Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: petty theft w/ prior

Petty theft with a prior is a felony, provided that the prior was also for petty theft. And yes, a probationer who commits a second petty theft can be sentenced both for the theft and for the probation violation. Even if he is acquitted of the theft he can still be sent back to jail for violating probation, since such a violation need not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and since the judge, not the jury, decides whether a violation has occurred and how the probationer should be punished.