- prohibiting the person on probation from working with money at his or her job
- limiting and monitoring bank accounts
- watching and documenting all income
Felony Theft Definition
Colorado law defines Theft – C.R.S. 18-4-401 – as:
- Intends to deprive the other person permanently of the use or benefit of the thing of value;
- Knowingly uses, conceals, or abandons the thing of value in such manner as to deprive the other person permanently of its use or benefit;
- Uses, conceals, or abandons the thing of value intending that such use, concealment, or abandonment will deprive the other person permanently of its use or benefit;
- Demands any consideration to which he or she is not legally entitled as a condition of restoring the thing of value to the other person; or
- Knowingly retains the thing of value more than seventy-two hours after the agreed-upon time of return in any lease or hire agreement. (i.e. rental car)
That’s a lot of words to basically say: Theft is taking something that has value without the owner’s permission, with the plan of never allowing the owner to have it again.
Sentences for Felony Theft
The sentence for a Felony Theft in Larimer, Boulder, and Grand County depends on the value of the item or items taken. The Felony Theft classes are as follows:
- A class 6 felony if the value of the item is between $2,000 and $4,999.99
- A class 5 felony if the value of the item is between $5,000 and $19,999.99
- A class 4 felony if the value the item is between $20,000 and $99.999.99
- A class 3 felony if the value of the item is between $100,000 and $999,999
- A class 2 felony if the value of the item is $1,000,000 or more.
While many of our clients go to trial and are acquitted of all charges, a conviction on any of these felony levels could result in a sentence to prison. However, this does not necessarily mean that you will definitely get a prison sentence if you are convicted of Felony Theft charges. An experienced and knowledgeable attorney, like the lawyers at the O’Malley Law Office, will fight to get you probation, arguing that you are not a risk to public safety and therefore do not need to be contained in the already overcrowded jails and prisons.
Restitution
As part of your sentencing, restitution will be decided. Restitution involves paying back a victim for damages or losses resulting from Felony Theft. The amount owed can include:
- actual dollar value of the item taken
- rewards
- lost interest
- lost use of money
- costs to restore or clean up a loss
Examples of Felony Theft
Often, we have clients who are accused of employer theft. An employee who regularly works with money gives in to the temptation to take some of the money for himself. This can be as simple as employees pocketing some cash, writing themselves a business check, or giving themselves a credit card or check refund.
Judges tend to take employee theft more seriously than stranger theft. This is because there is a level of broken trust involved. Employers must be able to trust employees to have access to money or items of value in order for the business to run successfully. In stranger theft, there is no trust relationship. Because of this trust issue, judges are more likely to enforce harsher punishments in these cases.
Why You Need an Attorney for Your Theft Charges
With over 20 years of experience, our attorneys will aggressively fight for your rights. We find real solutions to protect you and your future. We have defended hundreds of people like you charged with Felony Theft in Larimer County and surround areas and our case results speak for themselves.