Grand Larceny in New York: What to Do When You Haven't Been Arrested Yet
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you the reality of grand larceny investigations in New York - not the sanitized version other law firms present, not the television fiction, but the actual truth about what happens when you learn you're under investigation and the handcuffs haven't come yet.
Here is the insight that changes everything: the absence of an arrest is not relief. It is a warning. Prosecutors don't telegraph uncertainty - they telegraph confidence. If a detective contacted you, if your employer mentioned an investigation, if you heard through the grapevine that questions are being asked about an incident, the machinery is already moving. The investigation phase is not about determining IF they will charge you. It is about building a case strong enough that conviction becomes nearly certain before you ever see the inside of a courtroom.
Most people who learn they might be under investigation for grand larceny in New York do exactly the wrong thing. They wait. They hope. They convince themselves that silence equals protection, that if they just keep their head down and stay quiet, the problem might resolve itself. And every single day they spend in that hopeful paralysis is a day the prosecution gets stronger while their defense options get narrower.
Why No Arrest Is Actually a Warning Sign
The phone call from a detective who wants to "just talk about an incident" might seem like an opportunity to clear things up. Heres the thing - that call is not a conversation. It is an interrogation technique designed to collect evidence before you understand you need protection.
When a detective says your not under arrest, they are telling you the truth in the most dangerous possible way. Miranda warnings - the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney - only apply when you are in custody. That "friendly conversation" at the precinct, the one where nobody read you your rights becuase technically you walked in voluntarily? Every word you say is admissible. Every explanation you offer becomes prosecution evidence. The absence of arrest isnt a kindness. Its a tactical choice.
Look, prosecutors in New York have no interest in filing cases they might loose. The conviction rate exists because they only bring charges when they beleive they have enough evidence to win. That pre-arrest investigation period you think means their uncertain? Its actualy the opposite. They are building. Gathering. Connecting. Strengthening. By the time you see handcuffs or a Desk Appearance Ticket, the decision has already been made.
Think about that. The system is designed to reach conclusions before you even know you need to mount a defense.
The $1,001 Line That Changes Everything
Grand larceny in New York starts at one thousand and one dollars. Most people dont realize how low that threshold actualy is. One thousand dollars is petit larceny - a misdemeanor. One thousand and one dollars is grand larceny in the fourth degree - a Class E felony carrying up to four years in prison.
That difference of a single dollar seperates a criminal record that might be managable from one that follows you permanantly through every background check for the rest of your life.
Under New York Penal Law Section 155.30, grand larceny in the fourth degree applies when property value exceeds one thousand dollars. But heres were it gets interesting - certain items trigger felony charges regardles of value. A credit card. A debit card. Property taken directly from a persons body. A firearm. Public records. Religious property. You could steal property worth five hundred dollars and still face felony charges if it fits these categories.
The degrees escalate from there:
- Third degree (over $3,000): Class D felony, up to 7 years
- Second degree (over $50,000): Class C felony, up to 15 years
- First degree (over $1,000,000): Class B felony, up to 25 years
Heres the part nobody talks about - prosecutors love aggregation. If they can connect multiple smaller incidents into a pattern, they combine the totals. Three seperate incidents of $1,500 each becomes one charge of grand larceny third degree, not three charges of fourth degree. And when they connect the dots, the evidence from each incident strengthens the case for all of them.
What Happens When You "Just Talk" to the Detective
The detective calling you is trained in interrogation techniques that dont look like interrogation. There friendly. Conversational. They might even seem sympathetic. "We just want to hear your side of things." "Help us understand what happened." "Your not in any trouble, we just need to clear some things up."
Do not talk to them without an attorney present.
This isnt about being difficult or looking guilty. Its about understanding what that conversation actualy is. The detective already has a theory about what happened. Their job is to collect evidence supporting that theory. Your "explanation" becomes part of their file. Your attempt to contextualize becomes an admission. The detail you offered to show it was just a misunderstanding becomes the element that proves intent.
Todd Spodek has seen this pattern in hundreds of cases. Someone goes to the precinct thinking theyre going to straighten everything out. An hour later they walk out thinking they helped themselves. Two months later they get arrested, and their own words are the centerpeice of the prosecution's case.
OK so heres what happens in practice. You show up without a lawyer becuase the detective said you dont need one. Your in a room thats definately not comfortable. The conversation feels casual but their taking notes. You say something like "I never meant to keep it" or "I was going to pay it back" - and you just admitted to taking the property with knowledge it wasnt yours. Intent established. Case closed.
The detective dosent need you to confess. They need you to fill in the blanks their evidence cant prove. And when your not in custody, your statements arent protected by the same rules that apply after arrest.
The Desk Appearance Ticket Trap
New York's 2020 bail reform changes made Desk Appearance Tickets more common for grand larceny charges. You get processed, fingerprinted, and released with a piece of paper telling you to show up in court in 30 to 90 days. Most people look at that ticket and think the same thing: "If it was serious, they wouldnt have let me go."
But wait - that DAT can still be for a felony. Grand larceny in the fourth degree, a Class E felony carrying up to four years in prison, regularely results in DAT issuance. The ticket feels like a traffic summons but the charges are anything but.
And heres the kicker. The charges on that DAT are not necessaraly the charges you'll face at arraignment.
The DAT shows what the arresting officer suggested to the District Attorney. When you actually appear in court, the DA has had weeks or months to review the full case file. They can upgrade charges. They can add counts. They can aggregate transactions. That person who showed up expecting grand larceny fourth degree might discover the DA found three other incidents and is now charging third degree - or has connected the pattern to a scheme that pushes it even higher.
At Spodek Law Group, we've seen this exact scenario play out repeatedly. Someone receives a DAT and does nothing for the 60 days before arraignment becuase "its just a ticket." They show up without counsel. The prosecutor announces upgraded charges. Bail gets set. They cant make bail becuase they didnt prepare for the possibility. Now theyre sitting in custody, about to lose their job, willing to plead to almost anything just to get out.
The window between DAT and arraignment is not waiting time. Its preparation time. Its the opportunity to understand what the prosecution has, to gather evidence that supports your defense, to prepare mitigation that might influence what charges are actually filed. Wasting it is one of the most common - and most preventable - mistakes people make.
How Prosecutors Build Your Case While You Wait
That silence your maintaining while you hope the problem goes away? The prosecution isnt matching it. There working.
Heres were people get confused about how investigations actualy function. You think no news is good news. In reality, no news means their still collecting. Still interviewing witnesses. Still subpoenaing records. Still building.
Hidden connection you probly dont know about: your employers internal investigation is feeding the criminal case. That HR meeting wasnt just about your job - it was about documenting admissions, gathering evidence, and preparing to hand everything to the District Attorney. When you sat in that conference room explaining what happened, a company attorney was taking notes that will end up in the prosecutor's file.
Prosecutors use something called aggregation to maximize charges. Lets say you used a company credit card for personal purchases - $800 in January, $900 in February, $1,100 in March, $700 in April. Individually, only one of those is grand larceny. But if the DA can prove these were part of a continuing scheme, they aggregate the total. Now your looking at $3,500 and third degree grand larceny - up to seven years instead of four.
The witnesses you think support your side? The prosecutor got to them first. Your coworker who knew the context? They told investigators what they saw, which might not match how you remember it. Your supervisor who you think will vouch for you? They have their own job to protect and their cooperation with investigators is already documented.
This is critical - the prosecutor's goal is not to find the truth. Its to build a case that proves the elements of the offense. Every day you wait to engage a defense attorney is another day they have to strengthen that case while your evidence grows stale, your witnesses forget helpful details, and your defense options narrow.
What Pre-Arrest Defense Actually Looks Like
Heres the reality most people never hear: the pre-arrest window is the most valuable time in your entire case. And most defendants waste it completely.
Active pre-arrest defense means several things happening simultanously:
First, establishing attorney-client privilege BEFORE you say anything to anyone. Once you have counsel, communications are protected. Before you have counsel, nothing is.
Second, preservation of evidence that supports your defense. Emails that show authorization. Text messages that provide context. Documents that challenge the alleged value of property. Records that demonstrate your understanding of what was permitted. This evidence exists right now - but it wont exist forever. Electronic records get deleted. Memories fade. Witnesses move away.
Third - and this is what seperates competent defense from just hoping - your attorney can actually communicate with the District Attorney's office before charges are filed. This is the only moment when you have leverage to potentially prevent charges entirely. To present mitigating information that changes how prosecutors view the case. To negotiate a disposition that might not include criminal charges at all.
Once the complaint is filed, you lose this opportunity forever.
At Spodek Law Group, pre-arrest intervention has prevented charges from being filed in cases where early engagement changed the prosecutor's understanding of what happened. It has resulted in reduced charges when full mitigation was presented before the DA committed to their charging decision. It has led to dispositions involving restitution agreements rather than criminal prosecution.
None of that is available once you've been arraigned.
The instinct to "make things right" directly with the alleged victim is understandable but dangerous. Paying restitution without attorney involvement becomes an admission of guilt. Contacting the victim becomes potential witness tampering. The "apology" you thought would help becomes the centerpiece of the prosecutions case.
The Restitution Trap That Destroys Cases
One of the most damaging mistakes people make during the pre-arrest window is trying to "make things right" on their own. The instinct makes sense - you feel terrible, you want to fix what happened, maybe returning the money or property will make the whole thing go away.
It almost never works that way. And it often makes things catastophically worse.
When you pay restitution without attorney involvement, your doing several things simultaneusly and none of them help your case. First, your admitting the underlying conduct. That payment is evidence that you took something that wasnt yours. Second, your eliminating leverage. One of the things a defense attorney can negotiate with is the victims desire to be made whole - if youve already paid, that card is off the table. Third, your creating a paper trail that prosecutors will use against you.
And heres the uncomfortable truth - paying restitution dosent mean charges wont be filed. The District Attorney's job is to prosecute crimes, not to collect debts. Your payment might satisfy the victim but it dosent satisfy the states interest in punishing criminal conduct.
Worse still is contacting the victim directly. What you intend as an apology can be characterized as intimidation. What you mean as an explanation can look like consciousness of guilt. The conversation you thought would help becomes evidence in the prosecutions case - and potentialy the basis for additional charges like witness tampering.
At Spodek Law Group, we've seen cases where well-intentioned defendants turned winnable situations into disasters by trying to handle things themselves. The time to make amends is after the criminal matter is resolved, or as part of a structured resolution negotiated by your attorney. Not before.
The Permanent Consequences Nobody Mentions
If your convicted of grand larceny in New York - any degree - you will carry that felony record for the rest of your life.
Every job application that asks about criminal history. Every apartment rental that runs a background check. Every professional license that requires good moral character. Every custody proceeding where the other parent's attorney discovers your record. Every loan application. Every volunteer opportunity at your childrens school.
Read that again. The consequences dont end when the sentence ends.
Thats the fantasy version people imagine - you do your time, or complete your probation, and life goes back to normal. In reality, a felony conviction restructures your future. Employers regularely disqualify applicants with theft-related felonies regardless of how long ago it happened. Professional licenses - nursing, teaching, financial services, law - can be denied or revoked. Security clearances become impossible. Immigration consequences for non-citizens are severe and often include deportation.
For first-time offenders, New York law does not mandate prison time for grand larceny fourth degree. A judge can impose probation, community service, fines. But thats entirely discretionary, and what the judge decides to do depends largley on what information is presented at sentencing. Without effective counsel, without compelling mitigation, without evidence of rehabilitation potential - the judge sees only what the prosecutor presents.
And the prosecutor presents you as a criminal who stole property.
Notice the pattern. If you had a prior felony conviction within the past ten years, the situation changes dramaticaly. For grand larceny fourth degree, your facing a mandatory minimum of one and a half years in state prison. For third degree, the minimum jumps to two to four years. For second degree, three to six years minimum. These arent negotiable. These arent subject to judicial discretion. These are mandatory.
The predicate offender rules transform what might have been probation into guaranteed prison time. And many people dont realize their old conviction from eight years ago still counts against them untill their standing in court hearing the judge explain why prison is required.
The Clock That Started Without Your Permission
If your reading this article because you think you might be under investigation for grand larceny, the clock is already running. Not because of any statute of limitations - larceny offenses generaly have a five year prosecution window. Because the window of maximum defense opportunity is closing daily.
Every day that passes is a day the prosecutor might interview another witness. A day evidence that helps your case might be deleted or lost. A day the narrative solidifies in a way that doesnt include your side. A day the DA gets closer to filing that complaint and eliminating your pre-charge options entirely.
The next 48 hours may determine the next decade of your life.
What Todd Spodek always tells clients facing investigation is this: you cannot undo the mistake that brought you here, whatever it was. But you can absolutly influence what happens next. The question is whether you will use the time you have, or whether you will waste it hoping the problem resolves itself.
It wont resolve itself. Prosecutors dont open investigations and then forget about them.
Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. Not because we want your case - because you need to understand what your actualy facing, what your options actualy are, and what the real cost of waiting might be. That consultation costs nothing. Continuing to wait without understanding might cost everything.
The prosecution has been building their case. The question is when you start building yours.
