A petit larceny charge in Tulsa, Oklahoma is no small matter. To understand petit larceny, you need to also understand what constitutes grand larceny in Oklahoma.
Petit Larceny is a Big Deal in Tulsa
Under Oklahoma law, larceny is defined as taking another person’s property by fraud or stealth with the intent to deprive that person of their property. It comes in two basic types in Tulsa — petit (small) or grand (large). (Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1703)
Petit larceny is everything that does not include grand larceny. Therefore, in order to understand petit larceny, you must first understand what grand larceny is and what it covers.
Grand larceny in Oklahoma, the more serious of the two crimes, is the taking of someone’s property that is worth more than $500, or the taking of property from the body of another person, regardless of the value of the property.
Thus, if you follow a person into an alley and take a ring from their finger, intending to deprive them of it, you could be convicted of grand larceny — even if the ring turns out to be worth $10.
All other larceny is defined as petit larceny. (Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1704) Petit larceny refers to petty theft of property that is valued less than $500.
Penalties
Whether the theft is petit or grand, you can lose your freedom if you are convicted.
A petit larceny in Oklahoma conviction can land you in jail for up to six months with a fine of $10 to $500. (Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1706)
A conviction of grand larceny can land you in prison for up to five years. (Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1705)
Defenses
In Oklahoma, if you find property that gives you sufficient knowledge or means to determine the true owner and you keep that property instead of making a reasonable attempt to find the owner, you could be convicted of larceny. (Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1702)
This imposes an affirmative duty on a finder of property to make a reasonable attempt to find the owner of the property. If you are unable to ascertain the location of the property’s owner after reasonable attempts to do so, your duty is discharged.
What is “reasonable” will be up to the court to determine. But your attorney can help the judge see that your actions may in fact have been reasonable. If so, you will escape the conviction.
Likewise, petit larceny is a crime of intent. Depending on the facts of your case, if your attorney can show that you did not intend to deprive the owner of the property, the charges against you may be dismissed.
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