Coraopolis, PA asked in Criminal Law for Pennsylvania

Q: Stole jewlery from a family member and pawned it no charges were pressed in pa what are the charges

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1 Lawyer Answer
Brian Fishman
Brian Fishman
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Licensed in Pennsylvania

A: If no charges were filed by police or the District Attorney's Office in your county then there are no charges. But, I'm assuming you're asking, "What crimes did I committ?" The obivious one is theft. You may also be charged with receiving stolen property. Theft is essentially defined as the unlawful taking of property of another with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of it. Obviously, since you sold it, you have no intentions of returning it and therefore you've committed a theft. How the charge is graded depends on the value of the property. And, not necessarily what you sold it for but the fair market value. The key threshold is $2,000. If the property taken was over $2,000 then you would face a third degree felony charge of theft. If it was below $2,000, it would be a misdemeanor and it could be an M1, M2 or M3 depending on the value.

If no charges were filed, perhaps you have a forgiving family member or maybe he/she doesn't know that the items have been taken yet. Either way, you should not admit that you took the items to either the family member or police. You should not give any statements of admission to anyone. If you suspect that the police are investigating the matter, you should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney in your area immediately and have them deal with the authorities.

If you have additional questions or need further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me. I wish you the best of luck.

Brian M. Fishman

fishmanlaw@gmail.com

www.PhillyCriminalDefense.blogspot.com

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