§ 5-36-103 — Theft of property

Arkansas § 5-36-103

• Jurisdiction: Arkansas
• Title: 5

Text

(a) A person commits theft of property if he or she knowingly: (1) Takes or exercises unauthorized control over or makes an unauthorized transfer of an interest in the property of another person with the purpose of depriving the owner of the property; or (2) Obtains the property of another person by deception or by threat with the purpose of depriving the owner of the property. (b) Theft of property is a: (1) Class B felony if: (A) The value of the property is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or more; (B) The property is obtained by the threat of serious physical injury to any person or destruction of the occupiable structure of another person; (C) The property is obtained by threat and the actor stands in a confidential or fiduciary relationship to the person threatened; or (D) The property is: (i) Anhydrous ammonia in any form; (ii) A product containing any percentage of anhydrous ammonia in any form; (iii) Utility property and the value of the property is five hundred dollars ($500) or more; or (iv) Oil and gas equipment, the value of the property is less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) but more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), and the person: (a) Caused more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in incidental damage to the owner of the oil and gas equipment during the commission of the offense; or (b) Transported the oil and gas equipment across state lines to sell or dispose of the oil and gas equipment; (2) Class C felony if: (A) The value of the property is less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) but more than five thousand dollars ($5,000); (B) The property is obtained by threat; (C) The property is a firearm valued at two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or more; (D) The property is building material obtained from a permitted construction site and the value of the building material is five hundred dollars ($500) or more; (E) The value of the property is five hundred dollars ($500) or more and the theft occurred in an area declared to be under a state of emergency pursuant to proclamation by the President of the United States, the Governor, or the executive officer of a city or county; or (F) The property is oil and gas equipment, the value of the property is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or less but more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), and the person: (i) Caused more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in incidental damage to the owner of the oil and gas equipment during the commission of the offense; or (ii) Transported the oil and gas equipment across state lines to sell or dispose of the oil and gas equipment; (3) Class D felony if: (A) The value of the property is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or less but more than one thousand dollars ($1,000); (B) The property is a firearm valued at less than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500); (C) The property is a: (i) Credit card or credit card account number; or (ii) Debit card or debit card account number; (D) The value of the property is at least one hundred dollars ($100) or more but less than five hundred dollars ($500) and the theft occurred in an area declared to be under a state of emergency pursuant to proclamation by the President of the United States, the Governor, or the executive officer of a city or county; (E) The property is livestock and the value of the livestock is in excess of two hundred dollars ($200); (F) The property is an electric power line, gas line, water line, wire or fiber insulator, electric motor, or other similar apparatus connected to a farm shop, on-farm grain drying and storage complex, heating and cooling system, environmental control system, animal production facility, irrigation system, or dwelling; (G) The property is a decorative or memorial item from a cemetery, graveyard, or a person's grave site and the offense is the actor's second or subsequent offense of theft of a decorative or memorial item from a cemetery, graveyard, or a person's grave site under this section; (H) The property is oil and gas equipment and the value of the oil and gas equipment is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less, and the person: (i) Caused more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in incidental damage to the owner of the oil and gas equipment during the commission of the offense; or (ii) Transported the oil and gas equipment across state lines to sell or dispose of the oil and gas equipment; (I) The property is a postal package removed from the curtilage of a residential occupiable structure or from a delivery vehicle at any point throughout the delivery route; or (J) The value of the property is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less and the person has been previously convicted of a theft offense of any classification within ten (10) years of the current offense; or (4) Class A misdemeanor if: (A) The value of the property is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or less; (B) The property has inherent, subjective, or idiosyncratic value to its owner or possessor even if the property has no market value or replacement cost; or (C) The property is a decorative or memorial item from a cemetery, graveyard, or a person's grave site. (c) (1) Upon the proclamation of a state of emergency by the President of the United States or the Governor or upon the declaration of a local emergency by the executive officer of any city or county and for a period of thirty (30) days following that declaration, the penalty for theft of property is enhanced if the property is: (A) A generator intended for use by: (i) A public facility; (ii) A nursing home or hospital; (iii) An airport; (iv) A public safety device; (v) A communication tower or facility; (vi) A public utility; (vii) A water system or sewer system; (viii) A public safety agency; or (ix) Any other facility or use providing a vital service; or (B) Any other equipment used in the transmission of electric power or telephone service. (2) As used in this subsection: (A) "Public safety agency" means an agency of the State of Arkansas or a functional division of a political subdivision that provides: (i) Firefighting and rescue; (ii) Natural or human-caused disaster or major emergency response; (iii) Law enforcement; or (iv) Ambulance or emergency medical services; and (B) "Public safety device" includes, but is not limited to, a traffic signaling device or a railroad crossing device. (3) The penalty is enhanced as follows: (A) (i) The fine for the offense shall be at least five thousand dollars ($5,000) and not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). (ii) The fine is mandatory; and (B) The offense is a Class D felony if it would have been a Class A misdemeanor.

Legislative History

Amended by Act 2023, No. 659,§ 37, eff. 1/1/2024. Amended by Act 2021, No. 340,§ 2, eff. 3/15/2021. Amended by Act 2019, No. 611,§ 2, eff. 7/24/2019. Amended by Act 2019, No. 503,§ 1, eff. 7/24/2019. Amended by Act 2019, No. 311,§ 1, eff. 7/24/2019. Amended by Act 2013, No. 1125,§ 7, eff. 8/16/2013. Acts 1975, No. 280, § 2203; 1977, No. 360, § 8; 1979, No. 592, § 1; 1983, No. 719, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-2203; Acts 1987, No. 934, § 3; 1991, No. 712, § 1; 1995, No. 277, § 1; 1997, No. 516, § 1; 2001, No. 157, § 1; No. 1195, § 1; 2003, No. 838, § 1; 2005, No. 1442, § 1; 2007, No. 693, § 1; 2007, No. 827, § 39; 2009, No. 1295, § 2; 2011, No. 570, § 23; 2011, No. 1120, § 8; 2011, No. 1227, § 1.