Texas Theft Offenses

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Montgomery County Theft Attorneys

Theft crimes in Texas include many different types of theft. Some examples include shoplifting from a store, writing bad checks, selling stolen goods, and employer-employee theft. There are many other types of theft and how you are charged and the punishment you face will depend on the value of what was taken and other circumstances. Punishments can range from paying a fine to prison time.

Theft Crimes in Texas

Theft crimes in Texas fall under Section 31 of the Penal Code, entitled “Theft” as a property crime. Property in this context can be anything you own or is in your possession, whether real property, personal belongings, documents, cash, services, retail merchandise, or anything that represents something of value. Theft involves the offender depriving the alleged victim of his or her property, whether through deception, coercion, or some other means of appropriation. ​ Class C misdemeanor theft occurs when the property or services stolen is less than $100. This is punishable by a fine of up to $500. ​Class B misdemeanor theft involves stealing property or services valued between $100 to $749, and is charged when the theft is a second or subsequent offense or when the property stolen is a driver’s license. It is punishable by jail time of up to 180 days and/or a fine of up to $2,000. Class A misdemeanor theft occurs when the stolen items or services were valued at $750 up to $2,499. It carries up to a year in jail and/or a fine of up to $4,000.

Robbery

A person commits an offense if, in the course of committing theft and with intent to obtain or maintain control of the property, he:

  1. intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another;  or
  2. intentionally or knowingly threatens or places another in fear of imminent bodily injury or death.

In the course of committing theft means conduct that occurs in an attempt to commit, during the commission, or in immediate flight after the attempt or commission of theft.

An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree. A second degree felony offense and is punishable from a minimum of 2 years and up to a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Aggravated Robbery

A person commits an offense if he commits robbery and he:

(1)  causes serious bodily injury to another;

(2)  uses or exhibits a deadly weapon; or

(3)  causes bodily injury to another person or threatens or places another person in fear of imminent bodily injury or death, if the other person is:

(A)  65 years of age or older; or

(B)  a disabled person.

An offense under this section is a first degree felony. A first degree felony offense is punishable from a minimum of 5 years and up to a maximum of 99 years or life in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Burglary of Habitation and Burglary of Building

A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner, the person:

(1)  enters a habitation, or a building (or any portion of a building) not then open to the public, with intent to commit a felony, theft, or an assault; or

(2)  remains concealed, with intent to commit a felony, theft, or an assault, in a building or habitation; or

(3)  enters a building or habitation and commits or attempts to commit a felony, theft, or an assault.

An offense under this section is a state jail felony if committed in a building other than a habitation. If committed in a habitation this offense is a second degree felony.

A state jail felony is punishable from a minimum of 6 months up to a maximum of 2 years in state jail prison and a $10,000 fine. A second degree felony offense and is punishable from a minimum of 2 years and up to a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

There are also other circumstances that can make burglary a first degree felony or a third degree felony.

Credit or Debit Card Abuse

A person commits credit card or debit card abuse if:

(1)  with intent to obtain a benefit fraudulently, he presents or uses a credit card or debit card with knowledge that:

(A)  the card, whether or not expired, has not been issued to him and is not used with the effective consent of the cardholder; or

(B)  the card has expired or has been revoked or cancelled;

(2)  with intent to obtain a benefit, he uses a fictitious credit card or debit card or the pretended number or description of a fictitious card;

(3)  he receives a benefit that he knows has been obtained in violation of this section;

(4)  he steals a credit card or debit card or, with knowledge that it has been stolen, receives a credit card or debit card with intent to use it, to sell it, or to transfer it to a person other than the issuer or the cardholder;

(5)  he buys a credit card or debit card from a person who he knows is not the issuer;

(6)  not being the issuer, he sells a credit card or debit card;

(7)  he uses or induces the cardholder to use the cardholder’s credit card or debit card to obtain property or service for the actor’s benefit for which the cardholder is financially unable to pay;

(8)  not being the cardholder, and without the effective consent of the cardholder, he possesses a credit card or debit card with intent to use it;

(9)  he possesses two or more incomplete credit cards or debit cards that have not been issued to him with intent to complete them without the effective consent of the issuer.  For purposes of this subdivision, a card is incomplete if part of the matter that an issuer requires to appear on the card before it can be used, other than the signature of the cardholder, has not yet been stamped, embossed, imprinted, or written on it;

(10)  being authorized by an issuer to furnish goods or services on presentation of a credit card or debit card, he, with intent to defraud the issuer or the cardholder, furnishes goods or services on presentation of a credit card or debit card obtained or retained in violation of this section or a credit card or debit card that is forged, expired, or revoked; or

(11)  being authorized by an issuer to furnish goods or services on presentation of a credit card or debit card, he, with intent to defraud the issuer or a cardholder, fails to furnish goods or services that he represents in writing to the issuer that he has furnished.

An offense under this section is a state jail felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the offense was committed against an elderly individual who is 65 years of age or older. A state jail felony is punishable from a minimum of 6 months up to a maximum of 2 years in state jail prison and a $10,000 fine. A third degree felony offense and is punishable from a minimum of 2 years and up to a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 

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