76-6-602. Retail theft.
Attorney's Note
Under the Utah Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|
| class A misdemeanor | up to 364 days | up to $2,500 |
| class B misdemeanor | up to 6 months | up to $1,000 |
For details, see
Utah Code § 76-3-204
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Terms Used In Utah Code 76-6-602
- Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Merchandise: means any personal property displayed, held, or offered for sale by a merchant. See Utah Code 76-6-601
- Merchant: means an owner or operator of any retail mercantile establishment where merchandise is displayed, held, or offered for sale and includes the merchant's employees, servants, or agents. See Utah Code 76-6-601
- Offense: means a violation of any penal statute of this state. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
- Premises of a retail mercantile establishment: includes , but is not limited to, the retail mercantile establishment; any common use areas in shopping centers and all parking lots or areas set aside for the benefit of those patrons of the retail mercantile establishment. See Utah Code 76-6-601
- Retail mercantile establishment: means any place where merchandise is displayed, held, or offered for sale to the public. See Utah Code 76-6-601
- Retail value: means the merchant's stated or advertised price of the merchandise. See Utah Code 76-6-601
- Shopping cart: means those push carts of the types which are commonly provided by grocery stores, drug stores, or other mercantile establishments, or markets for the use of the public in transporting commodities in stores and markets from the store to a place outside the store. See Utah Code 76-6-601
- written: includes any handwriting, typewriting, printing, electronic storage or transmission, or any other method of recording information or fixing information in a form capable of being preserved. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
| (2) |
An actor commits retail theft if the actor knowingly:
| (a) |
takes possession of, conceals, carries away, transfers or causes to be carried away or transferred, any merchandise displayed, held, stored, or offered for sale in a retail mercantile establishment with the intention of:
| (i) |
retaining the merchandise; or |
| (ii) |
depriving the merchant permanently of the possession, use or benefit of such merchandise without paying the retail value of the merchandise; |
|
| (b) |
| (i) |
alters, transfers, or removes any label, price tag, marking, indicia of value, or any other markings which aid in determining value of any merchandise displayed, held, stored, or offered for sale, in a retail mercantile establishment; and |
| (ii) |
attempts to purchase the merchandise described in Subsection (2)(b)(i) personally or in consort with another at less than the retail value with the intention of depriving the merchant of the retail value of the merchandise; |
|
| (c) |
transfers any merchandise displayed, held, stored, or offered for sale in a retail mercantile establishment from the container in or on which the merchandise is displayed to any other container with the intention of depriving the merchant of the retail value of the merchandise; |
| (d) |
under-rings with the intention of depriving the merchant of the retail value of the merchandise; or |
| (e) |
removes a shopping cart from the premises of a retail mercantile establishment with the intent of depriving the merchant of the possession, use, or benefit of the shopping cart. |
|
| (3) |
A violation of Subsection (2) is:
| (a) |
a second degree felony if the:
| (i) |
value of the merchandise or shopping cart is or exceeds $5,000; |
| (ii) |
merchandise stolen is a firearm or an operable motor vehicle; or |
|
| (b) |
a third degree felony if:
| (i) |
the value of the merchandise is or exceeds $1,500 but is less than $5,000; |
| (ii) |
the merchandise is:
| (A) |
a catalytic converter as defined under Section 76-6-1402; or |
| (B) |
25 pounds or more of a suspect metal item as defined under Section 76-6-1402 if the value is less than $5,000 and the suspect metal is made of or contains aluminum or copper and is not a lead battery; |
|
| (iii) |
the value of the merchandise or shopping cart is or exceeds $500 and the actor has been twice before convicted of any of the following offenses, if each prior offense was committed within 10 years before the date of the current conviction or the date of the offense upon which the current conviction is based and at least one of those convictions is for a class A misdemeanor:
| (A) |
any theft, any robbery, or any burglary with intent to commit theft; |
| (B) |
any offense under 5; or |
| (C) |
any attempt to commit any offense under Subsection (3)(b)(iii)(A) or (B); |
|
| (iv) |
| (A) |
the value of merchandise or shopping cart is or exceeds $500 but is less than $1,500; |
| (B) |
the theft occurs in a retail mercantile establishment or on the premises of a retail mercantile establishment where the offender has committed any theft within the past five years; and |
| (C) |
the offender has received written notice from the merchant prohibiting the offender from entering the retail mercantile establishment or premises of a retail mercantile establishment pursuant to Subsection 78B-3-108(4); or |
|
| (v) |
the actor has been previously convicted of a felony violation of any of the offenses listed in Subsections (3)(b)(iii)(A) through (3)(b)(iii)(C), if the prior offense was committed within 10 years before the date of the current conviction or the date of the offense upon which the current conviction is based; |
|
| (c) |
a class A misdemeanor if:
| (i) |
the value of the merchandise or shopping cart stolen is or exceeds $500 but is less than $1,500; |
| (ii) |
| (A) |
the value of merchandise or shopping cart is less than $500; |
| (B) |
the theft occurs in a retail mercantile establishment or premises of a retail mercantile establishment where the offender has committed any theft within the past five years; and |
| (C) |
the offender has received written notice from the merchant prohibiting the offender from entering the retail mercantile establishment or premises of a retail mercantile establishment pursuant to Subsection 78B-3-108(4); or |
|
| (iii) |
the actor has been twice before convicted of any of the offenses listed in Subsections (3)(b)(iii)(A) through (3)(b)(iii)(C), if each prior offense was committed within 10 years before the date of the current conviction or the date of the offense upon which the current conviction is based; or |
|
| (d) |
a class B misdemeanor if the value of the merchandise or shopping cart stolen is less than $500 and the theft is not an offense under Subsection (3)(c). |
|
Amended by Chapter 111, 2023 General Session
Amended by Chapter 407, 2023 General Session, (Coordination Clause)
