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visit Burglary, Robbery and Motor Vehicle Theft...............return to felonies and misdemeanors
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return to Criminal Defense Lawyer Richard Zemble home page
visit the Delaware SENTAC Sentencing Chart

THEFT

A person is guilty of theft when the person takes, exercises control over or obtains property of another person intending to deprive that person of it or appropriate it. A person is guilty of theft if the person, in any capacity, legally receives, takes, exercises control over or obtains property of another which is the subject of theft, and fraudulently converts same to the person's own use. A person is guilty of theft of a motor vehicle when the person takes, exercises control over or obtains a motor vehicle of another person intending to deprive the other person of it or appropriate it. A person is guilty of "theft: organized retail crime" when the person takes, exercises control over, or obtains retail merchandise of another person intending to deprive that person of it, or receives stolen property in violation of § 851 of this title, in quantities that would not normally be purchased for personal use or consumption, with the intent to appropriate or to resell or reenter the merchandise into commerce. A person is guilty of theft of a blank prescription form or pad when the person is not a practitioner as defined in this section and takes, exercises control over, obtains or receives, produces or reproduces any facsimile or counterfeit version of, or transfers, uses, gives, or sells any copies, facsimiles or counterfeit versions, a prescription form or pad of a practitioner with the intent to deprive the practitioner of the use thereof or to facilitate the commission of drug diversion. A person commits theft when, with the intent prescribed in § 841 of this title, the person exercises control over property of another person which the person knows to have been lost or mislaid. A person commits theft when, with the intent specified in § 841 of this title, the person obtains services which the person knows are available only for compensation by deception, threat, false token, false representation or statement.

Larceny (usually not in the Delaware code) refers to more serious theft and includes robbery, fraud and embezzlement. In larceny, the individual must take physical control of the property and move it from its original position. Larceny cannot be committed against intangible items such as identity, love, land, ideas, contract rights and wills, corpses or wild animals. Larceny is a crime against possession with value.
Larceny in the Delaware code refers to whoever feloniously steals, takes and carries away any cow, steer, bull, calf, heifer or swine and this larceny is a class G felony. The minimum sentence of imprisonment required by subsection (a) of this section shall not be subject to suspension and no person convicted under this section shall be eligible for probation or parole during the first 6 months of the sentence.

Petty theft in a store is shoplifting. Shoplifting involves carrying and concealing merchandise out of a store with the intent of stealing it. It is illegal to modify price tags, commit refund fraud, remove a shopping cart from a store location or use an illegal form of payment. Most shoplifting is committed by juveniles and the elderly.

RECEIVING STOLEN PROPERTY

A person is guilty of receiving stolen property if the person intentionally receives, retains or disposes of property of another person with intent to deprive the owner of it or to appropriate it, knowing that it has been acquired under circumstances amounting to theft, or believing that it has been so acquired. If the receipt of stolen property has a value of $5000 or more and has been transported across state lines, it becomes a federal crime under 18 U.S.C.§2315.A person is guilty of selling stolen property if, after the person receives stolen property pursuant to § 851 of this title, the person sells some or all of the stolen property received. A person may be convicted of both receiving stolen property and selling stolen property.

According to CQ Press, theft and larceny account for 59% of all crimes in America.

IDENTITY THEFT

A person commits identity theft when the person knowingly or recklessly obtains, produces, possesses, uses, sells, gives or transfers personal identifying information belonging or pertaining to another person without the consent of the other person and with intent to use the information to commit or facilitate any crime set forth in this title.
A person commits identity theft when the person knowingly or recklessly obtains, produces, possesses, uses, sells, gives or transfers personal identifying information belonging or pertaining to another person without the consent of the other person, thereby knowingly or recklessly facilitating the use of the information by a third person to commit or facilitate any crime set forth in this title.
For the purposes of this section, "personal identifying information" includes name, address, birth date, Social Security number, driver's license number, telephone number, financial services account number, savings account number, checking account number, credit card number, debit card number, identification document or false identification document, electronic identification number, educational record, health care record, financial record, credit record, employment record, e-mail address, computer system password, mother's maiden name or similar personal number, record or information.
Identity theft is a class D felony.

PROSECUTION OF THEFT

Most thefts will be prosecuted by the state at the state level in the state in which the theft occurred. An individual charged with shoplifting, a less serious crime than larceny, cannot avoid prosecution by payment of restitution to the merchant. Shoplifting penalties depend on the individual's background of criminal history, the value of goods stolen, the place of the crime and the laws set by local jurisdictions.

The federal government will prosecute theft crimes involving interstate commerce. According to the Department of Justice, crimes of theft are decreasing. However, categories of theft that are increasing in the number of crimes committed include credit card theft, identity fraud and Internet fraud.

CLASSIFICATION OF THEFT CRIMES IN DELAWARE

The value of the items of theft determine whether the crime is a felony or a misdemeanor. Link to a complete list of felony Delaware Sentencing Guidelines., misdemeanor Delaware sentencing guidelines and the Delaware SENTAC sentencing charts.

Delaware Classification of Theft Crimes

Theft Crime	Classification
Theft < $1500	Class A Misdemeanor
Theft of $1500 or more or victim is 62 years of age or older or victim is an infirm adult or victim is a disabled person	Class G Felony
Theft of $1500 or more and victim os 62 years of age or older or victim is an infirm adult or victim is a disabled person	Class F felony
Theft of > $50,000 but < $100,000	Class E felony
Theft of > $100,000	Class C felony

Upon conviction, the sentencing judge shall require full restitution to the victim for any monetary losses suffered and consider community service and/or curfew of a minor. The serious crime of grand larceny may be punishable by fine and confinement in jail.

SHOPLIFTING DEFENSE

A common defense to shoplifting is mistake - that the accused forgot the item was in his pocket and mistakenly left the store. Another defense is the absence of intent to keep the item permanently. However, the individual cannot borrow the item and forget to return it. A store representative may detain an individual and search his bag, but if he is wrong, the store representative may be charged with character defamation and emotional stress.

visit Burglary, Robbery and Motor Vehicle Theft...............return to felonies and misdemeanors
visit gang participation codes in Delaware................................visit drug codes in Delaware
return to Criminal Defense Lawyer Richard Zemble home page
visit the Delaware SENTAC Sentencing Chart