Shoplifting/ Petty Theft Penal Code 484(a)
The crime of petty theft or shop lifting is committed when
The value of the property is up to $950 or less;
The property is not taken directly from the owner.
California’s law on petty theft, California penal code section 484(a):
Every person who shall feloniously steal, take, carry, lead, or drive away the personal property of another, or who shall fraudulently appropriate property which has been entrusted to him or her, or who shall knowingly and designedly, by any false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defraud any other person of money, labor or real or personal property, or who causes or procures others to report falsely of his or her wealth or mercantile character and by thus imposing upon any person, obtains credit and thereby fraudulently gets or obtains possession of money, or property or obtains the labor or service of another, is guilty of theft. defines theft as the intentional and unlawful taking of the personal property of another.
Defenses:
The most common defenses to a petty theft charge a defendant can put forward to defend a charge of petty theft are:
1. You Had No Intent To Steal
Intent is one of the requisite elements that a prosecutor has to show in order to convict a defendant of a theft crime. If you did not have the intent to steal in the first place, you are not guilty of petty theft under PC 484.
2. Consent From The Owner
If the owner of the property that you allegedly stole gave you permission to take the property, you are not guilty of petty theft under PC 484.
3. Reasonable Belief That The Property Belonged To You
If the property actually belonged to you or if you honestly but mistakenly thought that the property you took belonged to you, you are not guilty of petty theft. In addition, this goes to the lack of intent which is necessary to prove this crime.
4. You Were Falsely Accused
If you were wrongfully accused of taking something.