In Fort Collins and Larimer County, Criminal Mischief is charged when a person is accused of causing property damage to another’s property. As election day approaches, we are seeing more and more campaign signs scattered along the road and on light poles across the state. Recently, a candidate for county commissioner reported that some of her campaign signs had been stolen and others vandalized. The signs with the damage had the words “Hail Satan” spray painted on them. This occurred on the signs at three different intersections. It’s unknown at this time who the campaign sign tagger is, but it’s likely not a voter supporting this particular candidate. If found, the person or person(s) involved would face charges for Theft and Criminal Mischief.
Larimer County Lawyer for Criminal Mischief Charges: Definition of Campaign Sign Criminal Mischief
The Larimer County, Colorado law definition of Criminal Mischief – C.R.S. 18-4-501 – is:
Obviously, the campaign signs are the property of the candidate, so anyone messing with them would be messing with another person’s property.
Sentence for Criminal Mischief in Loveland and Estes Park
In Fort Collins, Loveland and Estes Park, Criminal Mischief is charged much like Theft. It ranges from a petty offense to a high level felony depending on the amount of damage that is done. It is charged as follows:
(b) A class 2 misdemeanor when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is three hundred dollars or more but less than one thousand dollars;
(c) A class 1 misdemeanor when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one thousand dollars or more but less than two thousand dollars;
(d) A class 6 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is two thousand dollars or more but less than five thousand dollars;
(e) A class 5 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is five thousand dollars or more but less than twenty thousand dollars;
(f) A class 4 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is twenty thousand dollars or more but less than one hundred thousand dollars;
(g) A class 3 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one hundred thousand dollars or more but less than one million dollars; and
(h) A class 2 felony when the aggregate damage to the real or personal property is one million dollars or more.
It’s not noted in the article the cost of the signs, but I would guess it was in the petty offense to low level misdemeanor range, depending on the size of the signs.
If you or someone you love has been charged with Criminal Mischief, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-658-0007 to schedule a free initial consultation. Together, we can protect your future.
Photo by Felicity Tai