“Shoplifting” Laws & Penalties in Colorado – CRS § 18-4-406

CRS § 18-4-406 is the Colorado law that makes shoplifting a crime. For you to be convicted, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt these two elements:

1. You took goods from a retail establishment without the owner’s permission; and
2. You intended to deprive the owner of the merchandise permanently.

This table spells out the penalties for shoplifting, which depend on the value of the items stolen.

Shoplifting Offense	Colorado Punishment
Stealing less than $300 worth of goods	Petty offense: Up to 10 days of jail and/or up to $300 in fines
Stealing at least $300 but less than $2,000 worth of goods	Misdemeanor: Up to 364 days in jail and/or up to $1,000 in fines
Stealing items worth $2,000 or more	Felony: 1 to 24 years in prison and/or $1,000 to $1,000,000 in fines

You will also be ordered to pay restitution to the store. In this article, our law firm’s Denver, Colorado criminal defense lawyers discuss the following shoplifting topics:

• 1. Examples of Shoplifting
• 2. Penalties
• 3. Defenses
• 4. Record Seals
• 5. Immigration Consequences
• 6. Related Crimes
• Additional Resources

1. Examples of Shoplifting

Many shoplifting cases involve suspects intentionally stealing merchandise from a store.¹ However, shoplifting also includes:

• Returning an item to a store that you did not buy in order to get money or credit (“fraudulent returns”); or
• Altering labels, price tags, or packaging to pay less money – or nothing – for an item.

Under Colorado law, you are presumed to have “intended to steal” if you concealed the items you did not purchase while inside the store (such as by hiding them under your jacket or in your purse or pocket).²

Example: A Walmart security guard stops Kelly after seeing her leaving the store while holding a new iPhone box under her jacket that she did not pay for. Kelly gets charged with felony theft, and she elects to have a jury trial. At trial, Kelly argues that she simply forgot to pay. However, the jury can make the reasonable inference that Kelly intended to steal because the iPhone was hidden. Had Kelly carried the iPhone openly when she left the store without paying, the jury could not automatically presume she intended to steal, and she would have had an easier time arguing it was an accident.

2. Penalties

You may be eligible for a pretrial diversion program in your shoplifting case. This would allow you to avoid getting a conviction. In return, you may have to pay a fine and restitution, take a class, and/or do community service. Otherwise, Colorado’s punishments for shoplifters depend on the price of the stolen items:

Value of Stolen Merchandise	Colorado Shoplifting Penalties (plus Restitution)*
Less than $300 (“petty theft”)	Petty offense:  Up to 10 days in jail and/or up to $300
$300 to less than $1,000	Class 2 misdemeanor:  Up to 120 days in jail and/or up to $750
$1,000 to less than $2,000	Class 1 misdemeanor:  Up to 364 days in jail and/or up to $1,000
$2,000 to less than $5,000	Class 6 felony:  1 year – 18 months in prison and/or $1,000 – $100,000
$5,000 to less than $20,000	Class 5 felony:  1 – 3 years in prison and/or $1,000 – $100,000
$20,000 to less than $100,000	Class 4 felony:  2 – 6 years in prison and/or $2,000 – $500,000
$100,000 to less than $1,000,000	Class 3 felony:  4 – 12 years in prison and/or $3,000 – $750,000
$1,000,000 or more	Class 2 felony:  8 – 24 years in prison and/or $5,000 – $1,000,000
*If you allegedly shoplifted twice or more from the same store, the D.A. may bring one charge for the total value of the items. Or if you allegedly shoplifted more than once in a six-month period, the D.A. may bring one charge for the total value of the items.3

Colorado criminal law has no specific punishment for concealing goods you have not yet purchased. See our related article, When is theft charged as a felony in Colorado?

3. Defenses

Here at Colorado Legal Defense Group, we have represented literally thousands of people accused of shoplifting. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries.

You Had No Intent to Steal

Perhaps you simply forgot to pay. Or perhaps someone else planted the merchandise on you. Or maybe you believed the store owner agreed to let you pay at a later time.⁴ Either way, there is no definitive way for the prosecutor to prove what was going on in your head. As long as we have an innocent explanation that raises a reasonable doubt, the D.A. may dismiss the case.

You Did Not Shoplift

Perhaps the cashier forgot to remove the theft detection device. Or perhaps someone else shoplifted, and the cashier mistook you for the actual thief. The evidence we rely on to show that you paid includes the receipt, eyewitness testimony, and video surveillance footage. If we can show the D.A. that the full price was exchanged for the items, they may agree to drop the theft charges.

The Police Performed an Illegal Search

In every case, we scrutinize the police’s actions for evidence of misconduct. If law enforcement may have performed an unlawful search and seizure in your case, we would ask the judge to suppress any evidence found from their illegal actions. If the judge agrees, the D.A. may be left with a case that is too weak to prosecute. At that point, prosecutors usually offer to reduce your charge or dismiss your case altogether. The following bubble graph shows these and other potential shoplifting defenses:

4. Record Seals

The following table spells out the waiting period before you can seal shoplifting cases from your criminal record.

Colorado Theft Conviction	Record Seal Wait Time
Class 2 felonies; and Class 3 felonies	Can never be sealed
Class 4 felonies; Class 5 felonies; Class 6 felonies; and Class 1 misdemeanors	3 years after the case ends
Class 2 misdemeanors	2 years after the case ends
Petty offenses	1 year after the case ends

Note that any theft case that gets dismissed can be sealed right away.⁵ Learn about how to get a Colorado criminal record seal.

5. Immigration Consequences

Shoplifting is a crime involving moral turpitude. Therefore, theft offenses are deportable. A non-citizen defendant would be less likely to be deported if the shoplifting conviction were just a petty offense or a class 3 misdemeanor.⁶ Non-citizens facing criminal charges should hire an attorney right away. An attorney may be able to get the charges dismissed or reduced to a non-deportable crime. Learn more about the criminal defense of immigrants.

6. Related Crimes

Robbery

Robbery (CRS 18-4-301 – 303) is knowingly taking anything of value from another person — or in another person’s presence — by the use of force, threats, or intimidation. The classic example is holding up a cashier at gunpoint. Robbery is a felony. Depending on the case, penalties include:

• 2 – 48 years in prison, and/or
• $2,000 – $750,000

Burglary

Burglary (CRS 18-4-202 – 204) is knowingly entering or unlawfully remaining on someone else’s property with the intent to commit a crime. The classic example is sneaking into someone’s home to steal valuables. Burglary can be a misdemeanor or a felony.

Receiving Stolen Property

Receiving stolen property (CRS 18-4-404) is punished the same as shoplifting in the state of Colorado.

Additional Resources

If you are a compulsive shoplifter, you can find help here:

• Cleptomaniacs And Shoplifters Anonymous, LLC (CASA) – Secular weekly self-help group.
• Shoplifting Prevention (Adult) – Paid course by CBTclasses.
• Recoveries Anonymous – 12-step programs for shoplifting.
• Help for Shoplifters – Support group and toolkits provided by the Shulman Center.
• How to Overcome Kleptomania – Six steps provided by The Recovery Village.

---

Legal References