MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2014 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representative DeLano
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 97-17-41, 97-17-43, 97-17-59, 97-17-60, 97-17-62, 97-17-67, 97-17-70, 97-17-71, 97-19-39, 97-21-33, 97-23-19 AND 97-23-93, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE THRESHOLD AMOUNT FOR GRAND LARCENY, PETIT LARCENY, LARCENY OF TIMBER, LARCENY OF RENTAL PROPERTY, MALICIOUS MISCHIEF, RECEIVING STOLEN PROPERTY OBTAINING A SIGNATURE OR THING OF VALUE WITH INTENT TO DEFRAUD, FORGERY, EMBEZZLEMENT AND SHOPLIFTING; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 97-17-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-41. (1) Every person
who shall be convicted of taking and carrying away, feloniously, the personal
property of another, of the value of * * * One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, shall be guilty of grand larceny, and shall be
imprisoned in the Penitentiary for a term not exceeding ten (10) years; or
shall be fined not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both. The
total value of property taken and carried away by the person from a single
victim shall be aggregated in determining the gravity of the offense.
(2) Every person who shall
be convicted of taking and carrying away, feloniously, the property of a church,
synagogue, temple or other established place of worship, of the value of * * *
One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, shall be guilty of grand larceny, and
shall be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for a term not exceeding ten (10)
years, or shall be fined not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or
both.
SECTION 2. Section 97-17-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-43. (1) If any
person shall feloniously take, steal and carry away any personal property of
another under the value of * * * One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00), he shall be guilty of petit larceny and, upon
conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding
six (6) months or by fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or
both. The total value of property taken, stolen or carried away by the person
from a single victim shall be aggregated in determining the gravity of the
offense.
(2) If any person shall
feloniously take, steal and carry away any property of a church, synagogue,
temple or other established place of worship under the value of * * *
One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), he shall be guilty of petit larceny and, upon
conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding
one (1) year or by fine not exceeding Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), or
both.
(3) Any person who leaves the premises of an establishment at which motor fuel offered for retail sale was dispensed into the fuel tank of a motor vehicle by driving away in that motor vehicle without having made due payment or authorized charge for the motor fuel so dispensed, with intent to defraud the retail establishment, shall be guilty of petit larceny and punished as provided in subsection (1) of this section and, upon any second or subsequent such offense, the driver's license of the person shall be suspended as follows:
(a) The person shall submit the driver's license to the court upon conviction and the court shall forward the driver's license to the Department of Public Safety.
(b) The first suspension of a driver's license under this subsection shall be for a period of six (6) months.
(c) A second or subsequent suspension of a driver's license under this subsection shall be for a period of one (1) year.
(d) At the expiration of the suspension period, and upon payment of a restoration fee of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00), the suspension shall terminate and the Department of Public Safety shall return the person's driver's license to the person. The restoration fee shall be in addition to the fees provided for in Title 63, Chapter 1, and shall be deposited into the State General Fund in accordance with Section 45-1-23.
SECTION 3. Section 97-17-59, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-59. (1) Any person
who shall knowingly, willfully and feloniously take, steal and carry away from
the lands of another any merchantable timber on the property of another, of the
value of less than * * * One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00),
whether such timber is growing, standing or lying on the lands, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor; and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of
not less than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars
($500.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not less than
thirty (30) days nor more than one hundred (100) days, or both, in the
discretion of the court.
(2) Any person who shall
knowingly, willfully and feloniously take, steal and carry away from the lands
of another any merchantable timber on the property of another, of the value of * * *
One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, whether such timber is growing,
standing, or lying on the lands, shall be guilty of a felony; and upon
conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by
imprisonment in the Penitentiary for a term of not less than one (1) year nor
more than five (5) years, or both, in the discretion of the court.
(3) In addition to any such fine or imprisonment which may be imposed upon a convicted individual, the court shall order that restitution be made to the owner of any such stolen timber. The measure for restitution in money shall be the amount of the actual financial loss to the owner of the timber, including any loss of income, any court costs, expert fees and attorney's fees incurred by the owner to recover the loss and any other costs incurred by the owner as a result of actions in violation of subsections (1) and (2) of this section. The value of the timber shall be calculated by the fair market value of the timber at the time of the loss.
SECTION 4. Section 97-17-60, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-60. (1) Any person who acquires, with the consent of an owner, any timber product from that owner and who receives payment for the timber product shall, within thirty (30) days of such receipt, make payment in full to the owner.
(2) If the owner has not received payment within the required thirty (30) days, the owner shall notify the offender of his demand for payment at the offender's last known address by certified mail or by personal delivery of the written notice to the offender. The offender shall make payment in full within ten (10) days after the mailing or delivery of the written notice or the offender shall be in violation of this section.
(3) A written agreement signed by the owner providing for a means of payment contrary to this section shall constitute an affirmative defense.
(4) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them herein unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Timber product" means timber of all kinds, species or sizes, including, but not limited to, logs, lumber, poles, pilings, posts, blocks, bolts, cordwood and pulpwood, pine stumpwood, pine knots or other distillate wood, crossties, turpentine (crude gum), pine straw, firewood and all other products derived from timber or trees which have a sale or commercial value.
(b) "Owner" means any person, partnership, corporation, unincorporated association or other legal entity having any interest in any timber product, any land upon which a timber product is growing or any land from which a timber product has been removed.
(5) Whoever violates this
section, upon conviction thereof, when the value of the timber product is * * *
One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or less, shall be fined not more than One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or imprisoned for not more than one (1) year, or
both. When the value of the timber product is more than * * *
One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), the violator, upon conviction thereof, shall
be fined not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or imprisoned for not
more than ten (10) years, or both.
SECTION 5. Section 97-17-62, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-62. (1) (a) It is unlawful to obtain custody of personal property or equipment by trick, deceit, fraud or willful false representation with intent to defraud the owner or any person in lawful possession of the personal property or equipment.
(b) It is unlawful to hire or lease personal property or equipment from any person who is in lawful possession of the personal property or equipment with intent to defraud that person of the rental due under the rental agreement.
(c) It is unlawful to abandon or willfully refuse to redeliver personal property as required under a rental agreement without the consent of the lessor or the lessor's agent with intent to defraud the lessor or the lessor's agent.
(d) A person who
violates this subsection (1) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable as
provided in Section 97-17-43, unless the value of the personal property or
equipment is of a value of * * * One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00) or more; in that event the violation constitutes a
felony, punishable as provided in Section 97-17-41.
(2) (a) In prosecutions under this section, the following acts are prima facie evidence of fraudulent intent: obtaining the property or equipment under false pretenses; absconding without payment; or removing or attempting to remove the property or equipment from the county without the express written consent of the lessor or the lessor's agent.
(b) Demand for return of overdue property or equipment and for payment of amounts due may be made personally, by hand delivery, or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the lessee's address shown in the rental contract.
(c) In a prosecution under subsection (1)(c):
(i) Failure to redeliver the property or equipment within five (5) days after hand delivery to or return receipt from the lessee is prima facie evidence of fraudulent intent. Notice that is returned undelivered after mailing to the address given by the lessee at the time of rental shall be deemed equivalent to return receipt from the lessee.
(ii) Failure to pay any amount due which is incurred as the result of the failure to redeliver property after the rental period expires is prima facie evidence of fraudulent intent. Amounts due include unpaid rental for the time period during which the property or equipment was not returned, and include the lesser of the cost of repairing or replacing the property or equipment, as necessary, if it has been damaged or not returned.
SECTION 6. Section 97-17-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-67. (1) Every person who shall maliciously or mischievously destroy, disfigure, or injure, or cause to be destroyed, disfigured, or injured, any property of another, either real or personal, shall be guilty of malicious mischief.
(2) If the value of the
property destroyed, disfigured or injured is * * * One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00) or less, it shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine
of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment not exceeding
twelve (12) months in the county jail, or both.
(3) If the value of the
property destroyed, disfigured or injured is in excess of * * *
One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), it shall be a felony punishable by a fine not
exceeding Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or imprisonment in the Penitentiary
not exceeding five (5) years, or both.
(4) In all cases restitution to the victim for all damages shall be ordered. The value of property destroyed, disfigured or injured by the same party as part of a common crime against the same or multiple victims may be aggregated together and if the value exceeds One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), shall be a felony.
(5) For purposes of this statute, value shall be the cost of repair or replacement of the property damaged or destroyed.
(6) Anyone who by any word, deed or act directly or indirectly urges, aids, abets, suggests or otherwise instills in the mind of another the will to so act shall be considered a principal in the commission of said crime and shall be punished in the same manner.
SECTION 7. Section 97-17-70, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-70. (1) A person commits the crime of receiving stolen property if he intentionally possesses, receives, retains or disposes of stolen property knowing that it has been stolen or having reasonable grounds to believe it has been stolen, unless the property is possessed, received, retained or disposed of with intent to restore it to the owner.
(2) The fact that the person who stole the property has not been convicted, apprehended or identified is not a defense to a charge of receiving stolen property.
(3) (a) Evidence that the person charged under this section stole the property that is the subject of the charge of receiving stolen property is not a defense to a charge under this section; however, dual charges of both stealing and receiving the same property shall not be brought against a single defendant in a single jurisdiction.
(b) Proof that a defendant stole the property that is the subject of a charge under this section shall be prima facie evidence that the defendant had knowledge that the property was stolen.
(4) Any person who shall be
convicted of receiving stolen property which exceeds * * * One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00) in value shall be committed to the custody of the State
Department of Corrections for a term not exceeding ten (10) years or by a fine
of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.
(5) Any person who shall be
convicted of receiving stolen property which does not exceed * * *
One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) in value shall be punished by imprisonment for
not more than six (6) months or by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars
($1,000.00), or both.
SECTION 8. Section 97-17-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-71. (1) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed in this section:
(a) "Railroad materials" means any materials, equipment and parts used in the construction, operation, protection and maintenance of a railroad.
(b) "Copper materials" means any copper wire, bars, rods or tubing, including copper wire or cable or coaxial cable of the type used by public utilities, common carriers or communication services providers, whether wireless or wire line, copper air conditioner evaporator coil or condenser, aluminum copper radiators not attached to a motor vehicle, or any combination of these.
(c) "Aluminum materials" means any aluminum cable, bars, rods or tubing of the type used to construct utility, communication or broadcasting towers, aluminum utility wire and aluminum irrigation pipes or tubing. "Aluminum materials" does not include aluminum cans that have served their original economic purpose.
(d) "Law enforcement officer" means any person appointed or employed full time by the state or any political subdivision thereof, or by the state military department as provided in Section 33-1-33, who is duly sworn and vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests, and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of criminals and the enforcement of the criminal traffic laws of this state or the ordinances of any political subdivision thereof.
(e) "Metal property" means materials as defined in this section as railroad track materials, copper materials and aluminum materials and electrical, communications or utility brass, metal covers for service access and entrances to sewers and storm drains, metal bridge pilings, irrigation wiring and other metal property attached to or part of center pivots, grain bins, stainless steel sinks, catalytic converters not attached to a motor vehicle and metal beer kegs. Metal property does not include ferrous materials not listed in this section.
(f) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, trust, limited liability company, association or any other legal or commercial entity.
(g) "Personal identification card" means any government issued photographic identification card.
(h) "Photograph" or "photographically" means a still photographic image, including images captured in digital format, that are of such quality that the persons and objects depicted are clearly identifiable.
(i) "Purchase transaction" means a transaction in which a person gives consideration in exchange for metal property.
(j) "Purchaser" means a person who gives consideration in exchange for metal property.
(k) "Record" or "records" means a paper, electronic or other method of storing information.
(l) "Scrap metal dealer" means any person who is engaged, from a fixed location or otherwise, in the business of paying compensation for metal property that has served its original economic purpose, whether or not the person is engaged in the business of performing the manufacturing process by which metals are converted into raw material products consisting of prepared grades and having an existing or potential economic value.
(2) Every scrap metal dealer or other purchaser shall keep an accurate and legible record in which he shall enter the following information for each purchase transaction:
(a) The name, address and age of the person from whom the metal property is purchased as obtained from the seller's personal identification card;
(b) The date and place of each acquisition of the metal property;
(c) The weight, quantity or volume and a general physical description of the type of metal property, such as wire, tubing, extrusions or casting, purchased in a purchase transaction;
(d) The amount of consideration given in a purchase transaction for the metal property;
(e) The vehicle license tag number, state of issue and the make and type of the vehicle used to deliver the metal property to the purchaser;
(f) If a person other than the seller delivers the metal property to the purchaser, the name, address and age of the person who delivers the metal property;
(g) A signed statement from the person receiving consideration in the purchase transaction stating that he is the rightful owner of the metal property or is entitled to sell the metal property being sold;
(h) (i) A scanned copy or a photocopy of the personal identification card of the person receiving consideration in the purchase transaction; or
(ii) If a person other than the seller delivers the metal property to the purchaser, a scanned copy or a photocopy of the personal identification card of the person delivering the metal property to the purchaser; and
(i) A photograph, videotape or similar likeness of the person receiving consideration or any person other than the seller who delivers the metal property to the purchaser in which the person's facial features are clearly visible and in which the metal property the person is selling or delivering is clearly visible.
Such records shall be maintained by the scrap metal dealer or purchaser for not less than two (2) years from the date of the purchase transaction, and such records shall be made available to any law enforcement officer during usual and customary business hours.
(3) The purchaser of metal property must hold the metal property separate and identifiable from other purchases for not less than three (3) business days from the date of purchase. The purchaser shall also photographically capture the metal property in the same form, without change, in which the metal property was acquired, and maintain the photograph for a period of not less than two (2) years. The time and date shall be digitally recorded on the photograph, and the identity of the person taking the photograph shall be recorded. The purchaser shall permit any law enforcement officer to make an inspection of the metal property during the holding period, and of all photographs of the metal property. Any photograph of metal property taken and maintained pursuant to this subsection shall be admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding.
(4) During the usual and customary business hours of a scrap metal dealer or other purchaser, a law enforcement officer, after proper identification as a law enforcement officer, shall have the right to inspect all purchased metal property in the possession of the scrap metal dealer or purchaser.
(5) (a) Whenever a law enforcement officer has reasonable cause to believe that any item of metal property in the possession of a scrap metal dealer or other purchaser has been stolen, a law enforcement officer who has an affidavit from the alleged rightful owner of the property identifying the property with specificity, including any identifying markings, may issue and deliver a written hold notice to the scrap metal dealer or other purchaser. The hold notice shall specifically identify those items of metal property that are believed to have been stolen and that are subject to the hold notice. Upon receipt of the notice, the scrap metal dealer or other purchaser may not process or remove the metal property identified in the notice from the place of business of the scrap metal dealer or purchaser for fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of the notice, unless sooner released by a law enforcement officer.
(b) No later than the expiration of the fifteen-day period, a law enforcement officer, after receiving additional substantive evidence beyond the initial affidavit, may issue and deliver a second written hold notice, which shall be an extended hold notice. The extended hold notice shall specifically identify those items of metal property that are believed to have been stolen and that are subject to the extended hold notice. Upon receipt of the extended hold notice, the scrap metal dealer or purchaser may not process or remove the items of metal property identified in the notice from the place of business of the scrap metal dealer or purchaser for fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of the extended hold notice, unless sooner released by a law enforcement officer.
(c) At the expiration of the hold period or, if extended in accordance with this subsection, at the expiration of the extended hold period, the hold is automatically released, then the scrap metal dealer or purchaser may dispose of the metal property unless other disposition has been ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(d) If the scrap metal dealer or other purchaser contests the identification or ownership of the metal property, the party other than the scrap metal dealer or other purchaser claiming ownership of any metal property in the possession of a scrap metal dealer or other purchaser, provided that a timely report of the theft of the metal property was made to the proper authorities, may bring a civil action in the circuit court of the county in which the scrap metal dealer or purchaser is located. The petition for the action shall include the means of identification of the metal property utilized by the petitioner to determine ownership of the metal property in the possession of the scrap metal dealer or other purchaser.
(e) When a lawful owner recovers stolen metal property from a scrap metal dealer or other purchaser who has complied with this section, and the person who sold the metal property to the scrap metal dealer or other purchaser is convicted of a violation of this section, or theft by receiving stolen property under Section 97-17-70, the court shall order the convicted person to make full restitution to the scrap metal dealer or other purchaser, including, without limitation, attorney's fees, court costs and other expenses.
(6) This section shall not apply to purchases of metal property from any of the following:
(a) A law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity;
(b) A trustee in bankruptcy, executor, administrator or receiver who has presented proof of such status to the scrap metal dealer;
(c) Any public official acting under a court order who has presented proof of such status to the scrap metal dealer;
(d) A sale on the execution, or by virtue of any process issued by a court, if proof thereof has been presented to the scrap metal dealer; or
(e) A manufacturing, industrial or other commercial vendor that generates or sells regulated metal property in the ordinary course of its business.
(7) It shall be unlawful for any person to give a false statement of ownership or to give a false or altered identification or vehicle tag number and receive money or other consideration from a scrap metal dealer or other purchaser in return for metal property.
(8) A scrap metal dealer or other purchaser shall not enter into any cash transactions in payment for the purchase of metal property. Payment shall be made by check issued to the seller of the metal, made payable to the name and address of the seller and mailed to the recorded address of the seller, or by electronic funds transfer. Payment shall not be made for a period of three (3) days after the purchase transaction.
(9) If a person acquiring metal property fails to maintain the records or to hold such materials for the period of time prescribed by this section, such failure shall be prima facie evidence that the person receiving the metal property received it knowing it to be stolen in violation of Section 97-17-70.
(10) It shall be unlawful for any person to transport or cause to be transported for himself or another from any point within this state to any point outside this state any metal property, unless the person or entity first reports to the sheriff of the county from which he departs this state transporting such materials the same information that a purchaser in this state would be required to obtain and keep in a record as set forth in subsection (2) of this section. In such a case the sheriff receiving the report shall keep the information in records maintained in his office as a public record available for inspection by any person at all reasonable times. This section shall not apply to a public utility, as that term is defined in Section 77-3-3, engaged in carrying on utility operations; to a railroad, as that term is defined in Section 77-9-5; to a communications service provider, whether wireless or wire line; to a scrap metal dealer; or to a person identified in subsection (6) as being exempt from the provisions of this section.
(11) It shall be unlawful for a scrap metal dealer or other purchaser to knowingly purchase or possess a metal beer keg, or a metal syrup tank generally used by the soft drink industry, whether damaged or undamaged, or any reasonably recognizable part thereof, on any premises that the dealer uses to buy, sell, store, shred, melt, cut or otherwise alter scrap metal. However, it shall not be unlawful to purchase or possess a metal syrup tank generally used by the soft drink industry if the scrap metal dealer or other purchaser obtains a bill of sale at the time of purchase from a seller if the seller is a manufacturer of such tanks, a soft drink company or a soft drink distributor.
(12) It shall be unlawful to sell to a scrap metal dealer any bronze vase and/or marker, memorial, statue, plaque, or other bronze object used at a cemetery or other location where deceased persons are interred or memorialized, or for any such dealer to purchase those objects, unless the source of the bronze is known and notice is provided to the municipal or county law enforcement agency where the dealer is located. The notice shall identify all names, letters, dates and symbols on the bronze and a photograph of the bronze shall be attached thereto. Written permission from the cemetery and the appropriate law enforcement agency must be received before any type of bronze described in this subsection may be purchased, processed, sold or melted.
(13) It shall be unlawful for any scrap metal dealer to purchase any manhole cover and other similar types of utility access covers, including storm drain covers, or any metal property clearly identified as belonging to a political subdivision of the state or a municipality, unless that metal property is purchased from the political subdivision, the municipal utility or the manufacturer of the metal. Any purchaser who purchases metal property in bulk shall be allowed twenty-four (24) hours to determine if any metal property prohibited by this subsection is included in a bulk purchase. If such prohibited metal property is included in a bulk purchase, the purchaser shall notify law enforcement no later than twenty-four (24) hours after the purchase.
(14) It shall be unlawful for a scrap metal dealer or other purchaser to purchase metal property from a person younger than eighteen (18) years of age.
(15) Metal property may not be purchased, acquired or collected between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
(16) Except as provided in
this subsection, any person willfully or knowingly violating the provisions of
this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,
and shall be punished by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00)
per offense, unless the purchase transaction or transactions related to the
violation, in addition to any costs which are, or would be, incurred in
repairing or in the attempt to recover any property damaged in the theft of or
removal of the metal property, are in aggregate an amount which exceeds * * *
One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), in which case the person shall be guilty of a
felony and shall be imprisoned in the custody of the Department of Corrections
for a term not to exceed ten (10) years, fined not more than Ten Thousand Dollars
($10,000.00), or both. Any person found guilty of stealing metal property or
receiving metal property, knowing it to be stolen in violation of Section 97-17-70,
shall be ordered to make full restitution to the victim, including, without
limitation, restitution for property damage that resulted from the theft of the
property.
(17) This section shall not be construed to repeal other criminal laws. Whenever conduct proscribed by any provision of this section is also proscribed by any other provision of law, the provision which carries the more serious penalty shall be applied.
(18) This section shall apply to all businesses regulated under this section without regard to the location within the State of Mississippi.
(19) This section shall not be construed to prohibit municipalities and counties from enacting and implementing ordinances, rules and regulations that impose stricter requirements relating to purchase transactions.
SECTION 9. Section 97-19-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-19-39. (1) Every person
who, with intent to cheat or defraud another, shall designedly, by color of any
false token or writing, or by another false pretense, obtain the signature of
any person to any written instrument, or obtain from any person any money,
personal property, or valuable thing, with a value of less than * * *
One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), upon conviction thereof, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six
(6) months, and by fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00).
(2) Every person, who with
intent to cheat or defraud another, shall designedly, by color of any false
token or writing, or by another false pretense, obtain the signature of any
person to any written instrument, or obtain from any person any money, personal
property, or valuable thing, with a value of * * * One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, upon conviction thereof shall be guilty of a
felony and punished by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary not exceeding ten
(10) years, and by a fine not exceeding Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).
SECTION 10. Section 97-21-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-21-33. Persons convicted
of forgery shall be punished by imprisonment in the Penitentiary for a term of
not less than two (2) years nor more than ten (10) years, or by a fine of not
more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both; provided, however, that
when the amount of value involved is less than * * * One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00) in lieu of the punishment above provided for, the
person convicted may be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a term
of not more than six (6) months, or by a fine of not more than One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00), or both, within the discretion of the court.
SECTION 11. Section 97-23-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-23-19. If any person
shall embezzle or fraudulently secrete, conceal, or convert to his own use, or
make way with, or secrete with intent to embezzle or convert to his own use,
any goods, rights in action, money, or other valuable security, effects, or
property of any kind or description which shall have come or been entrusted to
his care or possession by virtue of his office, position, place, or employment,
either in mass or otherwise, with a value of * * * One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, he shall be guilty of felony embezzlement,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the custody of the
Department of Corrections not more than ten (10) years, or fined not more than
Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), or both. If the value of such
goods, rights in action, money or other valuable security, effects, or property
of any kind is less than * * * Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00)One Thousand Dollars
($1,000.00), he shall be guilty of misdemeanor embezzlement, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the county jail not more than six
(6) months, or fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both.
SECTION 12. Section 97-23-93, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-23-93. (1) Any person who shall willfully and unlawfully take possession of any merchandise owned or held by and offered or displayed for sale by any merchant, store or other mercantile establishment with the intention and purpose of converting such merchandise to his own use without paying the merchant's stated price therefor shall be guilty of the crime of shoplifting and, upon conviction, shall be punished as is provided in this section.
(2) The requisite intention to convert merchandise without paying the merchant's stated price for the merchandise is presumed, and shall be prima facie evidence thereof, when such person, alone or in concert with another person, willfully:
(a) Conceals the unpurchased merchandise;
(b) Removes or causes the removal of unpurchased merchandise from a store or other mercantile establishment;
(c) Alters, transfers or removes any price-marking, any other marking which aids in determining value affixed to the unpurchased merchandise, or any tag or device used in electronic surveillance of unpurchased merchandise;
(d) Transfers the unpurchased merchandise from one container to another; or
(e) Causes the cash register or other sales recording device to reflect less than the merchant's stated price for the unpurchased merchandise.
(3) Evidence of stated price or ownership of merchandise may include, but is not limited to:
(a) The actual merchandise or the container which held the merchandise alleged to have been shoplifted; or
(b) The content of the price tag or marking from such merchandise; or
(c) Properly identified photographs of such merchandise.
(4) Any merchant or his agent or employee may testify at a trial as to the stated price or ownership of merchandise.
(5) A person convicted of
shoplifting merchandise for which the merchant's stated price is less than or
equal to * * * One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) shall be
punished as follows:
(a) Upon a first shoplifting conviction the defendant shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or punished by imprisonment not to exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(b) Upon a second shoplifting conviction the defendant shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or punished by imprisonment not to exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(6) Upon a third or subsequent shoplifting conviction the defendant shall be guilty of a felony and fined not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or imprisoned for a term not exceeding five (5) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(7) A person convicted of
shoplifting merchandise for which the merchant's stated price exceeds * * *
One
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) shall be guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction, punished as provided in Section 97-17-41 for the offense of grand
larceny.
(8) In determining the number of prior shoplifting convictions for purposes of imposing punishment under this section, the court shall disregard all such convictions occurring more than seven (7) years prior to the shoplifting offense in question.
(9) For the purpose of determining the gravity of the offense under subsection (7) of this section, the prosecutor may aggregate the value of merchandise shoplifted from three (3) or more separate mercantile establishments within the same legal jurisdiction over a period of thirty (30) or fewer days.
SECTION 13. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014.