not take the time to listen. If you find yourself in unfortunate conflict with the police, it is important that you know your rights.

You can contact a Criminal Defense Lawyer as soon as possible if you have been convicted and indicted for a theft offense. Consider one of our prescreened California Lawyers in your Cal Bar Attorney Search.

The Right to Silence

Perhaps most popular is the first line of Miranda's right, partially because of the formulation. "You are entitled to keep quiet." What does that mean? What does that mean? You can stop speaking and suffer no repercussions from the stage where it is read. The police may have asked you questions and expected responses many times before. These usually have identified tidbits (if you don't have the proper identification), such as your name, address, and social security number. The federal law requires that you identify with the police. You don't need to answer any more questions after an arrest has been made. When you claim that you will not exercise your right to say anything about your present charge under Miranda rules, they must not question you either. You don't have to comment even though they keep talking to you.

The Right to an Attorney

You'll probably be reserved, and the fees re-read when you come to the station. During your visit, you have the right to contact a theft defense attorney court representative. A Criminal Defense Lawyer knows how the criminal justice code operates and can thus be a worthy friend when charges are brought. It is illegal under Miranda Rights to reject legal assistance from the police or the courts. In reality, the court can ask you many times to reconsider if you express a desire to represent yourself. If you can't afford your own, Miranda Rights will also provide you with a Solicitor. It is anyone from the office of the civil defender, and it is free of charge for you as long as you fulfill these conditions.

The Right to Due Process

You have the right to hear your case and to review the facts, under the protection of your Miranda rights. The right to due process is a constitutional amendment that prevents the police and authorities from proceeding immediately from convictions to convictions. It allows a person to make a decision of guilty or innocence heard by a jury of their peers.

You may want to contact a Criminal Defense Lawyer to assist you should you face criminal charges at any time. The type of outcome of your case can make a big difference.

Penalties for theft

Theft charges range from misdemeanors to offenses:

  • The smallest form of robbery is petty theft (Penal Code Section 484). This is a crime of up to six months imprisonment/endurance/test. Store shopping is subject to similar types of fines if the quantity stolen was less than $950 in goods during business hours.
  • Prior Petty Theft (Penal code 666): The next charge is if you were convicted of a crime in the past and are again charged with small theft. It may be prosecuted as a crime or as a crime. Small misconduct with a prior carries a penalty of one year in county prison. A Felony has been imprisoned for up to 3 years.
  • Grand Theft (487 penal code) is a $950 worth theft of a property and is subject to various kinds of robbery. Grand Theft can be charged with a 1 or 3-year term as a misdemeanor or a felony.
  • Embezzlement is a charge for individuals who are said to have robbed while working as a company employee or trustee (Penal Code 503). It is the conventional example of a crime of white-collar. This is a wobbler, which depends on the amount taken, can be classified as an offense or felony. The penalties may also vary greatly.

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  • Commercial robbery, also classified as a second-grade burglary (penal code 459), can be prosecuted as either a misdemeanor or a felony with a maximum of 1 or 3 years. If filed as a crime, it is not deemed a strike. If you are accused of going to a company and stolen something over the cap of $950, this is the penalty. Please note that it could be possible to have your accusation convicted before 2014 of a misdemeanor re-convicted and to take out the felony from your record.
  • It is also classified as first-degree burglary, Residential Burglary (penal code459). It is still a crime and is imprisoned for up to 6 years. Residential burglary is a three-strike law strike crime. The distinction between "break and enter" residential robbery is that the accused went home without being forced in.
  • Sealing (Penal Code 211) A felony and a strike always. The prosecutor has to demonstrate you acquired the property of the victim through intimidation or strength in order to prove your theft. If you say that a firearm has been used, your sentence is almost doubled. If a gun is alleged, then a robbery penalty in California will increase for 10 years.

This is not a complete criminal code list of robbery crimes. Things such as fraudulent checks and credit cards, property appropriation, or even stealing of business secrets may be categorized as crimes of robbery.

Defending Theft Crimes

Theft offends several potential defenses despite their gravity. Most of all, the prosecutor must show that you plan to take theft to convict you—and it is difficult to prove your intention. If you thought the property was yours or you had permission to use it, you could also effectively protect yourself even if you were mistaken. If you are accused of tricks or deceit, you can protect yourself by demonstrating that you have never deliberately made false declarations or that you never plan to do anything other than how you said that.

There are also some ways to milder fines for robbery. California provides a probation program similar to the Drug Court on the first small fraud conviction or charge of bad cheques. Your conviction in this program is deferred during your probation, reimbursement, courses, and community services. The fee can be rejected outright if you are able to fulfill certain conditions and are not in trouble.

Criminal Defense Lawyer can combat the charges with any variety of defenses, depending upon the circumstances of your particular case, and this may lead to the charges against you being diminished or dismissed.

The following are the most common protections for theft:

  • Intent – Intent to steal is theft. A Criminal Defense Lawyer will justify your theft claim on the fact if you did not wish to steal. You didn't want to steal something, for instance, when someone plants something on you.
  • Asportation – this is an essential part of the robbery crime. You haven't stolen this thing if you haven't owned or moved it.
  • Claim of the Right – This protection works if anything you believed to be yours accidentally came up with. For instance, you have not committed theft if there were two identical football packs and you incorrectly took yours.
  • Ownership – You can't take something if anything is already yours. This protection could apply if someone gives you anything, wishes it back, and accuses you of stealing the object.

Find a Theft Defense Lawyer in California

1000Attorneys.com is a California Bar Association Certified Free Attorney Referral Service that can refer you to the best Criminal Defense Lawyer fit to handle their unique case. You may contact us through our 24/7 live chat or complete our submission form for a free initial consultation.