Receipt of Stolen Property
By: Darren K

Receipt of Stolen Property

Receiving stolen goods is generally buying or acquiring the possession of property knowing that it had been obtained through theft, embezzlement, larceny, or extortion by someone else. The crime is separate from the crime of stealing the property. To be convicted, the receiver must know the goods were stolen at the time he receives them and had the intent to aid the thief. Paying for the goods or intending to collect the reward for returning them are not defenses.

Receiving stolen property is a crime, which may be charged as a felony or as a misdemeanor, depending on the value of the property and the discretion of the district attorney or grand jury. Felonies are those crimes which are punished by being sent to state prison. Misdemeanors are crimes punishable by up to one year in county jail. Sometimes a crime may be punishable as either a felony or a misdemeanor, in which case it is called a “wobbler.”

California Penal Code Section 496 states, in pertinent part:

“Every person who buys or receives any property that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing the property to be so stolen or obtained, or who conceals, sells, withholds, or aids in concealing, selling, or withholding any property from the owner, knowing the property to be so stolen or obtained, shall be punished by imprisonment in a state prison, or in a county jail for not more than one year.”

Law enforcement will infer “knowledge” that the goods were stolen by the circumstances surrounding the sale and purchase. For example, if it is an expensive item and the seller is offering it on the street corner or at your door step for significantly less than it is worth, then the inference is that it is stolen. The phrase, “too good to be true” springs to mind.

If the property was less than $400, the district attorney or grand jury may specify that the crime is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county jail. The criteria for this classification are whether it would be “in the interests of justice.”

Such property includes tangible items like radios, books, watches, etc. But it also includes utility services or cable television services.

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