Brooklyn Theft Crime Lawyer: What The Dollar Amount Wont Tell You About Your Case
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you the reality of theft charges in Brooklyn - not the sanitized version other law firm websites present, not the "it depends" hedging that leaves you more confused than when you started, but the actual truth about what happens when prosecutors decide to charge you. Most people think they understand theft law because they know the basic rule: steal under a thousand dollars and its a misdemeanor, steal over and its a felony. That line seems clear. Protective, even. But that line is a mirage.
Brooklyn prosecutors have tools that most people dont know exist. Tools that let them take three separate petit larceny charges and combine them into one grand larceny felony. Tools that make the dollar amount completely irrelevant in certain categories of theft. And a political environment in 2024 and 2025 that has made the Kings County District Attorney's office, in their own words, "laser-focused" on retail theft. The math you think protects you is the math that will be used against you.
Why The Dollar Amount You See Isnt The Number Brooklyn Uses
Heres the thing most people miss. Under New York Penal Law section 155.30, prosecutors now have the power to aggregate the value of stolen property across multiple incidents. This isnt theoretical - Governor Hochul signed this into law specifically to make it easier to charge felonies. What does aggregation mean for you? If you got caught taking $400 worth of merchandise from a CVS last month, and then you were stopped at a Walgreens this month with $350 in your bag, and theres video from a third store showing $300 more - prosecutors dont see three misdemeanors. They see one felony.
The threshold is $1,000. Your individual incidents were each under that. But the total is $1,050. And under the aggregation statute, if prosecutors can argue these thefts were part of the same "criminal scheme," they charge grand larceny in the fourth degree. Thats a Class E felony. Up to four years in prison. For what you thought were minor charges.
Let that sink in.
And heres were it gets worse. The aggregation doesn't even require the property to come from the same store or the same owner. Different retailers, different days, different boroughs - if prosecutors can construct a narrative that these were part of your "pattern," they can stack the values. This is why having a defense attorney who understands Brooklyn prosecution patterns is essential. Not just someone who knows the law, but someone who knows how this particular DA's office thinks.
The Categories That Make Value Completly Irrelevant
OK so the aggregation trap is bad enough. But theres another layer that catches people off guard. Certain types of property trigger automatic felony charges regardless of how much there worth.
Steal a credit card. Just the physical card, not even using it. Thats grand larceny fourth degree. A felony.
Take a debit card from someones wallet. Same thing. Felony.
Lift a firearm? Obviously a felony, but people understand that one.
Heres the one that shocks people: pickpocket thirty dollars directly from someones pocket. Thirty dollars. The cost of lunch. But becuase you took it "from the person" - meaning directly from their body or immediate presence - its automatically grand larceny. Not because of the value. Because of the method.
The statute reads "property, regardless of its nature and value, taken from the person." Thirty dollars from a display shelf is petit larceny. Thirty dollars from someones coat pocket while there wearing it is grand larceny. Same money. Different charge. Four years maximum prison versus one year maximum jail. Thats the difference in how you took it.
If your arrest involved taking anything directly from another persons body or immediate possession, you need to understand right now that you are facing felony charges regardless of the dollar amount.
What Happens In The First 48 Hours After A Brooklyn Theft Arrest
When police arrest you for theft in Brooklyn, a clock starts that most people dont even realize is ticking. Your fingerprints get taken at booking. Those fingerprints dont just go to the NYPD. They go to a national database. And if your not a United States citizen, those fingerprints go directly to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This is were people make catastrophic mistakes. They think the criminal case is the only case. They focus on bail, on there arraignment, on what the judge might say. Meanwhile, ICE is reviewing there file. And if ICE decides they want to pursue deportation, they issue whats called a detainer. This tells the jail to hold you even after your criminal case would have released you.
Heres what this looks like in practice. Your arraigned on petit larceny. The judge sets low bail because its a misdemeanor and your a first-time offender. Your family posts that bail. You think your going home. And then the correction officer tells you there's an immigration hold. Your not going anywhere. Your being transferred to ICE custody.
Think about that. A $200 shoplifting charge. A misdemeanor. And now your in immigration detention, facing deportation proceedings that could seperate you from your family permanently.
Todd Spodek has seen this exact scenario play out dozens of times. Its not rare. Its not unusual. Its what happens when people dont understand that theft charges in Brooklyn come with invisible consequences.
The Immigration Trap Nobody Mentions
The federal government categorizes theft as a "crime of moral turpitude." That phrase sounds archaic, but it has devastating modern consequences. For immigration purposes, moral turpitude crimes trigger automatic complications - even for misdemeanors.
If your a lawful permanent resident, your green card has to be renewed every ten years. When you apply for renewal, a background check is run. That petit larceny conviction from six years ago? It shows up. And now your renewal is flagged for review. Best case, it delays your green card for months or years. Worse case, it triggers removal proceedings.
If your applying for citizenship, the naturalization process requires demonstrating "good moral character." A theft conviction - any theft conviction - creates a presumption that you lack good moral character. Its not automatic denial, but its a serious obstacle. You'll need to explain it, document rehabilitation, and hope the officer believes you.
And if your undocumented, the stakes are even higher. ICE doesn't distinguish between grand larceny and petit larceny the way criminal court does. They see theft. They see deportation grounds. They move.
Heres the part that makes defense attorneys lose sleep: even if your criminal case is eventually dismissed, the arrest record exists. The fingerprints were sent. The system saw you. For immigration purposes, the ARREST can trigger consequences, not just the conviction. NY Courts has documented these immigration consequences in detail.
If you are not a U.S. citizen and you have been arrested for any theft offense in Brooklyn, you need both a criminal defense attorney AND an immigration attorney. This is not optional.
How Brooklyn Prosecutors Actually Think About Your Case
Brooklyn isnt as "progressive" on theft as people assume. In 2024, felony arrests in New York City hit a 26-year high. The NYPD and the Brooklyn DA's office have been under intense political pressure to address retail theft. Governor Hochul created a statewide Organized Retail Theft Task Force. And the Brooklyn DA explicitly stated that his office is "laser-focused" on the "stubborn and persistent issue of retail theft."
What does "laser-focused" mean for your case? It means prosecutors are incentivized to charge aggressively. They want felonies, not misdemeanors. They want convictions, not dismissals. The 2024 task force reported 1,224 arrests and 2,146 charges statewide from retail theft operations. They recovered $2.6 million in stolen goods. These numbers are reported to the governor. They justify funding. They create pressure to maintain or exceed performance.
Your case enters this system. The prosecutor handling your file isnt thinking about you as an individual. Their thinking about their caseload, their conviction rate, and wheather your file is one of the easy ones they can close quickly with a plea deal or one of the complicated ones that requires actual work.
At Spodek Law Group, we understand this psychology. Defense isnt just about the facts of your case - its about positioning your case as one that prosecutors should reduce or dismiss rather then fight over. That requires understanding what matters to them. What makes a case look weak. What makes a case look like a political liability if they lose at trial.
The Trespass Affidavit Trap
Heres something else that catches people completly off guard. Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez has implemented what his office calls the "trespass affidavit program." This is how it works.
When your caught shoplifting from a store, that store can file a trespass affidavit against you. This is a formal document that bans you from entering that store or any of its locations. The store keeps a copy. The DA's office keeps a copy.
Now imagine this. Six months later, you need to pick up a prescription. The only pharmacy nearby is a CVS. But you have a trespass affidavit from CVS. You walk in, you havent stolen anything, you just need your medication. Store security sees you. They call police. And now your arrested for criminal trespass.
Thats a new charge. Completly separate from your original shoplifting case. And it shows a "pattern of criminal behavior" that prosecutors will use against you in both cases. You didnt steal anything the second time. Doesn't matter. You violated the affidavit. Your now a repeat offender in the systems eyes.
This is why experienced theft defense attorneys tell clients about every single trespass affidavit that might exist against them. Why they negotiate to limit the scope of these affidavits when possible. Why they warn clients in writing about the consequenses of entering banned locations.
The Sentencing Reality Most People Dont Understand
Before we talk about consequences outside the courtroom, lets be clear about what happens inside it. The difference between misdemeanor and felony isnt just a label. Its years of your life.
Petit larceny - anything under $1,000 and not in a special category - is a Class A misdemeanor. Maximum sentence is 364 days in jail. Thats actual jail, not prison. Local facility. For first-time offenders, probation is usually on the table. Maybe community service. Maybe a conditional discharge where the case gets dismissed if you stay clean.
Grand larceny fourth degree - thats when you cross the $1,000 threshold or hit one of those automatic categories - is a Class E felony. Maximum sentence is four years in state prison. Not jail. Prison. Upstate. Different world entirely.
But heres were it gets really serious. If your a predicate offender - meaning you have a prior felony conviction within the last ten years - the minimum sentence for grand larceny fourth degree becomes 1.5 years. Not maximum. Minimum. The judge has no discretion to go lower.
And the felony ladder keeps climbing. Grand larceny third degree is property valued between $3,000 and $50,000. Class D felony. Up to seven years. Grand larceny second degree is $50,000 to $1 million. Class C felony. Up to fifteen years. First degree is over a million. Class B felony. Up to 25 years.
The point isnt to scare you with numbers. The point is that the difference between a $950 theft and a $1,050 theft isnt a hundred dollars. Its three years of maximum sentencing. And with aggregation laws, prosecutors can manufacture that difference out of seperate incidents you thought were unrelated.
Notice the pattern? The system is designed to escalate. Every prosecutor decision, every charge elevation, every aggregation - they all push you up the ladder. Defense is about pushing back down.
The Employment Background Check Reality
Theres a common misunderstanding about New York's "ban the box" laws. People think employers cant ask about criminal records. Thats partially true - but the reality is more complicated.
Under the Fair Chance Act, employers in New York City cannot ask about criminal history UNTIL they make a conditional job offer. This sounds protective. You get to interview, impress them with your qualifications, recieve an offer. Only then can they run a background check.
But heres the irony. After that conditional offer, employers can absolutly rescind it based on your criminal record. The law just requires them to consider specific factors - like how long ago the conviction was and wheather it relates to the job.
And for certain jobs, theft is specifically mentioned as a disqualifying factor. Banking. Retail management. Cash handling positions. Security work. The law literaly uses theft as an example of a conviction that provides "direct relationship" grounds to withdraw a job offer.
So you go through the whole process. Multiple interviews. Skills testing. Reference checks. You get the offer. You start planning your new commute. And then the background check comes back. Petit larceny, two years ago. The company's HR department sends a form letter: due to the nature of the position and your criminal history, the offer is withdrawn.
New York's Clean Slate Act is supposed to eventually seal these records. But misdemeanor records dont get sealed until three years after your released from incarceration or sentenced. Felony records take eight years. If your convicted today, your looking at years of this reality.
What Your Defense Actually Needs To Accomplish
Given everything above, what should a Brooklyn theft defense actualy focus on? Its not just about proving innocense - though if your genuinly innocent, thats obviously the goal. Its about understanding the system your fighting against.
First, the valuation challenge. Prosecutors routinely overvalue stolen property. They use retail price. But the legal standard is the market value at the time of the theft. That $800 designer jacket? After depreciation, after the fact that it was used merchandise the moment someone wore it out the door, maybe its worth $400. Keep it under a thousand. Keep it a misdemeanor.
Second, preventing aggregation. If your facing multiple charges from multiple incidents, the defense needs to break the prosecutors "criminal scheme" narrative. Different time periods. Different motivations. Different circumstances. The goal is to prevent the DA from stacking values across incidents.
Third, protecting against collateral consequenses. Sometimes a conviction is unavoidable. But the TYPE of conviction matters enormusly. A disorderly conduct plea might accomplish the same resolution as a petit larceny plea while avoiding the "theft" label that destroys employment and immigration prospects. These negotiations require experience and relationships with the Brooklyn court system.
Fourth, documentation. If your facing a trespass affidavit, you need it documented. If your an immigrant, you need written advice about immigration consequenses. If your in a professional license situation, you need those risks evaluated in writing. Defense isnt just about the courtroom - its about protecting your entire future.
Common Mistakes That Destroy Brooklyn Theft Cases
Every week, we see cases where defendants made there situation dramaticaly worse before they ever talked to an attorney. The same mistakes keep happening.
Talking to loss prevention. When store security detains you, they ask questions. Friendly questions. Casual questions. "Did you forget to pay for that?" "How many times have you been here before?" Every answer becomes evidence. Loss prevention officers are trained to get admissions. There not police, so they dont have to read Miranda warnings. And everything you say gets written into an incident report that prosecutors will use.
Heres the reality: you dont have to talk to loss prevention. You dont have to explain yourself. You dont have to admit or deny anything. You can say "I want to speak with an attorney" and then stay silent. Most people dont do this becuase it feels rude or it seems like it will make things worse. But rudeness isnt a crime. Admissions are evidence.
Thinking the store wont prosecute. Some people convince themselves that if the merchandise is recovered, the store wont press charges. Thats fantasy. Major retailers have corporate policies requiring prosecution. They track theft losses across stores. They coordinate with local DAs on organized retail theft investigations. The decision to prosecute isnt made by the manager who caught you - its made by corporate loss prevention departments and the Brooklyn DA's office.
Ignoring court dates. This happens more then you'd think. Someone gets arrested for petit larceny, released on their own recognizance, and then doesnt show up for arraignment. Maybe they moved. Maybe they forgot. Maybe they didnt understand the paperwork. Doesn't matter. The judge issues a bench warrant. Now your facing the original theft charge plus failure to appear. The next time you get stopped for anything - traffic stop, ID check, whatever - that warrant pops up. Your arrested again, with worse bail conditions.
Trying to "make it right" with the store. This impulse comes from a good place, but its dangerous. Going back to the store to apologize, to offer to pay for what you took, to explain yourself - this creates more evidence. Its basicly a confession. And in some cases, if you signed a trespass affidavit as part of an earlier incident, returning to the store is itself a new crime.
What Spodek Law Group Brings To Brooklyn Theft Cases
Brooklyn is our home court. We know the prosecutors who handle theft cases. We know which judges are more receptive to dismissal arguments and which ones will hammer defendants who waste their time. We know the patterns of the 2024-2025 crackdown and how to position cases against that political backdrop.
Todd Spodek built this firm on the principle that clients deserve to understand there situation completly - not the edited version, not the hopeful version, but the real version. When you face theft charges in Brooklyn, the real version includes aggregation laws, immigration consequences, employment destruction, and a DA's office thats actively looking for cases to prosecute aggressively.
But the real version also includes defenses that work. Value challenges that reduce felonies to misdemeanors. Procedural arguments that suppress evidence. Negotiation strategies that protect your record. And trial experience when prosecutors wont be reasonable.
The clock started when you were arrested. Every day you wait is a day the prosecution uses to build there case. Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196.
Your facing a system that has spent years perfecting how to turn small mistakes into life-altering consequenses. You need representation that understands that system well enough to beat it.
