Caroline County Theft Penalties
When charged with theft in Caroline County, there are various degrees of penalties that one may face.
Felony theft is a theft of anything that costs or has a value of $500 or more. A conviction for felony theft carries from one to 20 years in jail and a fine of $2,500. In addition, with a felony crime, a person loses the right to vote and possess a firearm. They must pay restitution and may also be put on some form of supervised probation. The harshest penalty someone might experience when convicted of a theft in Caroline County is 20 years in jail, a fine of $2,500, restitution, and supervised probation after release.
Petty Larceny
Petty larceny is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Once a person has two petty larcenies on their record, any subsequent petty larceny can be charged as a felony. These felonies carry a significant amount of jail time and fines. Because the third petty larceny charge is a felony, a person can lose some constitutional rights if they are convicted of those crimes.
Aggravating Factors
The first consequence that can occur when someone has previous larcenies on their record is the possibility of being charged with a compound felony. Second, larceny is considered to be a crime of moral turpitude. When a person is a witness for someone else in a criminal or civil suit, their conviction of a petty larceny becomes admissible to impeach that person as a witness. Normally that is not admissible in a prior previous criminal history when it is a crime of an individual’s device. When such an individual testifies, they could be impeached and their criminal history can be brought up because larceny is considered to be a crime of moral turpitude. Their conviction of petty larceny is evidence that can be considered when determining if they are a trustworthy individual.
Lastly, when an individual has previous larcenies on their record and they are on trial for another incident such as larceny or something else, a judge may sentence that person more harshly because they did not “learn their lesson” from previous run-ins with the law. Having numerous larcenies on an individual’s record when facing an additional larceny charge may persuade the trier or finder of fact to sentence that person more harshly. It seems that the individual does not understand or did not learn their lesson from being involved in the criminal justice system on previous occasions.
Probation or Reduced Sentence
A Caroline County theft penalty charge can be reduced in certain situations. Caroline County is willing to work with someone to allow them an opportunity to not have a larceny or any kind of conviction on their record. These are referred to as first offender programs. First offender programs are found in the Virginia Code and also in different courtrooms and different jurisdictions depending on the Commonwealth attorneys.
Role of a Theft Lawyer
An attorney can offer two kinds of support: legal and moral. The legal support is handling the defense of someone’s case. The theft lawyer defends the person’s case by:
- Gathering information
- Investigating the situation
- Negotiating with the Commonwealth
- Speaking with police officers
- Locating witnesses
All of these things in a legal matter come as part and parcel to hiring a lawyer to defend an individual. Please contact experienced attorneys today to help you better understand any Caroline County theft penalty.
