In New York State criminal defense law the criminal defense attorney needs to understand all areas of the Larceny Laws. Larceny falls under Article 155 of the New York State Penal Law and is broken down into several areas. This blog can not review every aspect of the New York State Larceny Laws but will provide a basic understanding. For an in depth review of the laws you should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney.
Larceny
Under PL 155.05 larceny is defined "A person steals property and commits larceny when, with intent to deprive another of property or to appropriate the same to himself or to a third person, he wrongfully takes, obtains or withholds such property from an owner thereof".
Larceny can include larceny by trick, embezzlement, false pretenses, issuing a bad check, false promise, extortion or even larceny over lost property. The prosecution will use one theory or several to convict a person under the larceny statute. The top criminal defense attorneys need to investigate the charge and potential prosecution theory or legal strategies to defend the case.
Types of Larceny
In determining the proper charge the police or District Attorney's Office will review the entire case but usually the charge will directly relate to the amount of money or value of property stolen and/or the method of theft.
Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree -- Value of property over $1,000.00 or the property is a credit card, debit card, public record, secret scientific material, obtained by extortion etc. Grand larceny in the fourth degree is an "E" felony.
Grand Larceny in the Third Degree -- Value of property over $3,0000.00 or involves theft of an ATM machine or its contents. Grand larceny in the third degree is a "D" felony.
Grand Larceny in the Second Degree -- Value of property over $50,000.00 this is a "C" felony.
Grand Larceny in the First Degree -- Value of property over one million dollars. This is a "B" felony.
Petit Larceny -- "A person is guilty of petit larceny when he steals property". This is a class "A" misdemeanor. Petit larceny usually encompasses shoplifting types of crimes.
If you are charged with any type of Larceny crime it is very important to contact a criminal defense attorney as the prosecution needs to supply necessary paperwork in a timely manner to prove the crime and all defenses need to be investigated early.
