For as long as anyone can remember, petty theft was the theft of property valuing $400 or less. That made grand theft the theft of property valued at $400 or more. Of course back in the day, $400 was a lot of money. But it\u2019s gotten to the point where if someone lifts a coat, shoes, or an iphone they could be hit with felony charges of grand theft. Governor Schwarzenegger signed a bill this month that boosts the dollar threshold, from $400 to $950. It\u2019s about time.<\/p>\n
Similarly petty theft with a prior \u2013 a felony offense \u2013 could be charged if a shoplifter has any petty theft prior. But last month a little-known provision of Chelsea\u2019s Law beefs up the requirements for petty theft with a prior. To be charged with that crime, an accused must have three prior convictions for petty theft. Chelsea\u2019s Law, named after Chelsea King, a 17-year-old girl who was raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender, mandates life in prison without parole for persons convicted of violent sex crimes against children with aggravating factors present.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For as long as anyone can remember, petty theft was the theft of property valuing $400 or less. That made grand theft the theft of property valued at $400 or more. Of course back in the day, $400 was a lot of money. But it\u2019s gotten to the point where if someone lifts a coat, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"es","enabled_languages":["en","es"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"yoast_head":"\n