Property crimes in Tennessee typically involve unlawful destruction, damage, theft, or interference with a person’s property. There’s no violence threatened or used. Property crimes are usually serious and attract severe punishments and other long-term consequences, which is why you need to consult with a skilled and experienced property crimes lawyer to defend your rights.
The legal team at Byron Pugh Legal is committed to providing experienced legal guidance and strong representation to clients in property crimes cases. We have successfully defended property crime charges across Franklin, TN. Call us today at 615-255-9595 to schedule a free consultation and case evaluation and learn how we can help you fight the charges that you face.
What Are Property Crimes?
Property crimes are those that involve theft or destruction of another person’s property. They include vandalism, arson, theft, robbery, trespassing, and burglary among many others. Property crimes may be carried out to destroy property, obtain money, or achieve some other benefits.
What Cases Do We Handle?
Here are some of the most common examples of property crimes in Tennessee that we handle at Byron Pugh Legal:
Vandalism
Vandalism involves any action that’s carried out deliberately for the purpose of damaging or destroying private or public property. Under Tennessee law, vandalism is committed if an individual intentionally causes damage to government or personal property, facilitates or aids vandalism, or damages merchandise.
Arson
Arson is defined under Tennessee law as the act of damaging a structure by explosion or fire, without the consent of the property owner and with the intention of destroying the property. The offense of arson is classified further into:
- Arson: Damaging a structure by explosion or fire
- Reckless Burning: Burning another person’s property recklessly
- Aggravated Arson: Damaging a structure by explosion or fire that also results in harm or bodily injury to someone present in the building.
Trespassing
Trespassing or criminal trespassing happens when a person that knowingly lacks consent enters another person’s property. An example of a situation where a person is considered to knowingly lack consent under Tennessee law is if there’s a fence around someone’s property, which is a symbol considered to convey the owner’s lack of consent under the law.
Burglary
A person commits the offense of burglary in Tennessee if they intentionally or unlawfully enters or remains in a building not open to the public, with the intent to commit a felony, theft, or assault. Aggravated burglary, on the other hand, occurs when the burglary involves a habitation structure and a person suffers serious bodily injury or harm.
Theft
Theft can be described as the act of taking someone else’s property unlawfully, without any intention of giving it back. Under Tennessee law, a person commits the offense of theft if the person knowingly obtains or exercises control over the property without the effective consent of the owner with the intention of depriving the owner of the property.
Robbery
Robbery is a serious theft crime defined under Tennessee law as a crime committed when an individual knowingly steals property directly from someone’s person either by putting the victim in fear or simply using violence.
Robbery, however, isn’t the same as theft, which doesn’t involve violence or stealing directly from another individual. Robbery is also often confused with burglary that’s committed through entering a structure or building to commit a felony or theft inside.
Aggravated Robbery and Especially Aggravated Robbery
The offense of robbery in Tennessee law can be elevated to aggravated robbery or even especially aggravated robbery.
A person is guilty of the crime of aggravated robbery if during the crime:
- The victim suffered severe bodily injury
- The offender used a deadly weapon such as a knife or gun or displayed an object, which led the victim to reasonably believe it was a deadly weapon.
A person is guilty of the crime of especially aggravated robbery if the defendant used a deadly weapon and the alleged victim suffered bodily injury.
Penalties for Property Crimes in Tennessee
The penalties for property crimes in Tennessee generally differ depending on several factors, which include whether the charge is a misdemeanor or a felony and the seriousness of the allegations, including the value and type of the property.
Here are some possible penalties for various property crimes in Tennessee:
Vandalism
The penalties for the offense of vandalism depend on the type as well value of the vandalized property along with the extent of damages. The defendant may face the following types of punishment if found guilty of vandalism in Tennessee:
- Class B felony if the value of the damaged property is higher than $60,000
- Class C felony if the value of the damaged property is between $10,000 and $60,000
- Class D felony if the value of the damaged property doesn’t exceed $10,000, but isn’t less than $1,000
- Class E felony if the value of the damaged property is between $500 and $1,000
- Class A misdemeanor if the damaged property is valued at $500 or less.
Arson
Arson is a Class C felony punishable with a prison sentence of 3 to 6 years for first time offenders. The penalty increases up to 15 years for offenders with extensive criminal histories. If there’s a person present at the time of the act of arson, the offender faces greatly increased punishment with a prison sentence of between 15 and 60 years and fines not exceeding $50,000.
Trespass
Under Tennessee law, criminal trespassing is charged as a Class C misdemeanor. The likely penalties for the offense of trespassing include a fine of up to $50 and a jail sentence of up to 30 days.
Burglary
Burglary is charged as either a Class D or Class E felony under Tennessee law and the possible penalties include fines of up to $5,000 and a prison sentence of between 1 and 12 years, a portion of which may be served as probation. Aggravated burglary is charged as a Class C felony whose possible penalty is a prison sentence of between 3 and 15 years.
Theft
Tennessee classifies theft of property as either a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the value of the stolen property. Possible penalties for the theft of property in the state include:
- Property valued at $1,000 or less: Class A Misdemeanor with fines of up to $2,500 and a prison sentence not exceeding 12 months.
- Property valued at between $1,000 and $2,500: Class E Felony with fines of up to $3,000 and a prison sentence ranging between 1 and 6 years.
- Property valued at between $2,500 and $10,000: Class D felony with fines of up to $5,000 and a prison sentence of between 2 and 12 years.
- Property valued at between $10,000 and $60,000: Class C felony with fines of up to $10,000 and a prison sentence of between 3 and 15 years.
- Property valued at between $60,000 and $250,000: Class B felony with fines of up to $25,000 and a prison sentence of between 8 and 30 years.
- Property valued at $250,000 or higher: Class A felony with fines of up to $50,000 and a prison sentence of between 15 and 60 years.
Robbery
Robbery is a Class C felony punishable by a prison sentence of up to 15 years and a maximum of $10,000 in fines.
Aggravated Robbery and Especially Aggravated Robbery
Aggravated robbery is a Class B felony punishable by a prison sentence of up to 30 years while Especially Aggravated Robbery is a Class A felony punishable by a prison sentence of up to 60 years.
Why Hire Us to Defend You?
If you have any questions or concerns or are facing charges involving a property crime in Franklin, Tennessee, you should consider speaking with our experienced property crimes lawyer at Byron Pugh Legal as soon as possible.
Our experienced property crimes lawyer will help you prepare the strongest case possible, gather any supporting evidence, draft the necessary legal documents, and provide competent legal representation on your behalf in court.
Our experienced legal team will also help you to adequately determine whether there are any viable defenses against the charges you face. We will also ensure that your rights under the law are adequately protected.
Our legal team can even represent you if you are ever sued for damages caused by an alleged property crime. Property crimes can be complex, but our legal team can keep you informed of your legal options and rights moving forward. If you have any inquiries or questions, we can research the laws to inform you of your status.
Contact Our Experienced Property Crimes Lawyer in Franklin, Tennessee
Property crimes in Tennessee can carry harsh penalties that may include limiting your ability to seek and hold employment in the state. Fortunately, this is one fact that we are all too aware of and are looking to help alleviate your stress.
If you have been charged with a property crime in Franklin, TN, you don’t have to face it alone. Call the experienced property crimes lawyers at Byron Pugh Legal today at 615-255-9595 to schedule a free case evaluation. We will aggressively defend your charges.
