Orange County Theft Crimes Defense Attorneys

If you have been accused of a theft crime in Orange County, you need a veteran theft defense attorney in Orange County to defend the charges to avoid serious consequences including jail time, hefty fines and other penalties. An Orange County theft crime accusation also tarnishes your reputation and could have a negative impact on your job prospects, career and your future.

California law defines theft as the unlawful taking of someone else's property with the intent of keeping it permanently. It also includes fraudulently taking property that has been entrusted to you, defrauding someone using false representations or pretense, taking property by false premises, larceny, embezzlement and larceny by trick and device (California Penal Code Section 484 and California Penal Code Section 503).

California law divides theft crimes into two categories:

• Petty theft (California Penal Code Section 488)
• Grand theft (California Penal Code Section 487)

Petty theft is that which involves objects that are valued at $400 or less. Property can also include credit, identity theft, failing to return something that is rented or leased or keeping property that is not yours. Grand theft is theft that involves property that is valued at more than $400. Important exceptions are theft of a firearm and theft of something that was carried on the person of another. Both of these offenses qualify as felony grand theft irrespective of the value of the stolen property.

A misdemeanor petty theft conviction carries up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000 or both. If the value of the stolen property is less than $50 prosecutors may charge an infraction, which is a lesser offense than a misdemeanor, which carries only a fine of up to $250. Grand theft is punishable by up to one year in jail or 16 months in state prison or two to three years in prison. Grand theft of amounts more than $50,000 carries an additional punishment of one or two additional years in prison.

The prosecution's charges also depend on another important factor – your prior criminal record. A petty theft could be charged as a felony if you have a prior petty theft conviction on your record. Felony petty theft is punishable by a year in jail or up to three years in prison.

The skilled California theft defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have helped first-time offenders with no prior theft charges reduce their charges or punishment. If you have been charged with felony grand theft, we help reduce that to a misdemeanor and by requesting the court to consider probation instead of jail time. In many Orange County theft cases, we have also been able to successfully request alternative sentencing for our clients such as community service, house arrest or electronic monitoring, Caltrans work programs and private counseling services. If you have been accused of an Orange County theft crime, please call Wallin & Klarich as soon as possible to discuss how our experienced criminal defense attorneys can help build a winning strategy to fight your charges.