This page was written, edited, reviewed & approved by Brian LaVine following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. Brian LaVine the Founding Partner, 10+ years of legal experience as criminal defense attorney.
A theft charge in Harris County is graded by the value of the property the state says you took. That number decides whether your case is heard in a misdemeanor court or a felony court, and prior convictions or statutory enhancements can push the grade higher still. Our Harris County theft lawyer at LaVine Law Firm defends people charged across the county, from Houston and Pasadena to Baytown and Humble.
We review how the value was calculated, which agency wrote the report, and whether the priors listed in the charging instrument are accurate.
Call LaVine Law Firm at 713-965-7305 for a free case evaluation.
Theft is its own body of law in Texas. Chapter 31 of the Penal Code covers theft and several related property offenses. Section 31.03 defines the general theft offense, while separate provisions address conduct such as theft of service, unauthorized use of a vehicle, organized retail theft, and certain check-related presumptions.
Our work on a theft file usually includes:
Our founding attorney interned at the Harris County District Attorney's Office and has practiced criminal defense for more than 10 years. The office sits on E T C Jester Boulevard in Houston, inside the county where your case will be heard. Payment plans are available, and our phones are answered around the clock.
Under Texas Penal Code Section 31.03, theft is the unlawful appropriation of property with intent to deprive the owner of it. Appropriation is unlawful when it happens without the owner's effective consent.
To convict, the state must establish each of the following beyond a reasonable doubt:
That last element matters more than most people expect. Value is a fact question, and the state carries the burden on it.
Texas grades theft on a ladder running from a Class C misdemeanor for property worth less than $100 up to a first-degree felony at $300,000 or more. Felony exposure begins at $2,500. Our Houston theft lawyer page sets out the full ladder tier by tier, with the jail ranges and fines attached to each grade.
Value is the starting point, not the ending point. Several provisions move a theft case up the ladder without any change in what the property was worth.
When the value is less than $2,500 and a person has previously been convicted two or more times of any grade of theft, the offense becomes a state jail felony. The statute reaches any grade, including old Class C cases paid off years earlier. A single prior theft conviction also raises a theft under $100 from a Class C to a Class B misdemeanor.
Section 31.03(f) increases a theft offense to the next higher category when the state proves certain facts at trial. Those facts include:
That last item can turn an ordinary shoplifting allegation into a higher-grade case, and it is often pleaded on the strength of a loss prevention officer's description of a bag or a tool.
Section 31.09 lets the state combine amounts obtained through one continuing course of conduct and charge them as a single offense at the combined value. Six months of small alleged takings from an employer can be pleaded as one felony rather than a series of misdemeanors. Whether the conduct was genuinely continuous is contestable.
Organized retail theft is a separate offense aimed at coordinated retail theft and resale activity. Senate Bill 1300 rewrote the section effective September 1, 2025, raising the floor to a Class B misdemeanor and lowering the first-degree threshold to $150,000. People accused of shoplifting alongside a companion are sometimes charged under this section instead of Section 31.03.
Chapter 31 also reaches conduct that people do not always recognize as theft, including theft of service under Section 31.04 and unauthorized use of a vehicle under Section 31.07. Section 31.06 creates a presumption of intent to deprive in certain check cases. Our page on when a theft becomes a felony in Texas covers how these grades interact.
Article 14.06(c) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure lets an officer issue a citation instead of taking a person before a magistrate for certain Class A and Class B misdemeanors, if that person resides in the county where the offense occurred. The Harris County Sheriff's Office cite and release policy lists theft of $100 or more but less than $750 among the covered offenses. It does not apply to people under 17, intoxicated persons, violent crimes, or traffic violations.
A citation is not a dismissal. The case is filed the same way a custodial arrest case would be, and missing the appearance date creates a second problem on top of the first. The Harris County District Clerk holds cite and release dockets on Wednesday afternoons at 49 San Jacinto.
The Harris County District Courts hear felony cases. County Criminal Courts at Law hear Class A and Class B misdemeanors, along with appeals from justice of the peace and municipal courts. A Class C theft allegation, meaning property worth less than $100, generally begins in a justice or municipal court instead.
Probable cause court hearings run around the clock at the Joint Processing Center on North San Jacinto. For charges outside theft, our Harris County criminal defense lawyer page covers the county's process more broadly.
A theft case typically moves in this order:
Retailers routinely send demand letters after a theft accusation. Those letters come from the Texas Theft Liability Act, Chapter 134 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, not from the criminal court.
Under Section 134.005, a merchant who prevails in a suit may recover actual damages plus additional damages of up to $1,000, together with court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Paying the demand does not close the criminal case, and the two matters proceed on separate tracks. Bring any letter you receive to your defense attorney before you respond to it.
Misdemeanor theft carries a two-year limitations period under Article 12.02 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, running from the date of the offense. Felony theft carries a longer period set by Article 12.01.
Limitations questions surface most often in employee theft and family property disputes, where an allegation is reported long after the conduct. The period can be tolled in some circumstances, so the calculation is rarely as simple as counting backward from today.
Theft cases turn on documents and video more than on testimony. Our approach depends on the facts, and it often starts with what the state has not produced.
Depending on the case, we may:
Where the evidence supports it, we also present mitigation to the Harris County District Attorney's Office before a charging decision hardens.
A citation issued under Article 14.06 still counts as an arrest under Texas law. You avoid the jail booking process, but a case is filed and you are required to appear.
Felony exposure begins at $2,500 under Section 31.03. Below that figure, theft is graded as a Class A, Class B, or Class C misdemeanor according to value.
Yes. Two or more prior theft convictions of any grade can raise a theft under $2,500 to a state jail felony, and one prior can raise a theft under $100 to a Class B misdemeanor.
Speak with a defense attorney first. The civil demand is separate from the criminal case, and paying it does not resolve the charge against you.
That depends on how the case ends. Our page on clearing a theft charge from your record explains the eligibility rules for expunction and nondisclosure.
Theft charges move quickly in Harris County, and the evidence that helps a defense often disappears within weeks. If you have been cited, arrested, or contacted by an investigator, the sooner our team sees the file, the more options remain available.
Brian LaVine and the team at LaVine Law Firm defend theft cases throughout Harris County, in both the County Criminal Courts at Law and the District Courts. We will explain the charge you are facing, what the state has to prove, and the options realistically in front of you.
Call LaVine Law Firm at 713-965-7305 or contact our office to schedule a free case evaluation with a Harris County theft lawyer.
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