Petty Larceny VA is one of the various theft charges. Under the Virginia law code, petty larceny can be either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the situation of the case. The judges decide whether it should be considered as a felony or a misdemeanor by considering the price value of the good that is taken and the prior convictions of an offender.
Petty Larceny VA is said to be an illegal taking or stealing an item from another person, which is worth less than $5. And, the offender intends to deprive the owner permanently of any item he owns.
Petty Larceny VA is charged under the Virginia Law Code 18.2- 96. Shoplifting is also known as a kind of petty theft in Virginia, which is charged under the law code 18.2- 103. A person can be convicted of this offense if found concealing goods, altering the price tag at a store, paying lesser than the actual price of an item. If a person found guilty of shoplifting items worth less than $200 will be charged with petty larceny and is punishable under Class 1 misdemeanor.
Receiving item that has been stolen and their price value is less than $200 also comes under Petty Larceny VA and charged under the Virginia law code 18.2- 108.
For the conviction on a Petty Larceny VA, the court must prove that the offender has taken an item, which values less than $200 without the consent of an owner or less than $5 if taken or stolen directly from another person.
Petty Larceny in Virginia is charged with class 1 misdemeanor. An offender of Petty Larceny is punished with imprisonment in jail for up to 12 months, who might be charged a penalty fine of up to $2500.
In Virginia, for the second and third larceny convictions, there are increased penalties and charges. The second offense petty larceny in Virginia might involve the punishment of at least 30 days. The offender of second offense petty larceny can be sentenced to about 12 months under the Virginia law code 18.2-104. On the other hand, the third offense petty larceny charge comes under Class 6 felony. The offender of third offense petty larceny will be punished as per the Class 6 felony.
For the conviction, it should be proved that the offender intended to steal it and deprive the owner of their property and not borrowed an item without the permission with the intention of returning the item at any point because he will not be guilty of petty larceny if intended to return the item taken.
If someone has been charged with petty larceny in Virginia, it is very important to retain skilled and a professional legal counsel that will you defending you against the charges.
The defense attorney in Virginia has complete legal information and they serve their clients with honesty and efficiency. The defense attorney is well experienced, knows defending the legal rights of the accused, convicted and will make sure that your name is not registered as a criminal.