A teenager must have felt the thrill of a lifetime when he checked his bank account and found an extra $30,000. The 18 year old spent almost all of the money, including splurging on a BMW, before being charged for felony Theft. The report claims a man went into the bank to deposit $30,000 he got from the sale of some of his land. The teller, who was his friend, accidentally deposited the money into the teen’s account. This mistake was made because the teen has the same name as the man. Despite his apology, the teen was sentenced to 10 years of probation and will undoubtedly be required to pay all the money back.
An Accidental Theft is Still Theft in Greeley
C.R.S. 18-4-401 – Theft – is defined by Colorado law as:
(a) Intends to deprive the other person permanently of the use or benefit of the thing of value;
(b) Knowingly uses, conceals, or abandons the thing of value in such manner as to deprive the other person permanently of its use or benefit;
(c) Uses, conceals, or abandons the thing of value intending that such use, concealment, or abandonment will deprive the other person permanently of its use or benefit;
(d) Demands any consideration to which he or she is not legally entitled as a condition of restoring the thing of value to the other person; or
(e) Knowingly retains the thing of value more than seventy-two hours after the agreed-upon time of return in any lease or hire agreement.
Basically, Theft is taking something of value from another person with the intent to never give it back. Since the law includes ‘retains’ or ‘exercises control’ over anything of value of another, he probably committed Theft. The teen took money that did not belong to him, even though it was put in his account, without his knowledge.
For items valued under $2,000, Theft is charged as:
- A class 1 petty offense if the value of the item is less than fifty dollars ($49 or less)
- A class 3 misdemeanor if the value of the item is between fifty and two hundred ninety nine dollars ($50 – $299)
- A class 2 misdemeanor if the value of the item is between three hundred and seven hundred forty nine dollars ($300 – $749)
- A class 1 misdemeanor if the value of the item is between seven hundred fifty and one thousand nine hundred ninety nine dollars ($750 – $1,999)
For items valued $2,000 or more, the Theft is charged as:
- A class 6 felony if the value of the item is between two thousand and four thousand nine hundred ninety nine dollars ($2,000 – $4,999)
- A class 5 felony if the value of the item is between five thousand and nineteen thousand nine hundred ninety nine dollars ($5,000 – $19,999)
- A class 4 felony if the value the item is between twenty thousand and ninety nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine dollars ($20,000 – $99,999)
- A class 3 felony if the value of the item is between one hundred thousand and nine hundred thousand nine hundred ninety nine dollars ($100,000 – $999,999)
- A class 2 felony if the value of the item is one million dollars or more ($1,000,000 and up)
Unless his lawyer was able to work out a deal where the teen pled to a lesser offense, the $30,000 Theft would be considered a class 4 felony.
The teen did not steal from the man.
The most ridiculous part of this story is how upset the ‘victim’ was with the teenager. It is understandable for a person to be mad at the bank, which mishandled his money. But, for the man to consider himself victimized by this teen is beyond comprehension. The teen did not steal from the man. It wasn’t even like he found the money in an envelope that was left on a table and took it. It was given to him – put in his secure bank account. Maybe he should have reported it, or looked into the money’s mysterious appearance, but he surely did not victimize this man. No longer will I see a random $5 bill dirty and blowing around the parking lot as a lucky occurrence. Now, I will view it as a potential class 1 petty offense for Theft.
If you or someone you love faces charges of Theft, be smart and exercise your right to remain silent. Then, call the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at (970) 616-6009 today. Together, we can protect your future.
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