(a) A person is guilty of criminal mischief in the first degree when: (1) With intent to cause damage to tangible property of another and having no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to do so, such person damages tangible property of another in an amount exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars, or (2) with intent to cause an interruption or impairment of service rendered to the public and having no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to do so, such person damages or tampers with tangible property of a utility or mode of public transportation, power or communication, and thereby causes an interruption or impairment of service rendered to the public, or (3) with intent to cause damage to any electronic monitoring equipment owned or leased by the state or its agent and required as a condition of probation or conditional discharge pursuant to § 53a-30, as a condition of release pursuant to § 54-64a or as a condition of community release pursuant to § 18-100c, and having no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to do so, such person damages such electronic monitoring equipment and thereby causes an interruption in its ability to function, or (4) with intent to cause an interruption or impairment of service rendered to the public and having no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to do so, such person damages or tampers with (A) any tangible property owned by the state, a municipality or a person for fire alarm or police alarm purposes, (B) any telecommunication system operated by the state police or a municipal police department, (C) any emergency medical or fire service dispatching system, (D) any fire suppression equipment owned by the state, a municipality, a person or a fire district, or (E) any fire hydrant or hydrant system owned by the state or a municipality, a person, a fire district or a private water company, or (5) with intent to cause damage to tangible property owned by the state or a municipality that is located on public land and having no reasonable ground to believe that such person has a right to do so, such person damages such tangible property in an amount exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars.

Attorney's Note

Under the Connecticut General Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class D felonyup to 5 yearsup to $5,000
For details, see Conn. Gen. Stat.53a-35a

Have a question?
Click here to chat with a criminal defense lawyer and protect your rights.

Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 53a-115

  • another: may extend and be applied to communities, companies, corporations, public or private, limited liability companies, societies and associations. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Person: means a human being, and, where appropriate, a public or private corporation, a limited liability company, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a government or a governmental instrumentality. See Connecticut General Statutes 53a-3
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.

(b) Criminal mischief in the first degree is a class D felony.