Technology is making it harder and harder to get away with things these days. Just ask the two men who used a stolen iPad to take a selfie, which automatically uploaded to the cloud and allowed the iPad’s owner to view it and pass it on to the police. The iPad’s owner had left the iPad, money, a laptop, along with other items in his unlocked car parked in front of his residence. One of the men admitted he and his friend took the items and then went to a Burger King not far from the owner’s house. They used the iPad to take a celebratory picture and the iPad automatically connected to the fast food restaurant’s free Wi-Fi and uploaded the picture to the cloud without the alleged thieves knowledge.
What is Theft in Fort Collins and Larimer County?
For Theft cases, the punishment is based on the value of the items taken.
Theft, C.R.S. 18-4-401, is taking something from someone else without their consent, and with the intention of never giving it back. In the case above, the men took the iPad and other items from the owner without his consent, and they probably did not intend on returning the items later. For Theft cases in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park, the punishment is based on the value of the items taken. For example, if the items total less than $2,000, the Theft is considered a misdemeanor. Anything stolen totaling $2,000 or more, is a felony. For these gentlemen, having allegedly stolen $5,000 in cash along with the value of the iPad and laptop, they are looking at a class 5 felony Theft charge. The Colorado statute states if the value of the item is between $5,000 and $19,999, it is a class 5 felony.
While this is an extreme example of a Theft case, in Larimer, Boulder, and Grand County, we have seen cases where an estranged husband and wife are in the midst of a divorce, and the wife claims the husband stole jointly owned property when he was moving out. In this situation, the husband may be charged with Domestic Violence Theft, even though he had as much of a right to the objects as his wife.