PROPERTY CRIMES

• Theft/Armed Robbery
• Burglary
• Home Invasion
• White Collar/Corporate Crimes
• Intellectual Property Crime
• Motor Vehicle Theft
• Arson

A. Theft/Larceny

Under common law, larceny was defined as wrongful taking and carrying away of personal property belonging to another with the purpose of depriving the owner of its possession.

To constitute larceny several ingredients are necessary. The intent of the party must be illegal; he must intend to appropriate the property of another to his own use. If the accused have taken the goods under a claim of right, however unfounded, he has not committed a larceny.

There must be a taking from the possession, actual or implied, of the owner; hence if a man should find goods and appropriate them to his own use, he is not a thief on this account.

There must be a taking against the will of the owner and this may be in some cases where he appears to consent; e.g., if a man suspects another of an intent to steal his property, and in order to try him, leaves it in his way and he takes it, he is guilty of larceny.

In NY, larceny is covered by NY Penal Code subsections of Article 155 that defines larceny according to the degrees.

Burglary

The legal elements of the crime of burglary include:                

1. Breaking -- This refers to any forceful parting, separating, piercing, or disintegration of a solid substance. Breaking is not the same as causing damage. All that's required is that some part of the structure was moved, a doorknob was turned, a door was opened, or a window was raised.

2. Entering -- This refers to any placing of any portion of the body or item connected to the body inside the slightest portion of the dwelling, even momentarily. It is intended to get at various items called "burglary tools" (pry bars, augers, picks, etc.), but offenses can include just placing a finger or sticking the point of a gun inside a windowsill or doorway. The entry item can be connected to the body indirectly, for example, as in a bullet "entering" a home during a drive-by shooting, a brick thrown through a jewelry store window, or a remote control used to open a dwelling's garage door.

3. Dwelling -- Any structure intended for sleep, business, or the accommodation of persons is considered a dwelling, whether occupied or not.

•  Of Another -- The structure must be used as a dwelling by someone other than the accused. An owner can commit a burglary of their own structure if it is rented and used by another.

Robbery

Generally, Robbery is defined as the crime of seizing or taking property through the use of force or threat of force or violence. More precisely, at common law, robbery was defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear.

Robbery in NY is covered under Article 160 of the Penal Code.

Arson

Arson is the crime of maliciously, voluntarily, and willfully setting fire to the building, buildings, or other property of another or of burning one's own property for an improper purpose, for example - to collect insurance. The common law viewed arson, like burglary, as a crime against the security of habitation rather than a crime against property

In NY, Arson is covered under Article 150 of the NY State Penal Code.

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