In Texas, theft runs from a Class C misdemeanor with a maximum $500 fine to a first degree felony carrying five to ninety-nine years or life. What decides the grade is almost always the value of the property taken, but a handful of items — a firearm, a catalytic converter, an election ballot, property taken directly off a person — are felonies no matter what they are worth. The offense is defined at Texas Penal Code Section 31.03.
What does the State have to prove for a theft charge?
Section 31.03(a) says a person commits theft if he unlawfully appropriates property with intent to deprive the owner of it. Subsection (b) explains what makes an appropriation unlawful: it is without the owner’s effective consent, or the property is stolen and the actor appropriates it knowing it was stolen by another, or the property is in the custody of a law enforcement agency and was explicitly represented to the actor as being stolen.
Two words carry most of the weight. Effective consent means consent that was not induced by deception or coercion and was given by someone with authority to give it, which is why a great many theft cases are really disputes about what a business arrangement actually was. Intent to deprive is a state of mind at the time of the taking, which is why possession of someone else’s property, standing alone, is not the offense.
What is the theft value ladder in Texas?
| Value of the property | Offense grade | Punishment range |
|---|---|---|
| Under $100 | Class C misdemeanor | Fine up to $500; no jail is available (Sec. 12.23) |
| $100 to $749 | Class B misdemeanor | Up to 180 days in county jail, a fine up to $2,000, or both (Sec. 12.22) |
| $750 to $2,499 | Class A misdemeanor | Up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $4,000, or both (Sec. 12.21) |
| $2,500 to $29,999 | State jail felony | 180 days to 2 years in a state jail, plus a fine up to $10,000 (Sec. 12.35) |
| $30,000 to $149,999 | Third degree felony | 2 to 10 years in TDCJ, plus a fine up to $10,000 (Sec. 12.34) |
| $150,000 to $299,999 | Second degree felony | 2 to 20 years in TDCJ, plus a fine up to $10,000 (Sec. 12.33) |
| $300,000 or more | First degree felony | Life, or 5 to 99 years in TDCJ, plus a fine up to $10,000 (Sec. 12.32) |
Section 31.03(e) sets the grade; the punishment ranges come from Chapter 12 of the Penal Code. Note the Class C line in particular: a theft under $100 with no prior theft conviction cannot be punished by any period of confinement at all.
Which thefts are felonies regardless of value?
Subsection (e)(4) makes a theft a state jail felony without regard to the dollar amount when the property is a firearm, when it is taken from the person of another, or when it is taken from a human corpse or grave, including a military grave marker. The same subsection covers an official ballot or a ballot carrier envelope, less than $20,000 of aluminum, bronze, copper, or brass, and a catalytic converter with a replacement cost under $30,000.
Higher up the ladder, subsection (e)(5) makes it a third degree felony to steal cattle, horses, or exotic livestock or fowl aggregating less than $150,000, ten or more head of sheep, swine, or goats under $150,000, or a controlled substance valued under $150,000 taken from a pharmacy, clinic, hospital, nursing facility, warehouse, or a wholesale prescription drug distributor’s vehicle. Subsection (e)(6) makes theft of an automated teller machine, or its contents or components, a second degree felony where the value is under $300,000.
How do prior theft convictions change the charge?
They move it up the ladder without changing anything about the property. Under subsection (e)(2), a theft of property worth less than $100 becomes a Class B misdemeanor if the person has any prior theft conviction of any grade. Under subsection (e)(4), a theft of property worth less than $2,500 becomes a state jail felony — that is, a felony — if the person has two or more prior theft convictions of any grade. Two old shoplifting cases can therefore turn a new shoplifting case into a felony.
When does a theft charge get bumped up a category?
Subsection (f) raises the offense one category above what subsection (e) would otherwise assign, for grades (e)(1) through (e)(6), when the actor was a public servant who took the property by virtue of that status, when the actor was a government contractor who used that contractual relationship, or when the theft involved defeating a fire exit alarm or a retail theft detector, or possessing an instrument designed to shield or deactivate one. Subsection (f-1) raises grades (e)(4) through (e)(6) one category for a catalytic converter theft in which the actor possessed a firearm.
There is also a disaster provision: subsection (e)(4) makes it a state jail felony to steal less than $30,000 in a declared disaster area while purporting to be a disaster relief volunteer, as described in Section 32.61.
Charged with theft in Harris County?
Value is an element the State has to prove, and it is proven with evidence — not with a store’s internal price tag or a complainant’s estimate. Where a case sits on the ladder is frequently negotiable, and the difference between $2,499 and $2,500 is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony. Call Blass Law at (713) 664-4000 or request a case evaluation and we will look at how the State arrived at its number.
Related: Houston theft lawyer, Texas Penal Code Section 30.02, burglary, and what is a Class B misdemeanor in Texas.
Reviewed by Jay Blass Cohen, founder of Blass Law PLLC — ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, certified Drug Recognition Expert, and SFST instructor, serving Houston since 2009. This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.