Theft & Property Crimes
Theft and property crime charges in Tennessee carry consequences that extend well beyond fines and jail time. A conviction can follow you into job applications, professional licensing, housing, and beyond. And while these charges can seem straightforward on the surface, the law governing them is more nuanced than most people expect.
Intent is everything in Tennessee theft cases. In most circumstances, the prosecution must prove not just that property changed hands, but that the accused knowingly and intentionally deprived someone of it. That burden of proof creates real opportunities for defense — if you move quickly and work with attorneys who know where to look.
The McDaniel Law Firm represents clients facing the full range of theft and property crime charges in Memphis and throughout the surrounding jurisdictions — from misdemeanor shoplifting to felony burglary. We’ll examine the facts, identify every viable defense, and fight to protect your record and your future.
Call or text 901-527-6518 any time to protect your future.
What the Law Actually Requires the Prosecution to Prove.
Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-103(a), theft of property is defined as knowingly obtaining or exercising control over another person’s property with the intent to deprive them of it. Two words in that definition carry the most legal weight: “knowingly” and “intent.”
Both are elements the prosecution must establish beyond a reasonable doubt. That means defense strategies in theft cases frequently focus on exactly those points—challenging whether the accused genuinely knew the origin or ownership of the property in question, or whether the evidence actually supports a finding of intent to deprive. These are not technicalities. They are the legal standards the law requires.
Tennessee law also separates theft of property from theft of services, though the same principles of knowledge and intent apply to both. In either case, the severity of the charge is determined by the type and value of what was allegedly taken—a grading system that runs from misdemeanor to felony depending on the circumstances.
The strength of a theft defense often depends on details gathered early. If you’ve been charged with theft of property in Tennessee, call 901-527-6518 — the sooner we can review the facts, the more options you have.
You Don’t Have to Leave the Store to be Convicted
Most people assume shoplifting charges require actually walking out of a store with unpaid merchandise. Tennessee law goes considerably further than that — and understanding the full scope of what constitutes theft of merchandise under state law is critical if you’ve been accused.
Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-146, a person can be charged with theft of merchandise for actions that include concealing items anywhere within a retail location, moving merchandise in ways that suggest an intent to steal, or tampering with or disabling security tags and detection devices — even if they never leave the premises and never take actual possession of the property.
T.C.A. § 39-14-146(b) makes this explicit: the prosecution does not need to show that the accused exercised control over the merchandise or completed a theft to secure a conviction. The act of concealment or tampering alone can be sufficient. This is a broader standard than most defendants anticipate — and it is one of the reasons why working with an experienced criminal defense attorney from the moment of accusation can help you understand the allegations, preserve important evidence, and begin building a defense early.
Charged with shoplifting in the West Tennessee area? Call 901-527-6518. Even charges that seem minor can affect your record in ways that follow you for years.
What Sets Them Apart and How They’re Defended
Vandalism is distinct from burglary and criminal trespass in one specific way: it always involves physical damage to property. That distinction matters legally, because it opens a line of defense that is not available in most other property crime cases.
When someone is accused of vandalism, a core question becomes: was the alleged damage actually caused by the accused, and did it occur when the prosecution claims it did? Property does not always arrive at a scene undamaged. Prior damage—from weathering, previous incidents, or other causes—can be attributed incorrectly to a defendant who happened to be present or associated with the location.
A thorough defense in a vandalism case often begins with examining the history and condition of the property before the alleged incident. Photographs, maintenance records, prior police reports, or witness accounts documenting the property’s pre-existing state can all become relevant. This is the kind of detailed, fact-specific investigation that an experienced Memphis defense attorney can help you pursue — and it is often where a strong defense is built.
Facing vandalism charges in Memphis? Call 901-527-6518. The facts behind the alleged damage matter — and we know how to find them.
Complex Cases that Demand Careful Defense
Tennessee’s Identity Theft Victims’ Rights Act of 2004 establishes serious criminal penalties for identity theft and related offenses under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-150. These charges are prosecuted aggressively — and they are also among the more legally complex theft cases to defend, for several reasons.
Identity theft cases frequently involve digital evidence, financial records, and chains of custody that require careful scrutiny. Many cases arise between people who know each other — family members, former partners, business associates — which introduces layers of personal history alongside the legal questions. And because the Identity Theft Victims’ Rights Act is specifically designed to protect alleged victims, the legal framework itself can create pressure that experienced defense counsel knows how to navigate.
False Accusations and Disputed Evidence
Not every identity theft accusation reflects what actually happened. False reports do occur — and when they result in charges, the accused faces the full weight of a law designed to protect victims, regardless of the truth of the underlying claim. In these situations, an immediate, thorough review of the evidence the prosecution is relying on is essential. That review begins with a conversation with a defense attorney who can assess the strength of the state’s case honestly and without pressure.
When the Evidence is More Complicated
In cases where the facts are not straightforward, experienced legal counsel can still make a significant difference — through negotiation for reduced charges, by presenting the court with a complete picture of the circumstances, or by making a compelling case for proportionate sentencing. Tennessee judges have meaningful discretion in identity theft cases, particularly where defendants demonstrate genuine accountability and a willingness to make amends.
Identity theft charges in Tennessee move quickly. If you’ve been charged under § 39-14-150, call 901-527-6518 to speak with our team before the prosecution builds its case.
Graded Like Theft — But Never as a Misdemeanor.
Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-114, a person commits forgery by forging a writing with intent to defraud or harm another. The statute defines “forge” more broadly than the word suggests in ordinary use: altering, making, completing, executing, or authenticating a writing so that it appears to be the act of someone who did not authorize it, or to have been executed at a time, place, or sequence other than the actual one, or to be a copy of an original that never existed. Making false entries in books or records falls within the definition as well. And “writing” is not limited to documents — the statute extends to money, coins, tokens, stamps, seals, credit cards, badges, trademarks, and other symbols of value, right, privilege, or identification.
The provision that surprises most people charged under this statute is the one covering issuing, transferring, passing, publishing, or otherwise uttering a forged writing. A person can face forgery charges for presenting a document someone else prepared, with no involvement in creating it whatsoever. Cashing a check, submitting a form, or handing over a document received from another person can each become the basis for a charge.
That reach is also where a defense frequently begins. Intent to defraud or harm is an element of the offense, not an inference the state is entitled to draw from the circumstances alone. Someone who passed a document without knowing it had been altered — a check received in payment, a form completed by a family member or employer, paperwork handled in the ordinary course of a job — has not committed forgery, however the transaction appeared to the person who received it. What the accused actually knew at the moment of the transaction is often the central question in these cases, and it is rarely settled by the documents themselves.
Forgery is punishable as theft under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-105, meaning the grade of the offense generally tracks the value involved. It carries one significant exception: forgery can never be graded below a Class E felony regardless of the amount at issue. A Class E felony carries a sentencing range of one to six years. There is no misdemeanor forgery in Tennessee, which means a charge involving a small sum still carries felony exposure and the lasting consequences that follow a felony conviction.
Charged with forgery in Memphis or the surrounding counties? Call 901-527-6518. What you knew when the document changed hands is often the whole case — and that is a question best examined early.
Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-121, a person commits the offense of passing worthless checks by issuing or passing a check with fraudulent intent, or knowing at the time that sufficient funds are not on deposit to cover it along with all other checks then outstanding. The statute also reaches stopping payment on a check given for money, goods, services, or an obligation to a government entity, where what was received was as represented at the time. The controlling element in both is state of mind. An overdraft is not a crime. A miscalculation is not a crime. What the statute requires is that the person knew, or intended to defraud — and the distance between a bounced check and a criminal charge is precisely that knowledge.
Because intent is rarely susceptible to direct proof, the statute supplies two circumstances from which it may be inferred. The first is that the person had no account with the bank at the time the check was issued or passed. The second is that the check was refused for insufficient funds or a closed account on presentation within thirty days, and the person failed to make it good within ten days after receiving notice of that refusal. These are inferences the state is permitted to draw, not conclusions it is entitled to — and the second one depends entirely on a notice procedure the statute defines with unusual specificity.
That specificity is often where these cases are contested. Notice must be in writing and, where the address is known, sent by certified mail with return receipt requested, addressed to the issuer at the address shown on the check or, failing that, in the drawee bank’s records. Where notice is given in that manner, it may be inferred to have been received no later than five days after mailing. Each of those requirements is a point at which the procedure can fail — notice sent to a stale address, sent by ordinary mail, or never sent at all before a warrant issued. Where the notice provision was not properly satisfied, the inference the state is relying on may not be available to it.
The statute also carves out situations it does not reach. It does not apply to post-dated checks. It does not apply where the payee or holder knew, or had good and sufficient reason to believe, that the drawer lacked sufficient funds when the check was accepted — a circumstance considerably more common in practice than it may sound, particularly between businesses with an ongoing relationship, or where a check was accepted with an understanding that it would be held. Conversely, notice is not required at all where the bank is outside Tennessee, where the drawer is a non-resident or has left the state, or where the drawer had no account with the bank when the check was issued or dishonored.
Passing worthless checks is punished as theft under the same grading scheme described above, with value determined by the amount appearing on the face of the check on the date of issue. If you have received notice regarding a dishonored check, or have been charged in the Memphis area, call 901-527-6518 — the ten-day window the statute provides is short, and what happens inside it can determine whether a charge is brought at all.
Tennessee addresses card offenses through two distinct provisions of Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-118. The first, illegal possession of a credit or debit card, applies where a person takes, exercises control over, or otherwise uses a card or the information from a card knowing they lack the consent of the owner or issuer. The second, fraudulent use of a credit or debit card, applies where a person uses a card or its information — or allows it to be used — to obtain property, credit, services, or anything else of value, knowing that the card is forged or stolen, that it has been revoked or cancelled, that it has expired and is being used with fraudulent intent, or that the use is otherwise unauthorized.
Both offenses turn on knowledge, and that is frequently where these cases are contested. Card information changes hands within families, between partners, and among people who work together, often with permission that was granted informally and later disputed. A card used with the owner’s consent at the time, an authorization the owner no longer recalls giving or has since withdrawn, a shared account whose boundaries were never clearly drawn — each of these can produce a charge that the underlying facts do not support. The state’s burden is not simply that a transaction occurred, but that the accused knew it was unauthorized when it did.
Fraudulent use is punished as theft under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-105, which grades the offense according to the value of what was obtained. A single transaction of modest size may be charged as a misdemeanor, while charges involving repeated transactions can escalate substantially, since the amounts at issue may be aggregated. The practical consequence is that cases beginning with what appears to be a minor allegation can arrive in felony territory once the state assembles the full transaction history.
Fraudulent use involving $1,000 or less is a Class A misdemeanor. The same classification applies where no property, credit, goods, or services were actually obtained — regardless of the card’s available limit — so an attempted or unsuccessful transaction is graded at the misdemeanor level.
Amounts between $1,000 and $2,500 are graded as a Class E felony, between $2,500 and $10,000 as a Class D felony, and between $10,000 and $60,000 as a Class C felony. Sentencing ranges rise accordingly at each tier, as do the collateral consequences that follow a felony conviction.
Amounts between $60,000 and $250,000 are graded as a Class B felony, and amounts of $250,000 or more as a Class A felony — the most serious classification in Tennessee’s grading scheme. Charges at these levels typically involve aggregated transactions and extensive financial records, and they warrant experienced defense counsel from the outset.
Because the grade of the offense depends on figures the state assembles from transaction records, the accounting itself is often open to challenge — which transactions properly belong in the total, and which were authorized. If you have been charged with credit or debit card fraud in the Memphis area, call 901-527-6518.
Three Distinct Offenses, Each with Serious Consequences.
The distinction between these three charges often turns on specific facts: the nature of the structure entered, whether anyone was present and injured, and what the prosecution can demonstrate about the accused’s intent at the time of entry. Each of these elements is a potential point of challenge.
Especially aggravated burglary — a Class B felony — carries some of the most serious penalties in Tennessee property crime law. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-404(b), any person lawfully on the premises where the burglary occurred may be considered a victim if they sustained serious bodily injury during the commission of the offense. That definition is broad, and it means charges can escalate based on circumstances the accused may not have anticipated or intended.
A Class B felony conviction in Tennessee carries a sentencing range of 8 to 30 years. If you are facing especially aggravated burglary charges, the stakes demand experienced, aggressive legal defense from day one.
Facing burglary charges in the Memphis area? Call 901-527-6518 to speak with The McDaniel Law Firm. We’ll assess the specific charges against you and begin building your defense immediately.
In most theft cases, the prosecution must prove that you knowingly took or exercised control over someone else’s property with the intent to deprive the owner of it. That issue of intent is often a key part of the defense and can significantly impact how a case is handled.
Yes. Under Tennessee law, a person does not always have to keep or permanently possess property to face theft charges. In some situations—such as shoplifting—actions like concealing or moving merchandise can be enough to support a charge.
Theft of property involves taking or controlling physical items, while theft of services involves obtaining services (such as utilities or labor) without proper payment. Both require proof of intent and can carry penalties based on the value involved.
Shoplifting, or theft of merchandise, can include more than simply leaving a store with unpaid items. Actions like hiding merchandise, switching price tags, or tampering with security devices may also lead to charges—even if you never leave the store.
Burglary generally involves entering a building, vehicle, or structure without consent with the intent to commit a crime inside. Trespassing involves entering or remaining on property without permission but without necessarily intending to commit another crime.
Burglary charges can be elevated to aggravated or especially aggravated burglary depending on factors such as whether the property was a residence or whether someone was injured. These enhanced charges carry significantly more serious penalties.
Vandalism involves damaging or destroying someone else’s property. Charges often depend on the extent of the damage and the value of the property involved. In some cases, a defense may involve challenging whether the damage was actually caused by the accused.
It is important to speak with a defense attorney as soon as possible. Early guidance can help you understand your options, protect your rights, and begin building a strategy before making any decisions about your case.
Yes. Tennessee’s forgery statute covers passing, transferring, or issuing a forged writing, not only creating one. However, the offense requires intent to defraud or harm — so what you knew about the document at the time is a central issue in these cases.
Yes. Forgery is graded like theft based on the value involved, but the statute sets a floor: it cannot be charged below a Class E felony regardless of the amount. That makes it different from most other property offenses, where smaller values result in misdemeanor charges.
Both Tennessee card offenses require knowledge that the use was unauthorized. Disputes over informal or withdrawn permission are common in these cases, particularly between family members or partners, and what you understood at the time of the transaction is a central issue.
Not by itself. The offense requires fraudulent intent or knowledge that the funds were not there when the check was written. Tennessee law does allow that intent to be inferred in certain circumstances — including where a check goes unpaid after written notice — but the statute sets specific requirements for how that notice must be given.
Charges for property crimes in Tennessee range from misdemeanors to serious felonies. Many individuals accused of theft of property, vandalism, or other property crimes may not initially be aware that even a relatively “mild” sentence is likely to involve a requirement for restitution, which for individuals who have been falsely accused can quickly become a heavy, undeserved burden. Even individuals who recognize that they have misstepped may struggle to show Tennessee courts that they are prepared to make things right.
Every case is different, and we can never guarantee a specific outcome. However, there are a number of reasons why working with a criminal defense lawyer may prove helpful as you seek to address charges for property crimes. At The McDaniel Law Firm, we have experience both in providing aggressive defense for the wrongfully accused, and in negotiating reduced charges and penalties for individuals who have made mistakes. Call our office at 901-527-6518 today to schedule a conversation.
