What is the law on Theft in Lenexa Municipal Court?

Section 3-9-C-1 THEFT.

1. Theft, Generally: Theft is any of the following acts done with the intent to deprive the owner permanently of the possession, use or benefit of the owner's property:

   1. Obtaining or exerting unauthorized control over property; or

   2. Obtaining by deception, control over property; or

   3. Obtaining by threat, control over property; or

   4. Obtaining control over stolen property knowing the property to have been stolen by another.

2. Theft Of Lost, Mislaid Property: Theft of lost or mislaid property is failure to take reasonable measures to restore lost or mislaid property to the owner by a person who has obtained control of such property, who knows or learns the identity of the owner thereof and who intends to deprive the owner permanently of the possession, use or benefit of the property.

3. Theft Of Services: Theft of services is obtaining services from another by deception, threat, coercion, stealth, tampering or use of false token or device.

4. Intent; Permanently Deprive:

   1. In any prosecution under this Section, the following shall be prima facie evidence of intent to permanently deprive the owner or lessor of property of the possession, use or benefit thereof:

      1. The giving of a false identification or fictitious name, address or place of employment at the time of obtaining control over the property;

      2. The failure of a person who leases or rents personal property and fails to return the same within ten (10) days after the date set forth in the lease or rental agreement for the return of the property, if notice is given to the person renting or leasing the property to return the property within seven (7) days after receipt of the notice, in which case the subsequent return of the property within the seven (7) day period shall exempt such transaction from consideration as prima facie evidence as provided in this Section;

      3. Destroying, breaking or opening a lock, chain, key switch, enclosure or other device used to secure the property in order to obtain control over the property; or

      4. Destruction of or substantially damaging or altering the property so as to make the property unusable or unrecognizable in order to obtain control over the property.

   2. In any prosecution in which the object of the alleged theft is a book or other material borrowed from a library, it shall be prima facie evidence of intent to permanently deprive the owner of the possession, use or benefit thereof if the defendant failed to return such book or material within thirty (30) days after receiving notice from the library requesting its return, in which case the subsequent return of the book or material within the thirty (30) day period shall exempt such transaction from consideration as prima facie evidence as provided in this Section.

   3. The word notice as used herein shall be construed to mean notice in writing and such notice in writing will be presumed to have been given three (3) days following deposit of the notice, postage prepaid, in the United States mail, addressed to such person who has leased or rented the personal property or borrowed the library materials at the address as it appears in the information supplied by such person at the time of such leasing, renting or borrowing, or to such person’s last known address.

Possible Punishment

*Class A Violations are punishable by up to 365 days in the Johnson County Jail, however, most Class A Violations are eligible for probation

I've been charged with Theft in the Lenexa Municipal Court, what do I do now?

First, you're already doing the right thing, researching. Anytime you are facing an unforeseen problem you need to begin by gathering information that is relevant to solving the problem. If you're charged with Theft in Lenexa Municipal Court it makes sense to begin by looking at the law that is applicable to your case. That will give you a good knowledge base to go off of when you are interviewing lawyers to help you with your case. If you'd like a deep dive click here for the commonly asked questions associated with a theft case. Once you've read the law, then review the in-depth question and answer on Theft cases, it's time to sit down with an experienced criminal defense lawyer and get his or her take on your case. It's important to hire a lawyer with experience in Lenexa Municipal Court, that can give you insight as to possible defenses to your charge as well as how the court particularly handles theft cases.