What's the difference between theft and robbery?

[Maxwell]

Based on the recent situation in San Antonio regarding the teens with a MAGA hat I was wondering what decided the difference between "theft" and "Robbery" and at what point in the commission of the crime does it changes from a misdemeanor to a felony?

I thought the break point was $1500 in value but what if my watch is grabbed or my wife's cash box at a craft show is snatched? I'm curious where those legal lines are and any info would be appreciated.



Max

[apostate]

Sec. 29.02. ROBBERY. (a) A person commits an offense if, in the course of committing theft as defined in Chapter 31 and with intent to obtain or maintain control of the property, he:
(1) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another; or
(2) intentionally or knowingly threatens or places another in fear of imminent bodily injury or death.

[Maxwell]

Thank you Apostate, that's a start.

I understand Chapter 16 quite well and what I was looking for is more info on the definitions and differences between theft, felony theft, robbery, aggravated robbery, etc. I think I just found the full Penal code at https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?link=pe so i can research the rest from here.

Thanks again!

Max

[Scott Farkus]

I've always understood theft to be taking something that's more or less sitting there by itself, while robbery is taking something that is physically being controlled by someone at the time. "Felony" theft, I would think, refers to the value of the items taken - more than $XXX is a felony, less than $XXX is a misdemeanor. Adding "aggrevated" to it, I believe, means it was taken by force with a weapon of some sort.

I think. I'm not a lawyer and probably shouldn't wander into this foray.

[apostate]

You're welcome Maxwell. Note it says bodily injury, not serious bodily injury Anything that causes physical pain is bodily injury, per 1.07.(a)(8)

[Maxwell]

Gotcha. Snatch and run with the cash box would be a Class B or A if it's been a good day, and only a felony if it's been a VERY GOOD day at the craft show. But threaten first or knock to the ground equals felony robbery. That's the way I read the penal code but IANAL.

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.

(still can't shoot the neighbor's dog for stealing the cats' food though... )

[ELB]

Approximately:

Theft = unlawfully appropriates property with intent to deprive the owner of property

Robbery = Theft + causes bodily injury to another OR threatens or places another in fear of imminent bodily injury or death

Aggravated Robbery = Robbery + causes serious bodily injury to another OR uses/exhibits deadly weapon OR causes/threatens bodily injury to 65Yo+ or disabled person

The value of the object unlawfully appropriated does not determine whether an act is theft, robbery, or aggravated robbery but it can influence the seriousness of the crime and its punishment.

[srothstein]

Approximately:

Theft = unlawfully appropriates property with intent to deprive the owner of property

Robbery = Theft + causes bodily injury to another OR threatens or places another in fear of imminent bodily injury or death

Aggravated Robbery = Robbery + causes serious bodily injury to another OR uses/exhibits deadly weapon OR causes/threatens bodily injury to 65Yo+ or disabled person

The value of the object unlawfully appropriated does not determine whether an act is theft, robbery, or aggravated robbery but it can influence the seriousness of the crime and its punishment.

This is a pretty good explanation of the difference between theft and robbery.

Understanding theft offenses is a trick in itself though. Theft now includes receiving property you know to be stolen and a few similar charges that are variations of someone got something without the owner's knowing permission. The first rule is that the value determines the grade of offense, from class C misdemeanor to 1st degree felony. There are some upgrades for specific items being stolen though, such as livestock or firearms. There is an upgrade many became familiar with just from this incident if the theft is directly from a person (as in on the person). There are upgrades if you have previous convictions for theft. There are upgrades if the victim is elderly or if the theif got the material stolen as a result of his being a government employee.

There is a second section that is a little easier to understand but is still different. If the theft is of a service (think not paying for a mechanic's work or something similar). This is covered in section 31.04 instead of the regular theft in 31.03.

As an aside, if they steal a car, most criminals get charged under 31.07 for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle instead. This is because of the intent required (prove keep the vehicle) for theft. A lot of the car thieves are going [abbreviated profanity deleted] joy rides and do not intend to deprive the owner permanently.

For an area that most people can understand the basics of very quickly, theft is a very complicated subject in Texas when you get into the details. Reading the law posted at the link posted above is a very good start. The whole chapter can get very confusing very fast, especially with imaginative application of the exact wording of the law.