Theft Lawyer Los Angeles

A theft crime is the taking of property without consent. Depending on the amount of the theft, you can be charged with misdemeanor petty theft if the value is below $400, or a felony if the value is above $400. Sometimes, if you hire an attorney quickly after your arrest or citation for petty theft from a retail store, you can have the charge reduced to an infraction. An attorney can also help you negotiate any civil penalties you must pay a retail store in addition to assisting you with the criminal case in court.

Most thefts over $400 in value are going to filed as a felony. The higher the value of the theft, the more potential punishment you could receive. Thefts over $65,000, $200,000 or $1.3 million dollars can increase any prison term by a year at each threshold. However, Todd Melnik has successfully defended many persons who either never went to prison, or who received probationary sentences, even for large thefts.

Be awarethat if you have a prior theft conviction and you are charged again with another theft, you can face felony charges no matter how small the value of the item taken without consent. This is called a petty theft with a prior charge and will be filed as a felony.

Theft includes the crimes commonly known as:

Shoplifting
First degree burglary is theft from a residential dwelling even if no one is currently living there. Second degree burglary is theft from a commercial establishment, such as Best Buy
Embezzlement is taking funds entrusted to you
Vehicular theft can be charged as grand theft auto or as joyriding
Credit card fraud is the use of another’s access card
Robbery – theft committed by force
Carjacking – theft of an occupied vehicle.
Theft of services includes cable TV, electricity and other municipal services
Identity theft – mere possession of another person’s identifying information regardless of whether you applied for credit in a person’s name is a felony.

Thefts that count as Strikes

First degree burglary
Robbery
Carjacking

Theft crime charges and legal penalties will depend upon the type of theft crime committed and the value of the property stolen. If the defendant is a repeat offender, he/she may be subject to enhanced criminal charges and sentencing. Certain crimes carry presumptive state prison sentences.

Theft charges can sometimes be the result of a mistake or misunderstanding. Even if the alleged theft was intentional, an experienced criminal attorney can minimize the effect a theft conviction can have on a person’s life and employment. If you have been charged with any type of theft crime, contact Mr. Melnik now. Don’t let a mistake today ruin your life tomorrow. Mr. Melnik is quite experienced handling theft cases, and can often minimize the charges and consequences BEFORE they get filed. If you are suspected of theft, call him right away. You can speak to Mr. Melnik personally if you call 818-995-7777.

Los Angeles Theft Attorney

The Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys of our firm offer numerous years of experience defending clients from theft-related charges all over Los Angeles and the surrounding areas.

A lot of people faced with theft crimes in Los Angeles are good, productive individuals who made an unlucky blunder…and deserve a second chance rather than a long lasting criminal record and jail time. Furthermore, occasionally innocent folks get falsely accused of theft crimes using wrong allegations or misleading evidence.

Our Los Angeles theft crimes lawyers have been successful in having charges reduced or dismissed in these kinds of cases as Petty Theft, Grand Theft, Identity Theft, Receiving Stolen Property, Burglary, Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Firearm, Auto Burglary and Embezzlement.

A Los Angeles theft-related conviction could be particularly harmful when it comes to gaining future employment, state licensing and other benefits. While a lot of theft convictions can eventually be expunged, they’ll still appear on background checks. Business employers tend to avoid applicants with theft records, fearing them to be shady and having the probability to steal from their companies.

Moreover, most Los Angeles theft offenses are considered “crimes of moral turpitude.” It means that state license boards usually cite theft convictions as the reason to refuse licenses and certifications, including a contractor’s license, a nursing license or even a real estate license. These kinds of convictions could also cause immigration consequences for immigrants seeking a visa, green card or naturalization to the United States.

Fighting a Los Angeles Theft Charge

It’s good to know that a seasoned Los Angeles theft crimes lawyer can often provide help to remove the charge and maintain the matter off your record. Our first solution to each and every theft crimes case is always to look at the details to find out whether the prosecutor actually has sufficient evidence to establish you guilty beyond reasonable doubt. If not, we can challenge the evidence in court and often have the case dropped or even get a “not guilty” judgment at trial.

Sometimes the prosecution’s evidence could be overwhelming. Even then, our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers could discuss an arrangement with the judge or even prosecutor to have the theft charges lowered or dismissed.

This is especially true in first offense theft cases, in which the client is without any record and just made a nasty mistake. In case you agree to pay off the victim and to do a course of community service or theft counseling, often we can easily persuade the D.A. or the court to lower the charges and save you the stigma of a permanent criminal record.

Common Los Angeles Theft Crimes

Petty Theft: Under the Penal Code, this is the stealing of property priced up to $950. Even though the offense is a misdemeanor, a second offense may be charged as a felony (Petty Theft with a Prior).

Grand Theft: Under Penal Code, it is the stealing of property priced at greater than $950. It could be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony.

Grand Theft of a Firearm: Any theft of a firearm counts as “grand theft”, regardless of the value of the gun. This criminal offense is always a felony.

Grand Theft Auto: Some State laws treats any theft of an vehicle as “grand theft”, regardless the price of the car.

Burglary: Entering a structure with the intent to commit a felony or any theft inside constitutes burglary in most states. If the structure is a home or even “inhabited dwelling,” residential burglary could be charged.

Auto Burglary: Breaking into a locked vehicle for the purpose of stealing it constitutes “auto burglary”.

Embezzlement: A person who wrongfully steals or even misappropriates property entrusted to him by the rightful owner could be charged with embezzlement.

Receiving Stolen Property: This happens when someone purchases or perhaps receives property that he/she knows (or reasonably should know) is stolen.

Robbery: A person commits Robbery if he uses violence, force or threats to take property from another person’s immediate possession.

Carjacking: It is basically robbery of a vehicle. If someone uses force or even fear to take a vehicle from someone’s immediate possession, carjacking may be charged.

Los Angeles Grand Theft – Petty Theft – Robbery – Burglary – Larceny – Stolen Property – False Pretense – Shoplifting

Theft is Stealing

Theft crimes, also referred to as Larceny, are crimes where a particular person knowingly and willfully takes somebody else’s property. Theft crimes may include all kinds of stealing and penalties range from fines to prison sentences.

Penalties for Los Angeles Theft

If you have been busted stealing or convicted of a Theft crime, you might be facing any number of Theft Penalties, including:

> Jail
> Probation or Parole
> Restitution (paying back victims for their loss)
> Court-Ordered Counseling
> Fines

The Courts look at each Los Angeles Theft case individually. The highest penalties are given to those criminals who have a history of theft charges and the use of weapons.

Stealing – What is Actually at Stake Here

Soon after you have been caught stealing or charged with a Los Angeles Theft crime, convicted, and paid fines and/or served jail time, your possible might suffer as a consequence.

The charge of Theft could make you to reconsider your job choices (especially those people associated with the financial industry); limit professional certificates and licenses, and comes with a whole life of social judgment. Trust cannot be bought. In all circles, honesty is highly treasured. A criminal record of Theft charges is tough to get rid of.

The significance of getting a skilled Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer to handle your Theft charges cannot be underestimated. One of our organized and seasoned attorneys will be thorough in each and every fact in the case and will include all.

Our office services could include some or even all of the following:

> Early preparation and investigation of all case-related details
> Early identification and interviews of witnesses
> Victim interviews with recorded statements
> Early phone with Prosecutor, before formal case filing
>Removal of bail requirements
> Preparation of motions for Own Recognizance (Or) status
> Scheduling of privately-held lie detector test
> Securing gainful employment for accused
> Preparation of essential documents, such as reference, support, and character letters
> Composition of all formal motions for case dismissal
> Investigation of counseling as a viable option to imprisonment, based on medical or psychological evaluation
> Exploration of alternate options to jail, like house arrest or electronic monitoring
> Presentation of a highly effective defense

Explanation of Los Angeles Theft Crimes

Lots of crime types are committed every single day. Many are minor and many persons commit them. Minor crime examples are traffic violations, such as speeding or illegal u-turns. Some crimes are serious and do not take place as much, fortunately. An example of a serious crime is robbery.

Robbery is taking property from another by force as well as threats. It’s a theft type in the sense that property is illegally taken. However, robbery is more serious than normal theft simply because force or threats are used. This is particularly true if the robber uses a weapon to take property.

Robbery Elements

Crimes are made up of elements that needs to be fulfilled to convict a person. Robbery has 4 main elements. A person is guilty of robbery if he:

* Takes property from its rightful owner
* Acts without the owner’s permission
* Intends to steal property
* Uses force or intimidation against the owner

An individual must have particular intention to commit robbery. If he is just borrowing property or trying to play a joke, it’s not robbery.

The force or intimidation has to be directly connected to the taking of property for the act to become robbery. It can’t be after the property is taken. The force or intimidation has to be immediate. There’s no robbery if the threat is for possible violence.

Aggravated Robbery

From time to time robbery happens under situations making it much more serious than simple robbery. This is called aggravated robbery. Many different factors can make simple robbery easily into aggravated robbery. Common aggravating factors include:

* Using a deadly weapon
* Inflicting serious bodily harm

A deadly weapon is one that can be used to kill or even seriously hurt or injure. Using a deadly weapon to force or threaten a person to steal his property is an aggravating factor raising crime severity. Common deadly weapons include guns and knives.

If an individual inflicts serious bodily harm on a victim, he might also be charged with aggravated robbery, even without having to use a deadly weapon. Laws and regulations impose a far more serious penalty when a victim is seriously hurt, and not simply threatened. Some states do not require serious injury in some cases.

For example, one is accountable in Texas of aggravated robbery if he brings about bodily injury to anyone 65 years or even older or even who is disabled.

Punishment for Robbery

Robbery is known as a felony. Many states and the federal government classify a crime that’s punishable by more than one year in jail as a felony. A number of states consider a felony as any kind of crime that’s punishable by any jail time.

In comparison, an inexpensive theft is usually regarded as a misdemeanor. Many states and the federal government categorize a crime that’s punishable by less than one year in prison as a misdemeanor. Some states consider a misdemeanor as any kind of crime that’s punishable simply by fine or short jail sentence. Whether or not a crime is a robbery or a theft could have a great effect on punishment.

Common punishment for robbery conviction is a prison sentence. Sentence period depends on someone’s criminal history and case circumstances. A big fine can also be imposed together with any prison sentence. States will often have increased punishments for aggravated robbery.

Los Angeles Theft Attorney

The Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys of our firm offer numerous years of experience defending clients from theft-related charges all over Los Angeles and the surrounding areas.

Fighting a Los Angeles Theft Charge

Common Los Angeles Theft Crimes