Stealing

Jefferson County, MO Stealing Attorney

Stealing and Theft Offenses

The term theft is used to refer to offenses involving the taking of a person’s property without their permission. Under Missouri law, this crime is called stealing and it has three key elements:

  1. The taking of someone else’s property,
  2. Without the consent of the owner, or by coercion or deceit,
  3. With the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property


Although many states distinguish different types of theft by degrees, or as petit or grand larceny, Missouri does not. In Missouri, any type of theft is categorized as stealing and only distinguished by different levels of punishment determined by the item that was stolen.


For example, in Missouri a first offense of Stealing is a class D misdemeanor with a maximum punishment of a $500 fine as long as the value of the item stolen does not exceed $150, is not an animal or livestock with a value of more than $300, liquid nitrogen, anhydrous ammonia, a motor vehicle, a boat, an aircraft, or is not the property of a financial institution.

Examples of Stealing and the related penalties in Missouri are:

  • Class A felony

    Punishable by 10 to 30 years, or life in prison if the property stolen consists of:

    • A tank truck, tank trailer, rail tank car, bulk storage tank, field nurse, field tank or field applicator that contains any amount of anhydrous ammonia.

  • Class B felony

    Punishable by 5 to 15 years in prison if the property stolen consists of:

    • Any amount of anhydrous ammonia or liquid nitrogen.
    • Livestock with a value of $10,000 or more.
    • Property owned by or in the custody of a financial institution and the property is taken or attempted to be taken physically from an individual

  • Class C felony

    Punishable by 3 to 15 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000 if the property stolen consists of:

    • Property or services with a value of $25,000 or more.

  • Class D felony

    Punishable by up to 7 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000 if the property stolen is:

    Valued at $750 or more.

    Physically taken from the person of the victim

    A motor vehicle, watercraft or aircraft

    A will or unrecorded deed affecting real property

    A credit device, debit device or letter of credit

    A firearm

    An explosive weapon

    A United States national flag designed, intended and used for display on buildings or stationary flagstaffs in the open

    An original copy of an act, bill or resolution, introduced or acted upon by the legislature of the state of Missouri

    A pleading, notice, judgment or any other record or entry of any court of this state, any other state or of the United States;

    A book of registration or list of voters

    An animal considered livestock

    A live fish raised for commercial sale with a value of seventy-five dollars or more

    Any captive wildlife held under permit issued by the conservation commission

    Any controlled substance

    Ammonium nitrate

    Any wire, electrical transformer, or metallic wire associated with transmitting telecommunications, video, internet, or voice over internet protocol service, or any other device or pipe that is associated with conducting electricity or transporting natural gas or other combustible fuels; or

    Any material appropriated with the intent to use such material to manufacture, compound, produce, prepare, test or analyze amphetamine or methamphetamine or any of their analogues.

  • Class E felony

    Punishable by up to 4 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000 if the property stolen is:

    An animal

    Anything, and the person has 3 previous stealing convictions during the past 10 years.

  • Class A Misdemeanor

    Punishable by up to 1 year in the county jail and/or up to a $1000 fine if the stealing offense does not fall into one of the above categories.

Shoplifting

Shoplifting is the term generally used to refer to the theft of merchandise from a business. Under Missouri law shoplifting is treated no differently that stealing and still requires proof that the perpetrator took someone else’s property without their consent and with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of it.


However, many cities and towns have adopted municipal ordinances that do distinguish between shoplifting and stealing. For instance, the Festus City Code sets forth what constitutes shoplifting in that city. It states:

“Any person willfully concealing unpurchased merchandise of any mercantile establishment, either on the premises or outside the premises of such establishment, shall be presumed to have so concealed such merchandise with the intention of committing a wrongful taking of such merchandise . . . “

Shoplifting is the term generally used to refer to the theft of merchandise from a business. Under Missouri law shoplifting is treated no differently that stealing and still requires proof that the perpetrator took someone else’s property without their consent and with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of it.


However, many cities and towns have adopted municipal ordinances that do distinguish between shoplifting and stealing. For instance, the Festus City Code sets forth what constitutes shoplifting in that city. It states:

“Any person willfully concealing unpurchased merchandise of any mercantile establishment, either on the premises or outside the premises of such establishment, shall be presumed to have so concealed such merchandise with the intention of committing a wrongful taking of such merchandise . . . “


The Festus City Code also contains a completely separate ordinance for stealing, which states:


“A person commits the offense of stealing if he/she appropriates property or services of another with the purpose to deprive him/her thereof, either without his/her consent or by means of deceit or coercion.”


The Festus city ordinance for stealing is identical to the state law. However, in municipalities shoplifting consists of a completely different offense which is much easier to prove than a stealing charge. The only proof that the Festus city ordinance requires is that the person concealed the merchandise. There is no requirement that the concealing was done in order to permanently deprive the owner of the property, only that it was concealed. It is not even necessary that the person leave the premises with the property.

Almost all cities and towns have an ordinance for shoplifting. Although most people consider it a minor crime it is punishable by up to 90 days in the city jail and a fine of up to $500. In addition, a shoplifting conviction carries with it the same negative connotations as a stealing conviction. If you are arrested for shoplifting, you should contact us immediately so that we can work to keep this charge off you record.

Receiving Stolen Property

Under the new Missouri criminal laws effective January 1, 2017, there is no longer a separate offense for what has historically been known as receiving stolen property. It is not because Missouri no longer recognizes the offense, it has simply been incorporated into the new Stealing statute. This was accomplished by extending the definition of Stealing to include “depriving the owner of a lawful interest in property by receiving, retaining or disposing of the property of another knowing that it has been stolen, or believing that it has been stolen.” So anyone who receives property knowing it has been stolen will now be charged with “Stealing” rather than “Receiving Stolen Property. “a

Stealing Leased or Rented Property

A person commits the offense of stealing leased or rented property if, with the intent to deprive the owner thereof, such person: (1) Purposefully fails to return leased or rented personal property to the place and within the time specified in an agreement in writing providing for the leasing or renting of such personal property; (2) Conceals or aids or abets the concealment of the property from the owner; (3) Sells, encumbers, conveys, pawns, loans, abandons or gives away the leased or rented property or any part thereof, without the written consent of the lessor, or without informing the person to whom the property is transferred to that the property is subject to a lease; (4) Returns the property to the lessor at the end of the lease term, plus any agreed upon extensions, but does not pay the lease charges agreed upon in the written instrument, with the intent to wrongfully deprive the lessor of the agreed upon charges.


The offense of stealing leased or rented property is a class A misdemeanor unless the property involved has a value of seven hundred fifty dollars or more, in which case stealing leased or rented property is a class D felony.

Missouri Stealing Law

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    A person commits the offense of stealing if he or she: (1) Appropriates property or services of another with the purpose to deprive him or her thereof, either without his or her consent or by means of deceit or coercion; (2) Attempts to appropriate anhydrous ammonia or liquid nitrogen of another with the purpose to deprive him or her thereof, either without his or her consent or by means of deceit or coercion; or (3) For the purpose of depriving the owner of a lawful interest therein, receives, retains or disposes of property of another knowing that it has been stolen, or believing that it has been stolen.


    The offense of stealing is a class A felony if the property appropriated consists of any of the following containing any amount of anhydrous ammonia: a tank truck, tank trailer, rail tank car, bulk storage tank, field nurse, field tank or field applicator.


    The offense of stealing is a class B felony if: (1) The property appropriated or attempted to be appropriated consists of any amount of anhydrous ammonia or liquid nitrogen; or (2) The property consists of any animal considered livestock, or any captive wildlife held under permit issued by the conservation commission, and the value of the animal or animals appropriated exceeds three thousand dollars and that person has previously been found guilty of appropriating any animal considered livestock or captive wildlife held under permit issued by the conservation commission. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, such person shall serve a minimum prison term of not less than eighty percent of his or her sentence before he or she is eligible for probation, parole, conditional release, or other early release by the department of corrections; or (3) A person appropriates property consisting of a motor vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft, and that person has previously been found guilty of two stealing-related offenses committed on two separate occasions where such offenses occurred within ten years of the date of occurrence of the present offense; or (4) The property appropriated or attempted to be appropriated consists of any animal considered livestock if the value of the livestock exceeds ten thousand dollars; or (5) The property appropriated or attempted to be appropriated is owned by or in the custody of a financial institution and the property is taken or attempted to be taken physically from an individual person to deprive the owner or custodian of the property.


    The offense of stealing is a class C felony if the value of the property or services appropriated is twenty-five thousand dollars or more.


    The offense of stealing is a class D felony if: (1) The value of the property or services appropriated is seven hundred fifty dollars or more; (2) The offender physically takes the property appropriated from the person of the victim; or (3) The property appropriated consists of: (a) Any motor vehicle, watercraft or aircraft; (b) Any will or unrecorded deed affecting real property; (c) Any credit device, debit device or letter of credit; (d) Any firearms; (e) Any explosive weapon; (f) Any United States national flag designed, intended and used for display on buildings or stationary flagstaffs in the open; (g) Any original copy of an act, bill or resolution, introduced or acted upon by the legislature of the state of Missouri; (h) Any pleading, notice, judgment or any other record or entry of any court of this state, any other state or of the United States; (i) Any book of registration or list of voters; (j) Any animal considered livestock; (k) Any live fish raised for commercial sale with a value of seventy-five dollars or more; (l) Any captive wildlife held under permit issued by the conservation commission; (m) Any controlled substance; (n) Ammonium nitrate; (o) Any wire, electrical transformer, or metallic wire associated with transmitting telecommunications, video, internet, or voice over internet protocol service, or any other device or pipe that is associated with conducting electricity or transporting natural gas or other combustible fuels; or (p) Any material appropriated with the intent to use such material to manufacture, compound, produce, prepare, test or analyze amphetamine or methamphetamine or any of their analogues.


    The offense of stealing is a class E felony if: (1) the property appropriated is an animal; or (2) A person has previously been found guilty of three stealing-related offenses committed on three separate occasions, where such offenses occurred within ten years of the date of occurrence of the present offense.


    The offense of stealing is a class D misdemeanor if the property is not of a type listed in subsection 2, 3, 5, or 6 of this section, the property appropriated has a value of less than one hundred fifty dollars, and the person has no previous findings of guilt for a stealing-related offense.


    The offense of stealing is a class A misdemeanor if no other penalty is specified in this sectio

Areas Served

If you are facing charges of Stealing or Shoplifting in Jefferson County, St. Francois County, St. Louis County, Ste. Genevieve County, Washington County or Franklin County Missouri, including the cities of Arnold, Barnhart, Bloomsdale, Byrnes Mill, Cedar Hill, Crystal City, Desloge, DeSoto, Dittmer, Eureka, Farmington, Fenton, Festus, Fredericktown, French Village, Herculaneum, High Ridge, Hillsboro, Horine, House Springs, Imperial, Kimmswick, Mapaville, Mine La Motte, Mineral Point, Morse Mill, Olympian Village, Park Hills, Perryville, Pevely, Potosi, Ste. Genevieve, or Valles Mines, exercise your right to remain silent and your right to speak to an attorney immediately.


These are serious charges that can involve serious jail time, fines and do permanent damage to your criminal record. When you retain the Lednick Law Firm, you are getting the experience of a former Assistant Prosecuting Attorney who knows how to protect your rights when faced with these types of charges and the hurdles they present. Contact us today at 636-638-2150 for an immediate free consultation.