Los Angeles Theft Crimes Attorney Explains What to Expect if Charged with Theft | CBS Law

If you have been charged with a theft crime, call Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Chris Bou Saeed at (213) 800-8005 to discuss your case details or visit our website here: https://thecbslaw.com/los-angeles-the...
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hi I'm Chris Bou Saeed Los Angeles theft attorney and welcome to CBS law where we deliver results not promises I'd like to talk to you about theft cases first I'll go over some of the most common theft charges you could face second I'll go over defenses we successfully employ every day in Theft cases and third I'll go over some common sense measures you can take if you find yourself arrested or being investigated for theft Far and Away the most common theft charge is a violation of penal code section 487 now what constitutes that crime first that you took property not your own without the owner's consent and at the time you took that property you intended to deprive the true owner of that property and then finally that you kept that property for a period of time time however brief or move to the distance however short now this crime could be charged as a misdemeanor or is a felony that will depend on the value of the property taken let me explain if the value of the property is $950 or greater it'll be charged as a felony if it's $949 or less it'll be charged as a misdemeanor if it gets charged as a felony the maximum time you could face is three years in state prison servable in local County Jail at halftime that means the most you can do of any sentence is half if its charge is a misdemeanor depending on the circumstances it could either be 180 days in county jail or 364 days in county jail either way it's servable at halftime the second most common charge that we see in Theft cases is a violation of penal code section 496 receiving stolen property what constitutes a violation of receiving stolen property one that you received property that was stolen second that you had knowledge it was stolen and third that you knew that you possessed it now this too can be charged as a misdemeanor or as a felony and just like a violation of Penal Code 48 7 the determination there will be based on the value of the property if the property is valued at $950 or above it can be charged as a felony if it's $949 or below then it'll be charged as a misdemeanor similar to theft the maximum you can face if you get charges a felony is three years in state prison servable in the local County Jail at halftime if it's charges a misdemeanor then the the maximum you can face is 364 days in the county jail again servable at halftime which means you can only do half now some common defenses that we pursue in these types of cases are one a lack of intent mistake or accident obviously if a person gets arrested and they're in a face mask with a bunch of crowbars and Burgery tools that's a very different scenario than if they just happen to be going through the self checkout line and missed one of 10 items that they purchased that day so the circumstances surrounding the arrest we are going to investigate to try to show that there was no intent to permanently deprive an owner of their property but rather it was just an accident or a mistake the second common defense that we pursue especially in receiving stolen property cases is a lack of knowledge that you knew the property was stolen there's a big difference if someone someone shows up with a FedEx truck and break it open and say hey a half off deal right now versus you legitimately bought it on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and you had no idea because it was in its original packaging and there was no evidence of any tampering or it being stolen now what are some common sense measures you can take if you are a loved one find yourself being arrested or investigated for a theft case first document the circumstances of what happened that means literally write it down second make sure you keep all receipts all messages all transaction records so that way we can show the prosecutor and the judge exactly how you came to possess this property and show that there's an innocent explanation as to why you possessed it but far in way the most important thing you can do if you are a loved one find yourself arrested or being investigated for a theft case is do not delay in calling us I can assure you the prosecution is working on their case right now and we need to get started on yours so call CBS law at 213
800 80005 and together we'll get your life back