Grand Theft
Florida's grand theft statute is so broad and encompassing that it can cover shoplifting from a store to a multi-million dollar fraud. Essentially, the law prohibits taking something that is not yours. The severity of the punishment is determined by the value of the item that was allegedly stolen. In order for the prosecutors to to prove a theft allegation, they must present evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the person
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Knowingly;
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Obtains or uses, or tries to obtain or use, property of another; and
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With intent to deprive the person of a right to the property or a benefit from it, or to take the property for one’s own use or for the use of any person not entitled to it.
Also, possessing property you know to be stolen is sufficient to be charged with theft. A momentary taking, however, does not constitute the requisite intent necessary to temporarily take another's property under the theft statute.
The Florida theft statute includes a variety of offenses related to unlawful taking of property, including larceny, obtaining by false pretenses, and misappropriation. An often-overlooked defense is that in certain types of thefts, such as larceny or false pretenses, criminal intent must be formed at the time of the original taking.
Grand theft in the first degree, punishable as a felony of the first degree with a 30-year maximum sentence, is theft of property of a value of $100,000 or more. Grand theft in the first degree also occurs where the offender commits any grand theft and in the course of committing the offense the offender either uses a motor vehicle as an instrumentality, other than merely as a getaway vehicle, to assist in committing the offense and thereby damages the real property of another; or in the course of committing the offense the offender causes damage to the real or personal property of another in excess of $1,000.
Grand theft in the second degree, a felony of the second degree, is theft of property worth $20,000 or more but less than $100,000, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Grand theft of the third degree, punishable by up to five years in prison, is the theft of property worth $300 or more but less than $20,000.
Regardless of the value of the item, however, it is also a felony of the third degree, if the property stolen was:
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a will, codicil, or other testamentary instrument;
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a firearm;
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a motor vehicle;
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any commercially farmed animal;
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any fire extinguisher;
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any amount of citrus fruit consisting of 2,000 or more individual pieces of fruit;
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property taken from a designated construction site identified by the posting of a sign;
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anhydrous ammonia; or
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any stop sign.