Texas Penal Code 31.18 – Cargo Theft
(a) In this section:
(1) “Cargo” means goods, as defined by § 7.102, Business & Commerce Code, that constitute, wholly or partly, a commercial shipment of freight moving in commerce. A shipment is considered to be moving in commerce if the shipment is located at any point between the point of origin and the final point of destination regardless of any temporary stop that is made for the purpose of transshipment or otherwise.
(2) “Vehicle” has the meaning assigned by § 541.201, Transportation Code.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) knowingly or intentionally conducts, promotes, or facilitates an activity in which the person receives, possesses, conceals, stores, barters, sells, abandons, or disposes of:
(A) stolen cargo; or
(B) cargo explicitly represented to the person as being stolen cargo; or
(2) is employed as a driver lawfully contracted to transport a specific cargo by vehicle from a known point of origin to a known point of destination and, with the intent to conduct, promote, or facilitate an activity described by Subdivision (1), knowingly or intentionally:
(A) fails to deliver the entire cargo to the known point of destination as contracted; or
(B) causes the seal to be broken on the vehicle or on an intermodal container containing any part of the cargo.
Terms Used In Texas Penal Code 31.18
- Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Agency: includes authority, board, bureau, commission, committee, council, department, district, division, and office. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Law: means the constitution or a statute of this state or of the United States, a written opinion of a court of record, a municipal ordinance, an order of a county commissioners court, or a rule authorized by and lawfully adopted under a statute. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Peace officer: means a person elected, employed, or appointed as a peace officer under Article Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(c) An offense under this section is:
(1) a state jail felony if the total value of the cargo involved in the activity is $1,500 or more but less than $10,000;
(2) a felony of the third degree if the total value of the cargo involved in the activity is $10,000 or more but less than $100,000;
(3) a felony of the second degree if the total value of the cargo involved in the activity is $100,000 or more but less than $200,000; or
(4) a felony of the first degree if the total value of the cargo involved in the activity is $200,000 or more.
(d) For purposes of Subsection (c), the total value of the cargo involved in the activity includes the value of any vehicle stolen or damaged in the course of the same criminal episode as the conduct that is the subject of the prosecution.
(e) An offense described for purposes of punishment by Subsections (c)(1)-(3) is increased to the next higher category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person organized, supervised, financed, or managed one or more other persons engaged in an activity described by Subsection (b).
(f) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) the offense occurred as a result of a deception or strategy on the part of a law enforcement agency, including the use of:
(A) an undercover operative or peace officer; or
(B) a bait vehicle;
(2) the actor was provided by a law enforcement agency with a facility in which to commit the offense or with an opportunity to engage in conduct constituting the offense; or
(3) the actor was solicited to commit the offense by a peace officer, and the solicitation was of a type that would encourage a person predisposed to commit the offense to actually commit the offense but would not encourage a person not predisposed to commit the offense to actually commit the offense.