Louisville theft and property crime defense.

The dollar amount decides the charge. The evidence decides the dollar amount.

Kentucky theft by unlawful taking is a misdemeanor below $1,000 and a Class D felony from $1,000 up, with higher felony classes at $10,000 and $1,000,000. Store loss-prevention estimates, replacement values and aggregated incidents are how prosecutors reach a felony threshold, and each of those is challengeable. Justin looks hard at how the value was calculated before discussing anything else.

Property offenses Justin defends

• Theft by unlawful taking, including shoplifting, employee theft and theft from a person.
• Theft by deception: bad checks, false pretenses, contractor and consumer disputes that a prosecutor has chosen to charge.
• Receiving stolen property, where knowledge that the property was stolen is the contested element.
• Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and vehicle theft.
• Criminal mischief and vandalism, graded by the damage.
• Burglary and criminal trespass, where entering a building matters more than what was taken.
• Robbery, which Kentucky treats as a violent felony because force or threat is involved.

Defenses and resolutions

Mistaken identity from grainy store video. Lack of intent to permanently deprive. A good-faith claim of right to the property. Disputes that are really civil matters dressed as crimes. Weak valuation evidence that drops a felony to a misdemeanor. Where the evidence is strong, diversion programs, restitution agreements and amendments to non-theft offenses are frequently available for first offenders, and they matter because a theft conviction is a crime of dishonesty that follows a person through every job application.

Burglary is different

Burglary in Kentucky is about unlawfully entering or remaining in a building with intent to commit a crime. It is a felony at every degree and becomes more serious when a dwelling is involved or someone is armed or injured. The intent element and the question of whether entry was actually unlawful are where these cases are fought.

Protecting the record

Justin approaches every property case with the long view: what outcome keeps this off a background check, preserves a professional license or immigration status, and allows expungement later. Kentucky's expungement law covers many misdemeanor and Class D felony theft convictions after a waiting period.