Under California Penal Code Section 666 petty theft with a prior is described as follows: “Every person who has been convicted of three or more times of petty theft, grand theft, auto theft, burglary, carjacking, robbery, or a felony violation resulting in serving time in jail is convicted of petty theft”. Thus for be sentenced to penalties for petty theft with a prior under PC Section 666, defendant must first had conviction of California petty theft penal code 484 and 488.
Prosecution must establish the following elements for convicting the defendant of the petty theft with a prior under Penal Code 666:
Qualifying theft crimes include: grand theft (including grand theft with a firearm) auto theft, carjacking, burglary and robbery. To get conviction of petty theft with a prior the defendant must also have a conviction for any of the below mentioned offenses, additionally to a theft crime conviction.
Prior to proposition 47, three prior convictions for different theft crimes could lead to a felony sentence of sixteen months to three years for a conviction on a new charge. But, proposition 47 has changed the law so that most of the cases with three prior theft convictions will remain misdemeanors. Exceptions are the following:
Legal defenses to California Penal Code Section 666 charges include
Intent is one of the key elements that must be proved for convicting defendant of a theft crime. In case the defendant didn’t not intent to steal the property he is not guilty of petty theft.
In case the owner of the property gave the defendant a permission to take the property, he can’t be found guilty of petty theft.
In case the property actually belonged to the defendant or if he reasonably but mistakenly believed that the property belonged to him, he is not guilty of petty theft.
Penalties for a California Penal Code Section 666 conviction include In California law petty theft with a prior conviction is a wobbler and can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the case facts and the defendant’s criminal history.
Our Glendale petty theft lawyers can help you defend your penal code 666 charges. Call our office at (310) 943-1171 or contact us via email at [email protected] to schedule a free consultation with a Glendale criminal defense attorney. Our lawyers in Glendale, Los Angeles, CA, are highly dedicated to serving to needs of our clients.
Under California Penal Code 115 filing a false document states, anyone who intentionally procures or offers a false or forged instrument to be filed, registered, or recorded in a California public office is guilty of a felony crime.
"To offer” means to cause or present the document to a government agency, but the document does not actually need to be filed for being convicted of violating California Penal Code Section 115.
Prosecutor must establish the following element for convicting a person under PC Section 115.
Though the crime of filing false instruments is most often associated with filing of false property deeds in connection with real estate fraud, California Penal Code Section 115 applies to almost any type of document filed with a state government office. Here are some common examples of forged instruments.
Under California Penal Code 115, filing a false document is a felony. In case the defendant filled or recorded multiple documents, he can be charged with separate counts of California Penal Code 115 violations for each document, even if the documents had similar matters or were closely related. The potential penalties for each count are the following:
The defendant won’t be given probation under Penal Code 115 PC in Cases where
In some particular circumstances the defendant can receive additional punishments to the sentence, known as "Sentencing Enhancements":
Defendant can also face an aggravated white collar crime enhancement, in case:
The penalties for aggravated white collar crime enhancement are the following:
For answers to any other questions you may still have about California Penal Code 115(a) charges or to discuss your case confidentially with our team of experienced California criminal defense attorneys give us a call at (310) 943-1171. Our lawyers in Glendale, Los Angeles County, CA, are highly dedicated to serving the needs of our clients.