The crime of Criminal Mischief in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Denver County is basically defined as the destruction of someone else’s property. Even if the property is owned by you, but you are married or living with another person, the police can still charge you with a crime. The severity of the crime is based upon the amount of monetary damages to replace, or repair, the item. There are many cases of Criminal Mischief which are overcharged because the dollar value of the item is inflated.
Your Property May Not Be Yours to Break
The police in Adams, Jefferson, and Broomfield County will arrest you for breaking something that is in your own home. The Colorado law states that a person can be charged with the crime of Criminal Mischief when property is damaged / destroyed that belongs to you and another person. I had a case where my client had received a plasma TV for his birthday a few years before he married his wife. After he was married, the police were called to their home and arrested him because he had thrown the TV to the ground and broke the screen. He had to bond out of jail, couldn’t speak with his wife because of his Mandatory Protection Order, and had to hire us to represent him. The charges were dropped when we were able to work with his wife to show that she had no financial interest in the TV. This case took a lot of effort and cost their family a lot of time together. These situations are, unfortunately, not uncommon. The police are so interested in obtaining an arrest that most of the time they fail to look into the facts of a case.
Class of Crime is Dependant on Amount of Damage
The potential punishment for Criminal Mischief charges in Elbert, El Paso, and Gilpin County varies based on the amount of damage that was allegedly caused. For instance, if a picture frame broke and it was only worth $20.00, then you would be facing a Class 3 Misdemeanor. On the other hand, if you pulled a Carrie Underwood and destroyed your cheating partner’s brand new $40,000.00 pickup truck, you could be facing charges of a Class 4 Felony. The punishment for these charges varies as much as the charge themselves. You could be facing jail or prison time, probation, fines, restitution, and a host of other penalties.
So, if contacted by police who want to ask you about a destruction of property case, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and call the experienced Criminal Mischief lawyers at the O’Malley Law Office, P.C., at 303-731-0719. Together, we can protect your future