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How does Colorado define criminal mischief?

On Behalf of | Dec 28, 2020 | Property Crimes |

Colorado law defines criminal mischief as knowingly damaging someone’s real or personal property. This includes property you own jointly with someone else or property you own in which someone else has a proprietary or posssessory interest.

FindLaw explains that Colorado categorizes criminal mischief into misdemeanors or felonies based on the value of the property upon which you allegedly commit criminal mischief.

Misdemeanors

The three classes of misdemeanor criminal mischief consist of the following:

  1. Class 3 – property value of less than $300
  2. Class 2 – property value of $300-$750
  3. Class 1 – property value of $750-$1,000

Misdemeanor penalties

If convicted of misdemeanor criminal mischief, you face the following penalties:

  • Class 3 – Maximum 6-month jail term, fine of $50-$750, or both
    •Class 2 – Jail term of 3 months-364 days, fine of $300-$750, or both
    •Class 1 – Jail term of 6-18 months, fine of $500-$5,000, or both

Felonies

The five classes of felony criminal mischief consist of the following:

  1. Class 6 – property value of $1,000-$5,000
  2. Class 5 – property value of $5,000-$20,000
  3. Class 4 – property value of $20,000-$100,000
  4. Class 3 – property value of $100,000-$1 million
  5. Class 2 – property value of more than $1 million

Felony penalties

If convicted of felony criminal mischief, you face the following penalties:

  • Class 6 – Prison term of 12-18 months, fine of $1,000-$100,000, or both
    •Class 5 – Prison term of 1-3 years, fine of $1,000-$100,000, or both
    •Class 4 – Prison term of 2-6 years, fine of $2,000-$500,000, or both
    •Class 3 – Prison term of 4-12 years, fine of $3,000-$750,000, or both
    •Class 2 – Prison term of 8-24 years, fine of $5,000-$1 million, or both

As you can see, the conviction fine amounts tend to coincide with the value of the property.

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