Tempe Theft Crimes Lawyers

The theft crimes lawyers in Tempe, Arizona at Oliverson Law, PLLC help individuals who have been arrested or charged with theft or burglary. If you have been arrested or charged with a theft crime, you could be facing serious consequences, including jail time, fines, and the prospect of a criminal record. Theft crimes can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the value of the item, items, or services allegedly stolen. Yet, even if you only face minor charges for a theft crime, the prospect of having a misdemeanor on your criminal record can leave you with a wide range of collateral consequences including lost job opportunities, difficulty getting professional licenses, loss of your professional license, and lost opportunities, including inability to access small business loans, student loans, and other opportunities.

Theft is defined under Arizona law (ARS 13-1802). Under Arizona law, theft is defined as knowingly controlling “the property of another with the intent to deprive the person of such property.” Theft is also defined as wrongfully using services or property that were intended to be under your possession for only a limited time, or for only an “authorized term.” Under this legal definition of theft, “conversion” can include “borrowing” someone else’s property without their permission. An example of “conversion” under this legal definition of theft would be someone “borrowing” someone else’s car to go on a joyride, or a person squatting in a vacant home or lot without the landowner or property owner’s permission. Another definition of theft includes using misrepresentation to obtain property or services. This would include knowingly committing fraud, like claiming that one kind of repair on a vehicle was made when the repair wasn’t in fact made. Re-selling or keeping stolen property when you know the property was stolen could also be considered theft. Another example of theft is obtaining services without paying for those services. Consider the example, of a person or group of people who “dine and dash,” that is, eat at a restaurant without paying.

If you are facing theft charges, you could be looking at time in jail, fines, and other consequences. The theft crimes lawyers in Tempe, Arizona at Oliverson Law, PLLC may be able to help you fight your theft crime charges or arrest. Contact our Tempe, Arizona theft crimes lawyers today. Oliverson Law, PLLC’s theft crime attorneys include a former prosecutor, judge, and police officer. We understand theft crime from different angles and can bring this perspective to your theft crime defense.

Tempe, Arizona Theft Crime Defenses

If you’ve been arrested or charged with the crime of theft, you might be overwhelmed and frightened. A theft crime lawyer in Tempe, Arizona can review the details of your case and help you build the strongest possible theft crime defense. What are some defenses to charges of theft?

• The state would have to prove that you had the intention to deprive another person, company, or entity of their property. Think of an example where a person uses an automatic checkout and accidentally fails to scan an item. This innocent mistake can sometimes result in shoplifting or theft charges, when the person had no intention of stealing. The theft crime lawyers in Tempe, Arizona at Oliverson Law, PLLC can review the details of the case against you and determine whether there is motive.
• Some theft crime charges or arrests are built on very flimsy evidence. Did a witness see you allegedly steal something? Is there the potential for mistaken identity or misidentification? Eyewitness identification is known to have its limits, and there is also the risk of racial bias in these kinds of cases.
• Constitutional Rights. If police violated your Constitutional rights during an investigation, your theft lawyer in Tempe, Arizona may be able to get evidence dismissed. For example, police must generally have a warrant to search your home or your person. A warrant is an order granted by a judge to perform a search and typically involves a specific location, like a person’s home or car. There are situations where a search can be performed without a warrant. For example, if you gave police permission to search your home or property, the police could perform a search without a warrant. This is why it can be important to have a Tempe, Arizona theft crime lawyer at Oliverson Law, PLLC on your side to help you understand that you have the right to refuse to a search if police don’t have a warrant. If you are under arrest, police don’t have to obtain a warrant to search your person. Finally, police can search without a warrant if they believe a crime is in progress, someone might be injured or killed, or evidence might be destroyed if they don’t perform the search.

These are just some of the defenses to theft that may be available to you. Every case is unique. The  Oliverson Law Tempe theft crime lawyers are here to help you every step of the way.

Burglary Defense Lawyers in Tempe, Arizona 

Burglary is a theft crime where a person enters another person’s property illegally to commit a theft crime. Burglary crimes can result in serious penalties and jail time. If you are facing charges of burglary, it is important to take these charges seriously. Burglary can result in serious collateral consequences. For example, if you are not a citizen of the U.S., a burglary conviction in Arizona could jeopardize your status, affect your ability to apply for citizenship, and could even result in deportation. This is just one of the potential collateral consequences of a burglary charge. Yet, there may be situations where a burglary defense lawyer in Tempe, Arizona may be able to help individuals facing these charges avoid some of the most serious collateral consequences. For example, burglary without domestic violence charges might protect a person from facing deportation, and burglary charges that result in fewer than 365 days in jail may be defensible against deportation as well (see Immigrant Resource Center’s chart of consequences for different crimes).

If you are facing a theft crime charge or burglary charge, you need a theft crime lawyer in Tempe, Arizona who can fight for your rights, and consider all the potential consequences of your charge or arrest. The Tempe, Arizona burglary defense lawyers and theft crime lawyers at Oliverson Law, PLLC are here to fight for your rights. When your freedom, your reputation, and your future is at stake, you need a theft crime lawyer in Tempe, Arizona who can fight for you.