A Strong Theft Crime Defense Requires A Highly Competent Attorney

No matter what you may think the severity of your charge may be, it’s not worth the risk to face the court system without the guidance and counsel of a competent criminal defense attorney. Here at the Eversole Law Firm in Birmingham, Alabama, we handle theft crimes of all kinds throughout the state, including (but not exclusive to) such areas as Jefferson, Shelby, and Madison counties. Our founder, Steven D. Eversole, has a reputation for his aggressive, proactive style in the courtroom. The prosecution is going to move fast against you, so it’s imperative that you have a strong advocate on your side from day one.

Alabama Has As Many Theft Crimes As There Are Colors In The Rainbow (So Far No One Has Stolen That Pot of Gold)

Alabama law covers a wide variety of crimes that involve the stealing of people’s property or services.

• If you wittingly seize control of someone’s property or services without their consent, knowledge and/or with the intent to avoid paying the expected compensation for said property or services, than that is theft. Some kinds of fraud and embezzlement fall under the auspices of theft crimes.
• If you seize control of someone’s property or services by means of threat, than that is extortion.
• If you steal by means of force (or in some cases, by threats), than that is considered robbery. The crime of robbery breaks down into three degrees of severity: your punishment should you be convicted will be higher if you used a deadly weapon in the course of the robbery, if you harmed anyone, or if there were accomplices.
• If you commit unlawful entry into a building to commit a crime, than that is burglary (even if the intended crime is not theft). Like with robbery, the penalty for burglary will be greater if someone is harmed in the process.
• Other examples of activities that Alabama considers theft crimes (and this list is not meant to be exhaustive) would be accepting stolen property and criminal trespass.

Penalties for Alabama Theft Crimes

As mentioned above, the penalty for theft crimes partially depends on whether there was a deadly weapon involved, if someone was hurt, or if there were more than one alleged perpetrators. Of course, along with these considerations, the value of the stolen property, money or services also helps determine the penalty. Just to give some perspective, shoplifting is a misdemeanor theft crime that will probably get you probation or maybe community service, whereas first-degree burglary or first-degree robbery are Class A felonies (involving actual or potential harm to bystanders) that could get you 10 to 20 years to life in prison (the big variable here being whether or not a deadly weapon was used).