The Arvada Police were recently dispatched to a local Safeway to investigate an alleged Theft (C.R.S. 18-4-401). According to an employee of the Colorado store, a man left the store without paying for a cart of groceries. When the employee confronted the alleged perpetrator, the man said he needed to eat and then ran away with the groceries. The store could not yet tell the Arvada Police what the total value of the items taken was.
It is a sad byproduct of our bad economy when good people have to resort to theft in order to feed themselves and their families. As criminal defense attorneys, we are seeing more people come to us because they have been accused of shoplifting food in Jefferson, Douglas, or Arapahoe County, Colorado. It doesn’t matter if a person is accused with stealing a $300.00 iPod or a $5.00 sandwich, the penalty for stealing anything valued less than $500 is up to one year in jail and up to a $1000 fine, since it is a class 2 misdemeanor. Likewise, theft of items valued between $500 and $999 is a class 1 misdemeanor, and theft of anything $1000 or above constitutes a felony.
While theft might seem like a simple crime, it requires proof of elements that may not always be so clear. For example, can someone be charged with this crime if the Aurora police believe the person intends to leave the store with unpaid items, but he has not yet left the store? These can be tricky questions of law, and people who are charged with any crime should have an attorney who knows how to litigate these issues in court.
If you have been accused of theft or shoplifting in Denver, Weld, or Adams County, the attorneys at the O’Malley Law Office can help achieve the best possible outcome in your case. Mitigating circumstances, like needing to provide the essentials of life for yourself or your family, can be used to make prosecutors understand the full picture of you as a person, not just as another number on their docket. Beyond that, our arsenal of legal experience after 20 years of law practice provides vast resources for legal maneuvering in your criminal case. We care about you. So, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and call us today at 303-731-0719. Together, we can protect your future.