If you have been charged with a theft crime, you should immediately contact a knowledgeable criminal defense attorney. Immediate intervention by a skilled criminal lawyer can protect your rights.  Raven Law has extensive experience handling theft crime cases.  A criminal lawyer provides qualified and knowledgeable legal representation you will need when disputing these types of cases. If you retain our office, we will thoroughly investigate, closely advise you, and aggressively defend your case.

There are a variety of different kinds of theft charges in California:

Identity theft – Using one’s personal information (i.e. Social Security card, driver’s license, or identification card) without consent or permission, to commit fraud and larceny.
Petty theft – A crime in which an individual knowingly steals another person’s property. To be considered petty theft, the stolen property must amount to no more than $400.
Grand theft – This is a crime where a person steals the goods of another person, which equally $400 or more in monetary value. Grand theft may be referred to as grand larceny.
Burglary – A crime in which an individual breaks into a building with the intent of committing a felony.

COMMON CHARGES/STATUTES FOR THEFT CRIMES:

Vehicle Theft, VC 10851
10851. (a) Any person who drives or takes a vehicle not his or her own, without the consent of the owner thereof, and with intent either to permanently or temporarily deprive the owner thereof of his or her title to or possession of the vehicle, whether with or without intent to steal the vehicle, or any person who is a party or an accessory to or an accomplice in the driving or unauthorized taking or stealing, is guilty of a public offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code or by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(b) If the vehicle is (1) an ambulance, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 165, (2) a distinctively marked vehicle of a law enforcement agency or fire department, taken while the ambulance or vehicle is on an emergency call and this fact is known to the person driving or taking, or any person who is party or an accessory to or an accomplice in the driving or unauthorized taking or stealing, or (3) a vehicle which has been modified for the use of a disabled veteran or any other disabled person and which displays a distinguishing license plate or placard issued pursuant to Section 22511.5 or 22511.9 and this fact is known or should reasonably have been known to the person driving or taking, or any person who is party or an accessory in the driving or unauthorized taking or stealing, the offense is a felony punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for two, three, or four years or by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.

Possession Stolen Property

Cal Penal Code 496
(a)Every person who buys or receives any property that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing the property to be so stolen or obtained, or who conceals, sells, withholds, or aids in concealing, selling, or withholding any property from the owner, knowing the property to be so stolen or obtained, shall be punished by imprisonment in a state prison, or in a county jail for not more than one year. However, if the district attorney or the grand jury determines that this action would be in the interests of justice, the district attorney or the grand jury, as the case may be, may, if the value of the property does not exceed four hundred dollars ($400), specify in the accusatory pleading that the offense shall be a misdemeanor, punishable only by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year.