Theft & Property Crimes

Property crimes in California encompass any criminal offense involving the taking, damaging, or destruction of property belonging to others. These charges range from misdemeanor vandalism and petty theft to serious felonies like arson, grand theft, and residential burglary. California prosecutes property crimes under numerous Penal Code sections covering theft (PC 484-502), burglary (PC 459), vandalism (PC 594), trespassing (PC 602), arson (PC 451-452), fraud (PC 470-548), and receiving stolen property (PC 496). What distinguishes property crimes from violent crimes is that they involve interference with property rights rather than physical harm to people, though some property crimes like arson and first-degree burglary are still classified as violent felonies under California law due to potential danger to occupants.

These charges are prosecuted aggressively because California law strongly protects property rights and views property crimes as violations affecting economic stability, business operations, and community safety. Retailers lose billions annually to shoplifting and organized theft, creating political pressure for aggressive prosecution. Prosecutors prioritize burglary cases because they involve invasion of homes and businesses, creating fear and violating people’s sense of security. Vandalism and graffiti are prosecuted to maintain community aesthetics and prevent neighborhoods from appearing crime-ridden. Arson is treated as extremely serious due to fire danger and potential for injury or death. Even relatively minor property crimes result in criminal records, restitution obligations, and consequences affecting employment and housing.

Common circumstances leading to property crime charges include retail shoplifting caught on surveillance or by loss prevention, vandalism or graffiti allegations based on damaged property and witness identification, accusations of stealing from employers based on inventory discrepancies, burglary charges when someone enters a building or vehicle allegedly intending to steal, receiving or possessing property that turns out to be stolen without your knowledge, trespassing when remaining on property after being asked to leave, fraud allegations involving financial transactions or identity theft, arson charges when fires are deemed suspicious, and situations where you’re accused of damaging property during disputes or altercations. We’ve represented clients falsely accused by employers looking for scapegoats, people charged with vandalism they didn’t commit, defendants whose intent was misinterpreted, and individuals found with property they didn’t know was stolen.

Types of Property Crime Charges We Defend

We handle all property crime charges in San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, and Lompoc:

Theft-Related Property Crimes

• Petty Theft (PC 484/488) – Taking property worth less than $950, charged as a misdemeanor carrying up to 6 months jail, typically resolved through probation, fines, and restitution for first-time offenders, with diversion programs often available.
• Grand Theft (PC 487) – Taking property worth $950 or more, charged as a misdemeanor or felony at prosecutor’s discretion, carrying up to 1 year jail if misdemeanor or 16 months to 3 years prison if felony, with vehicle thefts always charged as grand theft regardless of value.
• Shoplifting (PC 459.5) – Entering commercial establishments during business hours intending to steal property worth $950 or less, always a misdemeanor after Proposition 47, carrying maximum 6 months jail, commonly resolved through diversion for first offenses.
• Receiving Stolen Property (PC 496) – Buying, receiving, concealing, or selling property knowing it’s stolen, charged as misdemeanor (under $950) or felony ($950+), often charged when you’re found with stolen property but didn’t commit the original theft.
• Embezzlement (PC 503/504) – Fraudulent appropriation of property entrusted to you, commonly charged against employees accused of taking employer funds, carrying same penalties as theft depending on the amount taken.

Burglary-Related Property Crimes

• First-Degree Burglary (PC 459) – Entering an inhabited dwelling with intent to commit theft or any felony, always charged as a felony carrying 2-6 years state prison, counting as a violent felony and “strike” under California’s Three Strikes Law.
• Second-Degree Burglary (PC 459) – Entering commercial buildings, vehicles, or uninhabited structures with intent to commit theft or felony, charged as misdemeanor (up to 1 year jail) or felony (16 months to 3 years prison) depending on circumstances.
• Auto Burglary (PC 459) – Breaking into vehicles to steal property inside, commonly charged when car windows are smashed or locks forced, carrying same penalties as second-degree burglary but often resolved as misdemeanor for first offenses.
• Possession of Burglary Tools (PC 466) – Possessing tools, instruments, or devices with intent to use them for burglary, charged as a misdemeanor carrying up to 6 months jail, often added to burglary charges when crowbars, lock picks, or similar tools are found.

Vandalism and Property Damage Crimes

• Vandalism (PC 594) – Maliciously damaging, destroying, or defacing property belonging to others, charged as misdemeanor (damage under $400, up to 1 year jail) or felony (damage $400+, 16 months to 3 years prison), with graffiti being most common vandalism charge.
• Graffiti/Tagging (PC 594) – Defacing property with spray paint, markers, or other substances, prosecuted aggressively particularly in areas with gang activity, carrying same penalties as general vandalism plus potential gang enhancements if done for gang purposes.
• Malicious Mischief (PC 594) – Similar to vandalism, covering property damage done maliciously, including keying cars, breaking windows, or destroying landscaping, with penalties based on damage amount and whether damage was to personal or public property.
• Arson (PC 451) – Willfully and maliciously setting fire to structures, forest land, or property, charged as a felony with penalties ranging from 16 months to 9 years depending on what was burned and whether anyone was injured, with arson of inhabited structures being most serious.

Fraud and Financial Property Crimes

• Theft by False Pretenses (PC 532) – Obtaining property through intentional misrepresentation or fraud, requiring proof you made false statements intending to defraud and victim relied on them, carrying 16 months to 3 years prison if felony.
• Forgery (PC 470) – Creating, altering, or using false documents including checks, identification, contracts, or financial instruments, charged as misdemeanor (up to 1 year jail) or felony (16 months to 3 years prison) depending on amount and circumstances.
• Identity Theft (PC 530.5) – Using another person’s identifying information without permission to obtain credit, goods, or services, charged as misdemeanor (up to 1 year jail) or felony (16 months to 3 years prison) depending on amount taken.
• Credit Card Fraud (PC 484e-484j) – Using stolen, forged, or fraudulently obtained credit cards, or using your own card knowing it’s revoked or has insufficient funds, carrying misdemeanor or felony penalties depending on number of transactions and total amount.
• Check Fraud (PC 476) – Making, passing, or possessing forged or fraudulent checks with intent to defraud, charged as misdemeanor or felony depending on amount, commonly arising from passing bad checks or altering check amounts.

Trespassing and Unauthorized Entry

• Trespassing (PC 602) – Entering or remaining on property without permission, covering numerous scenarios from refusing to leave businesses after being asked, to entering private property posted with no trespassing signs, charged as misdemeanor carrying up to 6 months jail.
• Aggravated Trespassing (PC 601) – Making credible threats to seriously injure someone and within 30 days entering their property without permission, charged as misdemeanor (up to 1 year jail) or felony (16 months to 3 years prison).
• Criminal Trespass to Cultivate Marijuana (PC 602.8) – Trespassing on property to cultivate marijuana, carrying enhanced penalties beyond standard trespassing, prosecuted particularly on public lands and in rural areas.

Additional Property Crime Offenses

• Unauthorized Use of Vehicle (VC 10851) – Taking or driving a vehicle without owner’s consent, covering “joyriding” situations where vehicles are taken temporarily without intent to permanently steal, charged as misdemeanor (up to 1 year jail) or felony (16 months to 3 years prison).
• Extortion (PC 518/520) – Obtaining property or money through threats or force, requiring proof you threatened harm or exposure of secrets to obtain property, carrying 2-4 years prison, classified as theft through intimidation.
• Robbery (PC 211) – Taking property from someone’s person or immediate presence through force or fear, though technically a violent crime rather than property crime, carrying 2-5 years prison with enhancements for weapons or injuries.
• Elder Financial Abuse (PC 368) – Taking or appropriating property belonging to persons 65 or older through fraud, undue influence, or breach of fiduciary duty, carrying enhanced penalties due to victim vulnerability.

This list represents the most common property crime charges we defend, but we handle all property-related offenses. If you’re facing charges not listed here, or you’re unsure exactly what you’ve been charged with, we can help. Property crime cases involve complex questions about intent, value, knowledge, and ownership that require careful legal analysis.

Call us at (805) 621-7181 to discuss your specific charges and what they mean for your case.

Penalties for Property Crime Convictions

Property crime convictions can result in:

• Jail or prison time – Misdemeanor property crimes: up to 6 months to 1 year county jail; Felony property crimes: 16 months to 3 years state prison for most theft/fraud/burglary charges; First-degree burglary: 2-6 years mandatory; Arson: up to 9 years depending on what was burned and injuries caused
• Substantial restitution – Court-ordered repayment of full value of property taken, stolen, damaged, or destroyed, including repair costs, replacement costs, and consequential damages like lost business income, which can total thousands or tens of thousands of dollars and remain enforceable for years
• Fines and penalties – Up to $1,000 for misdemeanors, up to $10,000 for felonies, plus penalty assessments that typically double or triple the base fine, along with probation fees, court costs, booking fees, and property damage assessments
• Probation with conditions – Typically 3-5 years formal or informal probation requiring compliance with numerous conditions including stay-away orders from victims’ properties, prohibition from certain areas (malls for shoplifters, specific neighborhoods for vandalism), random searches, and completion of theft prevention or anger management classes
• Community service – Court-ordered community service hours (often 100-400 hours) particularly common in vandalism and graffiti cases, sometimes including graffiti removal or community cleanup as conditions of probation
• Immigration consequences – Property crimes involving fraud or intent to defraud are crimes of moral turpitude that can result in deportation, affect naturalization, and create inadmissibility, with theft offenses over $950 particularly problematic for non-citizens
• Professional license impact – Property crime convictions require disclosure to licensing boards and affect professions requiring trustworthiness, including accountants, financial advisors, real estate agents, attorneys, nurses, teachers, and anyone handling money or property
• Employment barriers – Property crime convictions appear on background checks and disqualify applicants from retail, banking, financial services, positions handling money or inventory, jobs requiring bonding, and any position involving fiduciary responsibility
• Three Strikes consequences – First-degree burglary and arson causing great bodily injury count as strikes under California’s Three Strikes Law, meaning subsequent serious or violent felonies result in doubled sentences, and third strikes result in 25 years to life
• Enhanced penalties for repeat offenses – Second and third property crime convictions carry enhanced sentences, with prior theft or burglary convictions resulting in mandatory jail time for new misdemeanors and significantly increased prison terms for felonies
• Diversion ineligibility – Multiple prior convictions or serious property crimes (arson, burglary) make defendants ineligible for diversion programs that would otherwise dismiss charges upon completion
• Permanent criminal record affecting employment, housing, professional licenses, and background checks, with property crimes viewed negatively by landlords, employers, and licensing boards due to concerns about trustworthiness

Proposition 47: How It Changed Property Crimes

In 2014, California voters passed Proposition 47, fundamentally changing property crime prosecution:

What Changed:

• Theft of property worth less than $950 reduced from potential felony to misdemeanor only
• Shoplifting under $950 now always a misdemeanor (previously could be burglary felony)
• Receiving stolen property under $950 now misdemeanor only
• Writing bad checks under $950 now misdemeanor
• Forgery (except checks, bonds, or official government documents) under $950 now misdemeanor
• People with prior felony convictions for these offenses can petition to reduce them to misdemeanors

What Didn’t Change:

• Burglary (entering with intent) remains chargeable as felony regardless of property value
• Theft from a person (like pickpocketing) still chargeable as grand theft person
• Robbery (force or fear) remains serious felony regardless of amount taken
• Vandalism/arson penalties unchanged
• Defendants with serious violent felony priors don’t benefit from Prop 47

Impact on Your Case:

Prop 47 means most theft cases involving property under $950 are automatically misdemeanors, making diversion programs more accessible, reducing potential jail time, and improving negotiating positions. However, prosecutors still file charges aggressively, restitution remains required, and convictions still create criminal records even as misdemeanors.

Why You Need an Attorney for Property Crime Charges

Intent Makes or Breaks These Cases

Property crime prosecutions depend on proving specific intent: intent to permanently deprive for theft, intent to commit theft or felony upon entry for burglary, malicious intent for vandalism, knowledge that property was stolen for receiving stolen property. Intent is a mental state prosecutors must prove through circumstantial evidence—your actions, statements, and the circumstances surrounding the alleged crime. Many property crime cases are defensible because intent is absent, unclear, or subject to multiple interpretations. Did you borrow property intending to return it? Did you enter a building for legitimate reasons? Did you damage property accidentally rather than maliciously? We challenge the prosecution’s intent theories by presenting alternative explanations, demonstrating lawful purposes, and showing that assumptions aren’t proof.

Property Value and Damage Determinations Are Critical

Whether charges are misdemeanors or felonies often depends entirely on property value ($950 threshold for theft) or damage amount ($400 threshold for vandalism). Prosecutors routinely inflate values using retail prices rather than actual used value, replacement costs rather than fair market value, or estimates from victims who exaggerate losses. In vandalism cases, repair cost estimates are often inflated by using highest bids or including unnecessary repairs. We challenge these valuations by obtaining independent appraisals, presenting evidence of actual value, demonstrating property was used or damaged (reducing value), and arguing for accurate assessments that can reduce felony charges to misdemeanors or high-level misdemeanors to lower-level offenses.

Many Property Crime Cases Lack Direct Evidence

Property crime prosecutions frequently rely on circumstantial evidence: you were near the scene, you were found with property later, surveillance footage is unclear or inconclusive, or someone accuses you without direct witnesses. Prosecutors build theories from circumstantial evidence and present them as facts, but circumstantial evidence can support multiple interpretations. We challenge these theories by presenting alternative explanations, identifying gaps in the chain of evidence, demonstrating reasonable doubt, and showing that suspicion and proximity aren’t the same as proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Many property crime cases fall apart under scrutiny because the evidence doesn’t actually prove you committed the offense.

Experience Matters

We’ve defended property crime cases in San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, and Lompoc courts for over 15 years. We know which judges favor diversion for first-time property crime offenders and which routinely impose jail time. We know which prosecutors overcharge property crimes and which are reasonable in negotiations. We understand retail loss prevention procedures, vandalism investigations, and how law enforcement investigates property crimes. We know how to challenge inflated restitution demands, negotiate property damage assessments, and present defenses that resonate with local juries. That local experience informs every strategic decision from initial case evaluation through trial.

How Central Coast Criminal Defense Can Help

Helping clients in San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, and Lompoc defend against property crime charges since 2010, we provide:

• Thorough Case Investigation – We review all evidence including police reports, surveillance footage, witness statements, and property documentation to identify weaknesses and inconsistencies, obtain receipts, ownership documentation, and witness testimony proving permission or lawful possession, investigate circumstances negating criminal intent such as misunderstandings, mistakes of fact, or legitimate purposes, and challenge property valuations and damage assessments that inflate amounts to support felony charges.
• Strategic Defense Development – We challenge the prosecution’s ability to prove criminal intent, presenting defenses including claim of right (believing property was yours), consent (having permission to possess or enter), mistake of fact (honestly believing facts that would make conduct lawful), lack of knowledge (not knowing property was stolen or entry was unauthorized), and impossibility (physically unable to commit the offense as alleged).
• Value and Damage Challenges – We retain independent appraisers to challenge inflated property valuations and repair estimates, present evidence of actual fair market value versus inflated retail prices or theoretical replacement costs, demonstrate property condition reducing value below felony thresholds, and file motions to reduce charges when values don’t support felony prosecution.
• Diversion and Alternative Resolutions – We work to secure diversion programs for first-time offenders resulting in dismissal upon completion, negotiate pretrial resolutions avoiding criminal convictions including civil compromises when victims are compensated, present compelling mitigation including lack of criminal history, restitution ability, and personal circumstances, and pursue Prop 47 misdemeanor treatment when applicable to reduce charges.
• Personal Attention – You work directly with experienced attorneys who understand property crimes often involve misunderstandings, desperate circumstances, false accusations, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and we’re available to answer questions and guide you through the process without judgment.

We understand that people facing property crime charges aren’t necessarily career criminals—they’re often people who made poor decisions, people accused based on circumstantial evidence, people who borrowed or took property believing they had permission, people struggling financially who made mistakes, employees falsely accused by employers, or defendants whose actions were mischaracterized. We’ve represented college students accused of shoplifting, employees accused of theft without evidence, people charged with vandalism they didn’t commit, defendants found with property they didn’t know was stolen, and individuals whose intent was completely misunderstood.

Our approach focuses on the specific facts and defenses in your case. Can prosecutors prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt? Is property value accurate or inflated? Is evidence circumstantial and weak? Are there alternative explanations for your conduct? Are you eligible for diversion? We examine every angle, challenge every assumption, and work toward outcomes that protect your record and future.

Property crime charges can be defended. We’ve secured dismissals through diversion programs, won acquittals at trial, negotiated reductions from felonies to misdemeanors, challenged inflated restitution demands, and achieved outcomes avoiding jail time and criminal records. Whether you’re facing theft, burglary, vandalism, fraud, trespassing, or arson charges, whether this is your first offense or you have prior convictions, we’re here to provide the strategic representation property crime cases require.

Don’t Wait—Call Us Today

Property crime cases often have time-sensitive defense opportunities, including obtaining surveillance footage before it’s deleted, interviewing witnesses before memories fade, documenting property values before evidence is lost, and negotiating with victims before they solidify positions. Early representation significantly improves your chances of favorable outcomes.

Property crimes are defensible. Let’s discuss your options and build your defense.