FORMER PROSECUTOR REPRESENTING THOSE FACING
CHARGES IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITY FOR OVER 28 YEARS.
Larceny and robbery describe every type of “stealing” that you can be charged with
(shoplifting is it’s own type of charge).
Larceny is legally defined as the “asportation” (the taking and carrying away) of another person’s property with the intent to permanently deprive them of its use or value.
Massachusetts defines a misdemeanor larceny as stealing property with a value of less than $250 and felony larceny as stealing property worth $250 or more.
tealing property worth $250 or more.
- LARCENY UNDER $250 is punishable up to 1 year in a house of correction.
- LARCENY OVER $250 is punishable up to 5 years in state prison.
- LARCENY (EITHER UNDER OR OVER $250) BY SINGLE SCHEME is what you are charged with if the Commonwealth believes that you have stolen things between two dates, pursuant to a single scheme and that you had a single, continuing intent to steal.
- UNARMED ROBBERY: In Massachusetts, robbery is a larceny that is done with some type of force or threatened force. Unarmed robbery is a larceny that is done by physical force or the threat of physical force but without using any kind of weapon. The most frequently committed unarmed robbery is a purse snatching, for example. The maximum sentence of unarmed robbery is LIFE IN PRISON.
- ARMED ROBBERY: Now you take the larceny, the use or threatened use of force and introduce a dangerous weapon as the means by which the property is stolen and you have an armed robbery. The maximum sentence for armed robbery is LIFE IN PRISON.
Recent Case
My client was charged with larceny over $250 from a person over 65 years old, forgery and uttering a forged document. All of these charges are felonies.
Of course, the government was asking for jail time for my client as the case began. I thoroughly combed through all the documents and noticed many important pieces of discovery missing.
I filed all of the appropriate discovery motions, asking the court to order the government to give those things to me and my client. The judge did just that.
I prepared for trial and waited for those pieces of discovery but they never came, prompting me to file a motion to dismiss, to be heard on the trial date.
The night before trial, the government agreed to a deal that we could not refuse. My client was put on administrative probation without a conviction for 1 year and no restitution was ordered from the court. One of the charges was dismissed. No conviction-No restitution.
If you’ve been charged with larceny in Springfield or a surrounding area, contact a Springfield criminal defense attorney right away. At the office of Criminal Defense Attorney Thomas Kokonowski, we can help.
