Maryland Larceny, Maryland Embezzlement, Maryland Shoplifting

Larceny/Shoplifting

Maryland Larceny Crimes Defense

Maryland Penal § 7-104. General theft provisions

(a) Unauthorized control over property. — A person may not willfully or knowingly obtain or exert unauthorized control over property, if the person:

(1) intends to deprive the owner of the property;

(2) willfully or knowingly uses, conceals, or abandons the property in a manner that deprives the owner of the property; or

(3) uses, conceals, or abandons the property knowing the use, concealment, or abandonment probably will deprive the owner of the property.

(b) Unauthorized control over property — By deception. — A person may not obtain control over property by willfully or knowingly using deception, if the person:

(1) intends to deprive the owner of the property;

(2) willfully or knowingly uses, conceals, or abandons the property in a manner that deprives the owner of the property; or

(3) uses, conceals, or abandons the property knowing the use, concealment, or abandonment probably will deprive the owner of the property.

(c) Possessing stolen personal property. –

(1) A person may not possess stolen personal property knowing that it has been stolen, or believing that it probably has been stolen, if the person:

(i) intends to deprive the owner of the property;

(ii) willfully or knowingly uses, conceals, or abandons the property in a manner that deprives the owner of the property; or

(iii) uses, conceals, or abandons the property knowing that the use, concealment, or abandonment probably will deprive the owner of the property.

(2) In the case of a person in the business of buying or selling goods, the knowledge required under this subsection may be inferred if:

(i) the person possesses or exerts control over property stolen from more than one person on separate occasions;

(ii) during the year preceding the criminal possession charged, the person has acquired stolen property in a separate transaction; or

(iii) being in the business of buying or selling property of the sort possessed, the person acquired it for a consideration that the person knew was far below a reasonable value.

(3) In a prosecution for theft by possession of stolen property under this subsection, it is not a defense that:

(i) the person who stole the property has not been convicted, apprehended, or identified;

(ii) the defendant stole or participated in the stealing of the property;

(iii) the property was provided by law enforcement as part of an investigation, if the property was described to the defendant as being obtained through the commission of theft; or

(iv) the stealing of the property did not occur in the State.

(4) Unless the person who criminally possesses stolen property participated in the stealing, the person who criminally possesses stolen property and a person who has stolen the property are not accomplices in theft for the purpose of any rule of evidence requiring corroboration of the testimony of an accomplice.

(d) Control over property lost, mislaid, or delivered by mistake. — A person may not obtain control over property knowing that the property was lost, mislaid, or was delivered under a mistake as to the identity of the recipient or nature or amount of the property, if the person:

(1) knows or learns the identity of the owner or knows, is aware of, or learns of a reasonable method of identifying the owner;

(2) fails to take reasonable measures to restore the property to the owner; and

(3) intends to deprive the owner permanently of the use or benefit of the property when the person obtains the property or at a later time.

(e) Services available only for compensation. — A person may not obtain the services of another that are available only for compensation:

(1) by deception; or

(2) with knowledge that the services are provided without the consent of the person providing them.

(f) Inference of intention or knowledge. — Under this section, an offender’s intention or knowledge that a promise would not be performed may not be established by or inferred solely from the fact that the promise was not performed.

(g) Penalty. –

(1) A person convicted of theft of property or services with a value of:

(i) at least $ 1,000 but less than $ 10,000 is guilty of a felony and:

1. is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding $ 10,000 or both; and

2. shall restore the property taken to the owner or pay the owner the value of the property or services;

(ii) at least $ 10,000 but less than $ 100,000 is guilty of a felony and:

1. is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 15 years or a fine not exceeding $ 15,000 or both; and

2. shall restore the property taken to the owner or pay the owner the value of the property or services; or

(iii) $ 100,000 or more is guilty of a felony and:

1. is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 25 years or a fine not exceeding $ 25,000 or both; and

2. shall restore the property taken to the owner or pay the owner the value of the property or services.

(2) Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection, a person convicted of theft of property or services with a value of less than $ 1,000, is guilty of a misdemeanor and:

(i) is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 18 months or a fine not exceeding $ 500 or both; and

(ii) shall restore the property taken to the owner or pay the owner the value of the property or services.

(3) A person convicted of theft of property or services with a value of less than $ 100 is guilty of a misdemeanor and:

(i) is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or a fine not exceeding $ 500 or both; and

(ii) shall restore the property taken to the owner or pay the owner the value of the property or services.

(4) Subject to paragraph (5) of this subsection, a person who has two or more prior convictions under this subtitle and who is convicted of theft of property or services with a value of less than $ 1,000 under paragraph (2) of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and:

(i) is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or a fine not exceeding $ 5,000 or both; and

(ii) shall restore the property taken to the owner or pay the owner the value of the property or services.

(5) The court may not impose the penalties under paragraph (4) of this subsection unless the State’s Attorney serves notice on the defendant or the defendant’s counsel before the acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or at least 15 days before trial that:

(i) the State will seek the penalties under paragraph (4) of this subsection; and

(ii) lists the alleged prior convictions.

(h) Failure to pay for motor fuel after dispensing. –

(1) If a person is convicted of a violation under this section for failure to pay for motor fuel after the motor fuel was dispensed into a vehicle, the court shall:

(i) notify the person that the person’s driver’s license may be suspended under § 16-206.1 of the Transportation Article; and

(ii) notify the Motor Vehicle Administration of the violation.

(2) The Chief Judge of the District Court and the Administrative Office of the Courts, in conjunction with the Motor Vehicle Administration, shall establish uniform procedures for reporting a violation under this subsection.

(i) Statute of limitations. — An action or prosecution for a violation of subsection (g)(2) or (3) of this section shall be commenced within 2 years after the commission of the crime.

(j) Jurisdiction and venue. — A person who violates this section by use of an interactive computer service may be prosecuted, indicted, tried, and convicted in any county in which the victim resides or the electronic communication originated or terminated.

Maryland Penal § 7-105. Motor vehicle theft

(a) “Owner” defined. — In this section, “owner” means a person who has a lawful interest in or is in lawful possession of a motor vehicle by consent or chain of consent of the title owner.

(b) Prohibited. — A person may not knowingly and willfully take a motor vehicle out of the owner’s lawful custody, control, or use without the owner’s consent.

(c) Penalty. — A person who violates this section:

(1) is guilty of the felony of taking a motor vehicle and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or a fine not exceeding $ 5,000 or both; and

(2) shall restore the motor vehicle or, if unable to restore the motor vehicle, pay to the owner the full value of the motor vehicle.

(d) Effect on general theft prosecution; merger. –

(1) This section does not preclude prosecution for theft of a motor vehicle under § 7-104 of this part.

(2) If a person is convicted under § 7-104 of this part and this section for the same act or transaction, the conviction under this section shall merge for sentencing purposes into the conviction under § 7-104 of this part.

Maryland Penal § 7-106. Newspaper theft

(a) “Newspaper” defined. — In this section, “newspaper” means a periodical that is distributed on a complimentary or compensatory basis.

(b) Prohibited. — A person may not knowingly or willfully obtain or exert control that is unauthorized over newspapers with the intent to prevent another from reading the newspapers.

(c) Penalty. — A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 60 days or a fine not exceeding $ 500 or both.

Maryland Penal § 7-107. Bad checks — Prosecution as theft

(a) Scope of section. — A person who obtains property or a service by a bad check under the circumstances described in Title 8, Subtitle 1 of this article may not be prosecuted for theft under this part unless that person:

(1) makes a false representation that there are sufficient funds in the drawee bank to cover the check; and

(2) commits deception as provided under § 7-104(b) or (e) of this part.

(b) Presumptions. — If a person is prosecuted for theft under this section, the presumptions of § 8-104 of this article apply to the same extent as if the person were prosecuted under § 7-104 of this part.

Maryland Penal § 7-201. Theft of grocery carts

(a) Scope of section. — This section applies only to a wheeled cart or other similar device that is clearly marked with the name and address of its owner and if notice of this section is clearly and prominently displayed at each public exit from the grocery store, store, or market that owns the wheeled cart or other similar device.

(b) Prohibited. –

(1) A person may not:

(i) without the permission of the owner or agent of the owner, remove a wheeled cart or other similar device provided for the purpose of assembling or carrying purchased materials from a grocery store, store, or market, including its parking facilities;

(ii) damage any wheeled cart or other device owned by the grocery store, store, or market from which the cart was obtained; or

(iii) abandon a wheeled cart or other device on the streets or alleys of the State.

(2) A person may abandon a wheeled cart or other device on the parking facilities of the grocery store, store, or market from which the cart was obtained.

(c) Penalty. — A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $ 25 for each violation.