Under the New York Penal Law, grand larceny is a felony. As such the possible sentence for a grand larceny conviction is quite severe, involving as much as 25 years in prison. Larceny is the legal term for stealing. In order to be convicted of larceny, the prosecutor must show that you took property that belongs to another person with the intent of depriving that person of that property. This type of theft can be accomplished in several different ways including embezzlement, extortion, passing a bad check, lying, failing to try to return lost property, and trickery. N.Y. Pen. Law § 155.05. For a larceny charge, the theft can involve almost any type of property including money personal property, real property, motor vehicles, guns, water, gas, electricity, steam, computer data, and computer programs. If you have been accused of grand larceny it is critical that you immediately contact a Suffolk County Grand Larceny Sentencing Guidelines Lawyer who understands the factors that the court will considered in sentencing and who will aggressively defend you to ensure that your case is resolved in the best possible manner.
There are two categories of larceny crimes: petit larceny and grand larceny. Grand larceny is the more serious of the two crimes as it generally involves property that is worth more. Accordingly, the sentence for a grand larceny conviction is potentially much more severe than the potential sentence for a petit larceny conviction. To be charged with grand larceny, the property must be worth more than $1,000. Otherwise the charge will be petit larceny. There are additional factors that may cause the larceny to be categorized as grand larceny and not petit larceny regardless of the value of the property. If you are accused of stealing a credit card, debit card, fireman, a car or other vehicle with a value over $100, certain religious property with a value of $100 or greater, you will be charged with grand larceny. You will also be charged with grand larceny if you steal from someone's person. An example of stealing from someone's person is pickpocketing.
There are 4 different degrees of grand larceny: grand larceny in the fourth degree, grand larceny in the third degree, grand larceny in the second degree and grand larceny in the third degree. There is also a 5th grand larceny charge called aggravated grand larceny of an automated teller machine (ATM). The grand larceny crime with which you are charged will have a significant bearing on your sentence. Other factors that will impact your sentence include your criminal background, your ability to pay restitution, and whether or not you show remorse. If you have already been convicted for one or more felonies your sentence will likely be more harsh, and you will be required to serve a minimum prison sentence. If you are a first time offender your sentence could be relatively light.
Grand Larceny in the Fourth DegreeWhile grand larceny in the fourth degree is a felony, it is the least serious felony because of the value of the property involved. To be charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree the value of the property that you are accused of stealing must be greater than $1,000, but less than $3,000. The exceptions to this rule are if the property is a firearm, vehicle, certain religious property, secret scientific material, telephone access device, credit card, or debit card. The other exceptions are if the theft is from the person or is by extortion. In these cases the charge will be grand larceny in the fourth degree even if the value of the property is less than $1,000. N.Y. Pen. Law § 155.30.
Grand larceny in the fourth degree is a Class E felony. The penalty is up to 4 years in prison. N.Y. Pen. Law § 70.00. For first time offenders there is no minimum sentence. It is possible that the judge will not hand you a prison sentence, but instead sentence you to 5 years probation. However, if you have a prior felony conviction the minimum sentence for grand larceny in the fourth degree is 1.5 years in prison.
Grand Larceny in the Third DegreeGrand larceny in the third degree is a Class D felony. In order to be charged with grand larceny in the third degree, the value of the property must be more than $3,000 or the property must be an automated teller machine or its contents. N.Y. Pen. Law § 155.35. The penalty is up to 7 years in prison. N.Y. Pen. Law § 70.00. For first time offenders there is no minimum sentence. In such a case, instead of being sentenced to prison you may be sentenced to a probation term of 5 years. However, if you have a prior felony conviction the minimum sentence for grand larceny in the third degree is 2 to 4 years in prison.
Grand Larceny in the Second DegreeIf the property stolen has a value that that exceeds $50,000 or if the theft involved extortion then the charge would be grand larceny in the second degree. N.Y. Pen. Law § 155.40. Grand larceny in the second degree is a Class C felony. It is the second most serious grand larceny. The penalty is up to 15 years in prison. N.Y. Pen. Law § 70.00. For first time offenders there is no minimum sentence, meaning that your sentence could be significantly less than 15 years. You could even be sentenced to probation. However, if you have a prior felony conviction, the minimum sentence for grand larceny in the fourth degree is 3 to 6 years in prison.
Aggravated Grand Larceny of an Automated Teller MachineIf you steal an ATM or the contents of an ATM, you will be charged with aggravated grand larceny of an automated teller machine, a Class C felony. N.Y. Pen. Law § 155.43. The penalty is up to 15 years in prison. For first time offenders there is no minimum sentence, meaning that your sentence could be significantly less than 15 years. You may be sentence to just 5 years of probation, or a short prison sentenced combined with 5 years of probation. However, if you have a prior felony conviction, the minimum sentence for aggravated grand larceny of an automated teller machine is 3 to 6 years in prison.
Grand Larceny in the First DegreeThe most serious grand larceny offense is grand larceny in the first degree. A grand larceny in the first degree charge requires that the value of the property be more than $1 million. N.Y. Pen. Law § 155.42. Grand larceny in the first degree is a Class B felony. It is the most serious grand larceny charge. If convicted you could be sent to prison for up to 25 years. Even if you are a first time offender, there is a minimum sentence that the judge must impose of 1 to 3 years. If you have a prior felony conviction, the minimum sentence is 4.5 to 9 years in prison.
ProbationIf you are convicted of grand larceny, your sentence may include probation or concurrent terms of prison and probation. Because grand larceny is a felony, if you are sentenced to probation the term will be for 5 years. This means that if you are sentenced to 2 years in prison, for example, plus probation, the probation term will be for 5 years. Once you complete the 2 years in prison, you will then have a 3 more years of probation to serve.
While most would agree that probation is an easier sentence to being sent to prison, probation does place strict limitations on your freedom. Probation comes with a set of rules that you must follow. The rules will depend on your background, but may include: not committing another crime, refraining from associating with others who have criminal histories, refraining from patronizing disreputable places, keeping a job, supporting your family, submitting to warrantless searches, home confinement, electronic monitoring, and drug testing. You will be assigned a probation officer to whom you must report regularly. If you fail to abide by the rules attached to your probation, your probation officer may violate you. If this happens a judge may send you to jail.
As soon as you have been charged with any type of grand larceny offense you should contact an experienced attorney. The staff at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC has years of experience successfully defending clients in New York criminal courts who have been charged with grand larceny as well as other theft crimes such as petit larceny, possession of stolen property, burglary, and robbery. We understand the intricacies of each step of the criminal process from arrest to arraignment to the trial to sentencing. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case.