Have you recently been charged with larceny? If so, you should know that you may have several legal defenses at your disposal to help have the charges against you dismissed. Below you will learn more about these legal defenses and how they may apply to the facts in your case.

What You Need To Know About Larceny

Larceny is an all-inclusive charge. What this means is that the prosecution must prove that your actions meet every one of the criteria described in the definition of larceny in order for you to be convicted. These criteria include:

• the unlawful taking of someone else's property
• a lack of consent from the rightful owner
• the intent to permanently deprive the rightful owner of their property

If you can prove that you are not guilty of even one of these statements, you cannot be convicted of larceny. Consequently, the most effective legal defenses will challenge these statements.

The Unlawful Taking Of Someone Else's Property

In order to unlawfully take possession of someone else's property, you must be aware of the fact that this property belongs to someone else. If you had reason to believe that the property in question was in fact yours, your actions will not constitute larceny. For instance, if you bring a bicycle into your garage that is identical to the one owned by you or your child only to find out that it was reported stolen by a neighbor, you are guilty of nothing more than an honest mistake because you had reason to believe that the bicycle was in fact yours.

A Lack Of Consent From The Rightful Owner

If you had consent from the owner to possess their property, you cannot be charged with larceny even if you failed to return the borrowed items on time. This is because the charge of larceny requires that you obtained possession of the items without the consent of the rightful owner. Consequently, if your neighbor allows you to borrow their lawnmower and you fail to return it on time, your neighbor cannot have you arrested for stealing their lawnmower because they gave you permission to remove it from their property.

The Intent To Permanently Deprive The Rightful Owner Of Their Property

Larceny requires the intent to never return the stolen property to its rightful owner. Consequently, if you can prove that you intended to return this property at some point in the future, you cannot be convicted of larceny. However, you should be aware that challenging this statement is often the most difficult, especially if a significant amount of time has passed since the property was originally taken. When asserting this defense, you will need to present a reasonable scenario in which you intended to return the items on a specific date and time, as well as explaining why you were unable to return the items prior to this time.

For more information, contact Criminal Defense P.A. or a similar organization.