Fort Worth Theft Charges

In Texas, theft is the most prosecuted crime state court. Tarrant County criminal courts are no exception. If the alleged value of theft is relatively high you can be facing a serious prison sentence. A conviction for theft can make a person practically unemployable in the Texas job market.
There are many forms of theft in Texas, including shoplifting, theft by check, and others. Any of these theft charges can have serious consequences in court and in your life. Because the consequences for a theft conviction are so great, it is important to find the best Fort Worth theft attorney possible for your theft case.

Defenses To Theft Charges

Every theft case is unique. The evidence in a theft prosecution may include witnesses or video. However, there are many defenses to theft charges in Texas. Sometimes evidence collection is poor in theft cases or law enforcement may have jumped to the wrong conclusion. The value of stolen property is often an issue in theft cases. Misdemeanor theft or felony charges can often be effectively defended. However, in many cases, we are able to work out an agreement to keep the theft off of your record even if the evidence against you is substantial. You need to speak with an experienced, zealous Fort Worth theft defense lawyer to discuss all of your options.

Fort Worth Theft Attorney

If you are looking for a dedicated and experienced theft defense lawyer for a theft-related case in the Fort Worth area or Tarrant County, please Contact Cody Cofer to discuss your theft defense (817) 810-9395.

Probation may be an option in some theft cases.
The punishment may be harsher depending on your criminal history or other circumstances.

Texas Penal Code § 31.03 – Theft

(a) In Texas, a person commits the offense of theft if he unlawfully appropriates property with intent to deprive the owner of property.
(b) Appropriation of property is unlawful if:

1. it is without the owner’s effective consent;
2. the property is stolen and the person accused of theft in Texas appropriates the property knowing it was stolen by another; or
3. property in the custody of any law enforcement agency was explicitly represented by any law enforcement agent to the actor as being stolen and the actor appropriates the property believing it was stolen by another.

(c) For purposes of Subsection (b) of the Texas theft statute:

1. (1) evidence that the person accused of theft in Texas has previously participated in recent transactions other than, but similar to, that which the prosecution is based is admissible for the purpose of showing knowledge or intent and the issues of knowledge or intent are raised by the actor’s plea of not guilty;
2. the testimony of an accomplice to the theft shall be corroborated by proof that tends to connect the person accused of theft in Tarrant County to the crime, but the actor’s knowledge or intent may be established by the uncorroborated testimony of the accomplice;
3. the person accused of theft in Texas engaged in the business of buying and selling used or secondhand personal property, or lending money on the security of personal property deposited with the actor, is presumed to know upon receipt by the actor of stolen property (other than a motor vehicle subject to Chapter 501, Texas Transportation Code) that the property has been previously stolen from another if the person accused of theft in Fort Worth pays for or loans against the property $25 or more (or consideration of equivalent value) and the actor knowingly or recklessly:

(A) fails to record the name, address, and physical description or identification number of the seller or pledgor;
(B) fails to record a complete description of the property, including the serial number, if reasonably available, or other identifying characteristics; or
(C) fails to obtain a signed warranty from the seller or pledgor that the seller or pledgor has the right to possess the property. It is the express intent of this provision that the presumption arises unless the person accused of theft in Fort Worth complies with each of the numbered requirements;

4. for the purposes of Subdivision (3)(A), “identification number” means driver’s license number, military identification number, identification certificate, or other official number capable of identifying an individual;
5. stolen property does not lose its character as stolen when recovered by any law enforcement agency;
6. an actor engaged in the business of obtaining abandoned or wrecked motor vehicles or parts of an abandoned or wrecked motor vehicle for resale, disposal, scrap, repair, rebuilding, demolition, or other form of salvage is presumed to know on receipt by the actor of stolen property that the property has been previously stolen from another if the person accused of theft in Fort Worth knowingly or recklessly:

(A) fails to maintain an accurate and legible inventory of each motor vehicle component part purchased by or delivered to the actor, including the date of purchase or delivery, the name, age, address, sex, and driver’s license number of the seller or person making the delivery, the license plate number of the motor vehicle in which the part was delivered, a complete description of the part, and the vehicle identification number of the motor vehicle from which the part was removed, or in lieu of maintaining an inventory, fails to record the name and certificate of inventory number of the person who dismantled the motor vehicle from which the part was obtained;
(B) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to obtain a certificate of authority, sales receipt, or transfer document as required by Chapter 683, Texas Transportation Code, or a certificate of title showing that the motor vehicle is not subject to a lien or that all recorded liens on the motor vehicle have been released; or
(C) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to immediately remove an unexpired license plate from the motor vehicle, to keep the plate in a secure and locked place, or to maintain an inventory, on forms provided by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, of license plates kept under this paragraph, including for each plate or set of plates the license plate number and the make, motor number, and vehicle identification number of the motor vehicle from which the plate was removed;

7. the person accused of theft in Fort Worth who purchases or receives a used or secondhand motor vehicle is presumed to know on receipt by the actor of the motor vehicle that the motor vehicle has been previously stolen from another if the actor knowingly or recklessly:

(A) fails to report to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles the failure of the person who sold or delivered the motor vehicle to the actor to deliver to the person accused of theft in Tarrant County a properly executed certificate of title to the motor vehicle at the time the motor vehicle was delivered; or
(B) fails to file with the county tax assessor-collector of the county in which the person accused of theft in Fort Worth received the motor vehicle, not later than the 20th day after the date the actor received the motor vehicle, the registration license receipt and certificate of title or evidence of title delivered to the actor in accordance with Subchapter D, Chapter 520, Texas Transportation Code,1 at the time the motor vehicle was delivered;

8. an actor who purchases or receives from any source other than a licensed retailer or distributor of pesticides a restricted-use pesticide or a state-limited-use pesticide or a compound, mixture, or preparation containing a restricted-use or state-limited-use pesticide is presumed to know on receipt by the actor of the pesticide or compound, mixture, or preparation that the pesticide or compound, mixture, or preparation has been previously stolen from another if the actor:

(A) fails to record the name, address, and physical description of the seller or pledgor;
(B) fails to record a complete description of the amount and type of pesticide or compound, mixture, or preparation purchased or received; and
(C) fails to obtain a signed warranty from the seller or pledgor that the seller or pledgor has the right to possess the property; and

9. an actor who is subject to Section 409, Packers and Stockyards Act (7 U.S.C. Section 228b), that obtains livestock from a commission merchant by representing that the person accused of theft in Fort Worth will make prompt payment is presumed to have induced the commission merchant’s consent by deception if the actor fails to make full payment in accordance with Section 409, Packers and Stockyards Act (7 U.S.C. Section 228b).

(d) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section that:

1. the offense occurred as a result of a deception or strategy on the part of a law enforcement agency, including the use of an undercover operative or peace officer;
2. the person accused of theft in Fort Worth was provided by a law enforcement agency with a facility in which to commit the offense or an opportunity to engage in conduct constituting the offense; or
3. the actor was solicited to commit the offense by a peace officer, and the solicitation was of a type that would encourage a person predisposed to commit the offense to actually commit the offense, but would not encourage a person not predisposed to commit the offense to actually commit the offense.

(e) Except as provided by Subsection (f), an offense under this section is:

1. a Class C misdemeanor if the value of the property stolen is less than:

(A) $50; or

(B) $20 and the defendant obtained the property by issuing or passing a check or similar sight order in a manner described by Section 31.06;

2. a Class B misdemeanor if:

(A) the value of the property stolen is:
(i) $50 or more but less than $500; or
(ii) $20 or more but less than $500 and the defendant obtained the property by issuing or passing a check or similar sight order in a manner described by Section 31.06;
(B) the value of the property stolen is less than:
(i) $50 and the defendant has previously been convicted of any grade of theft; or
(ii) $20, the defendant has previously been convicted of any grade of theft, and the defendant obtained the property by issuing or passing a check or similar sight order in a manner described by Section 31.06; or
(C) the property stolen is a driver’s license, commercial driver’s license, or personal identification certificate issued by this state or another state;

3. a Class A misdemeanor if the value of the property stolen is $500 or more but less than $1,500;
4. a state jail felony if:

(A) the value of the property stolen is $1,500 or more but less than $20,000, or the property is less than 10 head of sheep, swine, or goats or any part thereof under the value of $20,000;
(B) regardless of value, the property is stolen from the person of another or from a human corpse or grave, including property that is a military grave marker;
(C) the property stolen is a firearm, as defined by Section 46.01;
(D) the value of the property stolen is less than $1,500 and the defendant has been previously convicted two or more times of any grade of theft;
(E) the property stolen is an official ballot or official carrier envelope for an election; or
(F) the value of the property stolen is less than $20,000 and the property stolen is :
(i) aluminum;
(ii) bronze;
(iii) copper; or
(iv) brass;

5. a felony of the third degree if the value of the property stolen is $20,000 or more but less than $100,000, or the property is:

(A) cattle, horses, or exotic livestock or exotic fowl as defined by Section 142.001, Texas Agriculture Code, stolen during a single transaction and having an aggregate value of less than $100,000; or
(B) 10 or more head of sheep, swine, or goats stolen during a single transaction and having an aggregate value of less than $100,000;

6. a felony of the second degree if:

(A) the value of the property stolen is $100,000 or more but less than $200,000; or
(B) the value of the property stolen is less than $200,000 and the property stolen is an automated teller machine or the contents or components of an automated teller machine; or

7. a felony of the first degree if the value of the property stolen is $200,000 or more.

(f) An offense described for purposes of punishment by Subsections (e)(1)-(6) is increased to the next higher category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that:

1. the person accused of theft in Fort Worth was a public servant at the time of the offense and the property appropriated came into the actor’s custody, possession, or control by virtue of his status as a public servant;
2. the person accused of theft in Texas was in a contractual relationship with government at the time of the offense and the property appropriated came into the actor’s custody, possession, or control by virtue of the contractual relationship;
3. the owner of the property appropriated was at the time of the offense:

(A) an elderly individual; or
(B) a nonprofit organization;

4. the actor was a Medicare provider in a contractual relationship with the federal government at the time of the offense and the property appropriated came into the actor’s custody, possession, or control by virtue of the contractual relationship; or
5. during the commission of the offense, the person accused of theft in Texas intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:

(A) caused a fire exit alarm to sound or otherwise become activated;
(B) deactivated or otherwise prevented a fire exit alarm or retail theft detector from sounding; or
(C) used a shielding or deactivation instrument to prevent or attempt to prevent detection of the offense by a retail theft detector.

(g) For the purposes of Subsection (a), a person is the owner of exotic livestock or exotic fowl as defined by Section 142.001, Texas Agriculture Code, only if the person qualifies to claim the animal under Section 142.0021, Texas Agriculture Code, if the animal is an estray.
(h) In this section:

1. “Restricted-use pesticide” means a pesticide classified as a restricted-use pesticide by the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under 7 U.S.C. Section 136a, as that law existed on January 1, 1995, and containing an active ingredient listed in the federal regulations adopted under that law (40 C.F.R. Section 152.175) and in effect on that date.
2. “State-limited-use pesticide” means a pesticide classified as a state-limited-use pesticide by the Department of Agriculture under Section 76.003, Texas Agriculture Code, as that section existed on January 1, 1995, and containing an active ingredient listed in the rules adopted under that section (4 TAC Section 7.24) as that section existed on that date.
3. “Nonprofit organization” means an organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, by being described as an exempt organization by Section 501(c)(3) of that code.
4. “Automated teller machine” means an unstaffed electronic information processing device that, at the request of a user, performs a financial transaction through the direct transmission of electronic impulses to a financial institution or through the recording of electronic impulses or other indicia of a transaction for delayed transmission to a financial institution. The term includes an automated banking machine.

(i) For purposes of Subsection (c)(9), “livestock” and “commission merchant” have the meanings assigned by Section 147.001, Texas Agriculture Code.
(j) With the consent of the appropriate local county or district attorney, the attorney general has concurrent jurisdiction with that consenting local prosecutor to prosecute an offense under this section that involves the state Medicaid program.