What Makes Theft a Felony Offense in Tennessee?

Generally speaking, the Tennessee criminal court may charge your act of theft as a felony offense if the value of the stolen property exceeds $1,000. However, even if the property is worth less, certain extenuating factors may trigger an upgrade from a misdemeanor to a felony. With that being said, please read on to discover whether your incident of theft will result in felony punishments and how one of the seasoned Clarksville shoplifting lawyers at Fendley and Birch can fight against this terrible outcome on your behalf.

How do prosecutors determine the value of stolen property?

First things first, the prosecution must establish how much the property you allegedly stole was worth, so that the Tennessee criminal court can punish you accordingly. For this, they may calculate the property’s fair market value, which is its value at the time it was taken rather than what it cost when it was newly purchased. They may back up these claims with appraisals, receipts, and expert testimonies.

If they can prove that your crime should be classified as a Class E to Class B felony, you may be up against a prison sentence of one to 30 years and fines of $3,000 to $25,000. You must understand that returning the stolen property to its rightful owner does not erase your crime and thereby does not automatically dismiss your felony charges. Your best attempt at reducing your punishment to a misdemeanor is if your lawyer can successfully negotiate a plea agreement.

What else makes theft become a felony offense in the state of Tennessee?

Regardless of whether or not the dollar amount of the stolen property exceeds the $1,000 threshold, the Tennessee criminal court may still find reasons to charge your theft offense as a felony. The court may entertain the idea of imposing maximum penalties because theft can be argued as a display of moral dishonesty. And so, below are other extenuating circumstances that may get you into more legal trouble:

• Your act of theft involved a firearm or motor vehicle (i.e., public safety threat).
• Your act of theft involved controlled substances, medical prescriptions, or hospital supplies.
• Your act of theft was committed against a government agency, school, or nonprofit funded by public money.
• Your act of theft involved methods of embezzlement, forgery, contractor fraud, or obtaining property under false pretenses.
• Your act of theft involved committing violence against victims or targeting vulnerable victims in a position of dependence (i.e., the elderly).
• The criminal court knows that you have prior theft or fraud convictions on your criminal record.
• The criminal court knows that you have not paid the victim restitution ahead of your trial date.
• The criminal court knows that you have not cooperated with the authorities ahead of your trial date.

There is no need to wait any longer to hire one of the competent Montgomery County criminal defense lawyers if you are already ready to get on with your criminal defense strategy. Reach out to our law firm, Fendley and Birch, at your earliest possible convenience.