Greensboro Shoplifting & Retail Theft Attorneys
North Carolina theft laws cover a range of offenses, including retail theft/shoplifting, embezzlement, and larceny. Theft refers to illegally taking money or other property from another person or business.
If you are charged with Shoplifting or Theft charges, your personal and financial freedom are at immediate risk. If you represent yourself and speak to the prosecutor (DA) on your own, you will waive your constitutional right to remain silent. In many cases, a defendant’s words come back to haunt them in the most severe way when their voluntary statements are used against them to help the prosecutor gain a conviction.
Don’t make a mistake that you will regret for years to come. If you are being accused of shoplifting or any theft, contact the Greensboro theft lawyers at The Law Firm Schlosser & Pritchett, who will aggressively represent your interests under the full extent of the law in the North Carolina Court.
Types of North Carolina Theft
- Shoplifting
- Obtaining property by false pretenses
- Breaking and entering
- Check fraud
- Embezzlement
- Credit card fraud
- Possession of stolen property
Potential Consequences of North Carolina Theft Laws
North Carolina larceny laws do not specify a “petty larceny” or “grand larceny” charge. Instead, “larceny” may be charged at various degrees of severity depending on what was taken and the manner in which it was taken.
Generally speaking, larceny of goods valued at more than $1,000 is a Class H felony punishable by up to 4-8 months in prison for a first-time offender. If you have any criminal conviction on your record, however, this sentence could reach all the way to 25 months for someone with an extensive criminal history.
If the amount of goods in question is valued at less than $1,000, you are facing Class I misdemeanor charges which are punishable by up to 1 year in jail, although that length of sentence is highly unlikely.
However, if the goods stolen are taken directly from someone or are a firearm or explosive, the charge is a felony regardless of the value.
Organized retail theft, another theft offense in North Carolina, is when you conspire to commit retail theft with another person. If the value of the goods in question is over $1,500 within a 90-day period, you could face Class H felony charges and potential prison time.
Schlosser & Pritchett – Successful Greensboro Theft/Shoplifting Lawyers
At Schlosser & Pritchett, we are not here to judge. Perhaps you forgot to pay for an item when leaving a store. Maybe you didn’t know the item you purchased was stolen. It could be that you did intend to steal something but later regretted your actions. Whatever the reason, you are entitled to fair treatment under the law.
Theft crimes tend to be easier to negotiate in terms of plea discussions than violent crimes or sex offenses. Although we always prepare for trial, our seasoned Greensboro theft lawyers are especially skilled at negotiation techniques. We will always strive to present you with the best potential negotiated resolution possible, knowing that it is your choice to take a deal or go to trial. Possible defenses against theft crimes include unreliable police reports, mishandled evidence, and untrustworthy testimony. Eyewitness testimony is often unreliable because burglaries and business thefts usually occur at night when visibility is reduced. Surveillance footage — especially in shoplifting cases — is often grainy and unclear.
Call 336.292.4076 or use the convenient online form at the right of the page to submit your information, and we will contact you promptly.