Defending Theft By Receiving Stolen Property Cases In Cobb County And In The Atlanta-Metropolitan Area
The Offense
Elements Of the Crime
Georgia Code 16-8-7 defines Theft By Receiving Stolen Property as follows:
(a) A person commits the offense of theft by receiving stolen property when he receives, disposes of, or retains stolen property which he knows or should know was stolen unless the property is received, disposed of, or retained with intent to restore it to the owner. “Receiving” means acquiring possession or control or lending on the security of the property.
This Crime Can Be Charged As Either A Misdemeanor Or A Felony
Just like cases charged as theft by taking, Georgia law punishes theft by receiving stolen property in exactly the same way-the criminal penalty depends on the value of the property allegedly taken.
Felony Offenses
The potential criminal penalties can be found in Georgia Code 16-8-12, and are as follows:
- If the property which was the subject of the theft exceeded $24,999.99 in value, by imprisonment for not less than two nor more than 20 years;
- If the property which was the subject of the theft was at least $5,000.00 in value but was less than $25,000.00 in value, by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years and, in the discretion of the trial judge, as for a misdemeanor;
- If the property which was the subject of the theft was at least $1,500.01 in value but was less than $5,000.00 in value, by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years and, in the discretion of the trial judge, as for a misdemeanor; and
- If the defendant has two prior convictions for a violation of a theft crime as defined in Georgia Code Sections 16-8-2 through 16-8-9, upon a third conviction or subsequent conviction, such defendant shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years and, in the discretion of the trial judge, as for a misdemeanor.
The Misdemeanor Offense
As you can see, if the property was valued at $1500.00 in value or less, it will be punished as a misdemeanor offense and the potential punishment is 12 months in custody, a $1,000.00 fine, or both.
The State Does Not Need To Prove That You Actually Took The Property
Remember the example I gave in the 'theft by taking' section? If a person is pulled over for a traffic violation, and the police discover that he is wearing a stolen watch, the State does not need to prove that he is the person who actually stole the watch to charge him with theft by receiving stolen property. In that example, if there was surveillance footage showing that person's car parked in front of the house where the watch was stolen and near the time when it was stolen, and then he was later discovered to be wearing that watch, the State may charge that person with theft by taking. If no such evidence like that exists and they simply discover him wearing the stolen watch after the theft was committed, that person can be charged with theft by receiving stolen property.
I Did Not Know That The Property Was Stolen, So The Case Needs To Be Dismissed.
This is another common statement I hear from my clients. As I have stated before, each case is different and will depend entirely on the unique circumstances that exist in that case. Here is another example to further illustrate the point.
Imagine a person is pulled over by the police because the tag comes back as stolen. It is discovered that the owner of the car and the person driving it have been involved in a long and serious romantic relationship with one another, and that the owner had frequently allowed the person to drive the vehicle. Then it is discovered that they had gotten into an argument that very morning, and that the owner of the vehicle subsequently reported the vehicle stolen that afternoon. The person driving that vehicle may have a very legitimate legal defense to the charge of theft by receiving stolen property, as he may have been unaware that he did not have permission to drive the vehicle.
Now picture a situation where a person is pulled over driving a stolen car. The car had been reported stolen for several weeks. The owner of the vehicle and the person driving it did not know one another. The steering column had been punched out and the vehicle had been hot-wired. The passenger window had been broken out. Now, this is a much different case than the one described above, and the driver will need an experienced attorney to explore all factual and legal defenses that may be available to him in that particular case.