Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Grand Theft 2 ??

Is there any leanancy towards an individual that commits grand theft and has no prioror run ins with the law? And if it is grand theft and burglary tools, but the tool was a pocket knife not intended to use for that? And what if the person entered the store without the intention of thievery, but ended up doing so without the knowledge that it was a felony charge. Lastly does it matter what the goods are that was stolen? If so how about if it was a cell phone that was over 400 dollars? The person who committed the crime has no criminal record ever. It was just a simple mistake to steal.


Asked on 1/31/08, 6:44 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Grand Theft 2 ??

Lack of a criminal history has no bearing on the defendant's guilt or innocence but may get him a more lenient sentence if he is convicted.

That he didn't know the theft was a felony is irrelevent; what matters is whether he intended to steal, not whether he understood the legal consequences of doing so.

The nature of the stolen goods generally won't matter. The value matters because only thefts of $400 or more count as grand theft. That the stolen item happened to be a cell phone seems irrelevant to me.

I agree that stealing was a mistake, but only in the sense that it reflects a bad decision. It was not a mistake in the sense of being inadvertant. Stealing is almost always a mistake in the former sense, and that fact has no bearing on whether the defendant is guilty or on how harsh or lenient his sentence should be.

Your question about burglary tools is unclear, so I'm not sure how to answer it.

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Answered on 1/31/08, 7:13 pm


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