A.R.S. § 13-1802 — Theft

What counts as theft

The statute reaches well beyond taking someone’s property. It covers knowingly controlling another’s property with intent to deprive them of it; converting property or services entrusted to you; obtaining property or services through material misrepresentation; controlling property you know is stolen; keeping lost or misdelivered property without reasonable efforts to find the owner; and obtaining services without paying. Several very different fact patterns — a workplace dispute over equipment, a contract job gone bad, a borrowed item never returned — get charged under the same statute.

The value ladder

Theft of property or services worth $1,000 or less is a class 1 misdemeanor. From there the felony classes climb: $1,000 to $2,000 is a class 6 felony, $2,000 to $3,000 a class 5, $3,000 to $4,000 a class 4, $4,000 to $25,000 a class 3, and $25,000 or more a class 2 felony — the same class as many violent offenses. A firearm is a class 6 felony regardless of value.

Penalties

The misdemeanor carries up to six months in jail and fines plus surcharges; the felony classes carry escalating prison exposure, though first offenders in the lower classes are ordinarily probation-eligible. Nearly every theft resolution includes restitution. The longer-lived penalty is the record: theft is a crime of dishonesty, and employers, licensing boards, and immigration authorities treat it accordingly.

Defenses

Intent to deprive is the core element and the core defense: honest claim of right, disputed ownership, a civil disagreement dressed up as a criminal charge. Valuation is the other front — the State must prove fair market value, not retail sticker or sentimental value, and dropping the value a bracket drops the felony class with it. Shoplifting from a store is charged under its own statute, A.R.S. § 13-1805. For how we defend both, see the theft defense page.