The Law
PC 484 (a) Every person who shall feloniously steal, take, carry, lead, or drive away the personal property of another, or who shall fraudulently appropriate property which has been entrusted to him or her, or who shall knowingly and designedly, by any false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defraud any other person of money, labor or real or personal property, or who causes or procures others to report falsely of his or her wealth or mercantile character and by thus imposing upon any person, obtains credit and thereby fraudulently gets or
obtains possession of money, or property or obtains the labor or service of another, is guilty of theft.
The crime of purse snatching falls under petty theft and not robbery because the purse was taken on the fly without the victim having a chance to resist or take action. Petty Theft is: the unlawful taking of someone else's property with the intent to deprive the owner of the property permanently. It is generally charged as a misdemeanor so long as it is a first time offense and the property stolen is valued between $50 and $400. Because this is Elliot's first offense and because Kathy only had $250 in cash in her purse, he is being charged with petty theft.
obtains possession of money, or property or obtains the labor or service of another, is guilty of theft.
The crime of purse snatching falls under petty theft and not robbery because the purse was taken on the fly without the victim having a chance to resist or take action. Petty Theft is: the unlawful taking of someone else's property with the intent to deprive the owner of the property permanently. It is generally charged as a misdemeanor so long as it is a first time offense and the property stolen is valued between $50 and $400. Because this is Elliot's first offense and because Kathy only had $250 in cash in her purse, he is being charged with petty theft.