Practice area
Theft and property defense
Colorado theft is a value ladder. Move the number and you move the charge, sometimes across the felony line entirely.
Petty offense up to a class 2 felony, purely by dollar value
What a theft and property case actually involves
C.R.S. 18-4-401 sets one offense and eight rungs. Under $300 is a petty offense. $300 to $1,000 is a class 2 misdemeanor. $1,000 to $2,000 is a class 1 misdemeanor. $2,000 is where felony exposure begins, and $1,000,000 or more is a class 2 felony with the same presumptive range as second degree murder.
Because the ladder is arithmetic, valuation is the fight. Retail price versus fair market value at the time and place of the taking, depreciation, whether separate takings were properly aggregated under the statute's common scheme provision, and whether returned or recovered property counts.
Property cases also come with the most realistic route out of the system. Restitution paid early, a civil demand resolved, and a diversion or deferred judgment negotiated before filing will frequently keep a first offense off a record permanently.
The counts that get filed
| Count | Level | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Theft under $300 | Petty offense | Up to 10 days jail and a $300 fine. |
| Theft $300 to $1,000 | Class 2 misdemeanor | Up to 120 days jail. |
| Theft $1,000 to $2,000 | Class 1 misdemeanor | Up to 364 days jail. |
| Theft $2,000 to $5,000 | Class 6 felony | The first rung of felony exposure. |
| Burglary | Class 2 to 5 felony | Graded by whether the building is a dwelling and whether a weapon was involved. |
| Criminal mischief | Petty offense to class 3 felony | Damage to property of another, graded on the same dollar ladder. |
| Identity theft | Class 4 felony | Use of another person's identifying information, regardless of amount. |
| Motor vehicle theft | Class 3 to 5 felony | Restructured in 2023 so that grading no longer turns solely on vehicle value. |
Where these cases break
Not every one applies to every file. The first job is working out which two or three do.
Valuation
Fair market value at the time and place of the taking, not the sticker price. An independent valuation routinely moves a case down a rung.
Aggregation
Separate incidents can only be added together where the statute's common scheme requirements are actually met.
Claim of right
A good faith belief in entitlement to the property negates the intent element. Common in business disputes and break ups.
Intent to permanently deprive
Borrowing, a billing dispute or an abandoned item are not theft, and the difference is a question for the jury.
Identification and loss prevention
Store video quality, the point at which concealment was observed, and whether loss prevention followed its own written procedure.
Restitution first
Paying it early removes the prosecution's strongest talking point and opens diversion.
What happens, and when
Before filing
Where charges have not yet been filed, a pre-filing submission to the district attorney can sometimes stop them.
Week two
Independent valuation and a full review of how the figure was calculated.
Month two
Video, loss prevention reports and the store's own procedure manual.
Months three to six
Diversion or deferred judgment, or trial on valuation and intent.
The attorneys on these cases
The offer you get depends on what the other side thinks will happen if they have to try it.
Theo Okonkwo
Senior associate
Formerly: Colorado State Public Defender, Denver and Arapahoe trial offices
Most drug cases are search cases. Win the search and there is nothing left to argue about.
What people ask us about this
If your question is not here, ask it on the call. There is no charge for the first conversation and it is with an attorney.
Start a case reviewIt matters for restitution and for negotiation, and in a shoplifting posture it can matter for the charge itself. It does not automatically undo the offense, because the crime is complete at the taking with the required intent.
Fair market value at the time and place of the taking. Retail price is evidence of it, not proof of it. On used goods, electronics and tools an independent valuation frequently drops a case below a threshold.
Only if the prosecution can establish a common scheme within the statutory window. Where the incidents are genuinely separate, aggregation is a fight worth having, because it is usually what created the felony.
A petty offense has a one year waiting period, a class 2 misdemeanor two years and a class 1 misdemeanor three years, each counted from the later of final disposition or release from supervision. A dismissal after a deferred judgment is far easier still.
If any of this is happening to you, the first conversation is free and it is with an attorney.
Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.